MANCHESTER Food and Drink Festival (Sept 29-Oct 10) is whetting our appetite big time with the the announcement of key elements of its 2016 programme.
There are some real treats in this first batch. None more so than the Hidden Banquets series, allowing festival-goers to explore some of the city’s secret and jaw dropping spaces while enjoying food by some of the best chefs around.
Kicking it all off is ‘Innovation’ by Aiden Byrne , head chef at Manchester House, inside London Road Fire Station (above). In this one-off banquet 200 lucky ticket holders will dine inside the old engine room of the building.
Access comes courtesy of developers Allied London, who have teamed up with MFDF for the series. Another remarkable building in their portfolio, Granada Old Studios, will also host one of these unique dining experiences themed around Manchester’s heritage, identity and contribution to the world.
Tickets will be available soon via the festival website. A contribution from ticket sales will go to The Christie and Manchester Children's Hospital in the late Tim Bacon’s name.
There’s a stellar line-up of chefs and food heroes, restaurants and bars lined up for the 19th festival, which runs for 12 action-packed days from September 29 to October 10, 2016, culminating in the Gala Dinner and presentation of the annual Manchester Food and Drink Awards
Confirmed culinary stars so far include…
Nadiya Hussain Great British Bake Off winner and the country’s darling of all things delicious and fluffy, Nadiya will be performing in the Live Cookery Theatre and sharing her home grown baking tips on Saturday Oct 8.
Aiden Byrne Our city’s own chef superstar, Aiden will be performing live at the Festival, as well as contributing to the Hidden Banquets spectacular.
Nacho Manzano Executive chef of Iberica, as well as holding three Michelin stars in his native Spain, Nacho will be visiting Manchester especially for the Festival and hosting a one off, extra special MFDF event on October 4.
Susy Atkins One of UK’s best known and loved wine writers and experts, Susy Atkins will be stepping out of Saturday Kitchen straight to Manchester, where she’ll be performing at MFDF’s second annual Three Wine Women event on September 29, alongside...
Kate Goodman, BBC personality, passionate wine expert and founder of the award-winning Reserve merchants in Didsbury, will be back on board for The Big Indie Wine Fest on October 7 and 8.
Adam Reid The chef linchpin of The French by Simon Rogan will be sharing secrets at the Festival Hub, as well as staging his very own, one-off restaurant this year – see below!
Jackie Kearney Author of Vegan Street Food, Master Chef Runner Up and general street food legend, Jackie Kearney will be gracing MFDF with her meat and dairy free super powers with an experimental vegan banquet.
Claire Kelsey Ice cream alchemist Claire Kelsey will be performing along with the rest of her Milk Jam crew – baking goddess Charlotte O’Toole of Bakeorama and Nicky Griffiths of Lush Brownies.Kate Goodman.
At the heart of much of this star-studded action will the Festival Hub in Albert Square, which promises to be bigger and better than ever this year thanks to a whole new design, layout and some exciting additions. Free to enter, open from 12noon-11pm daily until October 9 and offering at its bespoke pop up food village the city’s best mix of street food traders (from Manchester and beyond), Marstons Ale Trail Bar, Vin Van Voom Wine, the MFDF live music stage and the now legendary Manchester’s 100 Greatest Beer Bar. In addition there’ll be a rolling programme of pop up events, mini festivals, masterclasses and more.
Pop-ups – Albert Square’s own ‘Guest Restaurants’
This year’s Festival Hub will have it’s own pop-up restaurant as guests from the city and suburb’s bring special, one-off festival restaurant experiences to Albert Square. These include:
Eat With Adam – Adam Reid’s MFDF Fest-aurant. October 4, 5 and 6. £60 Tickets on sale soon.
The French by Simon Rogan’s acclaimed Head Chef and previous MFDF ‘Chef of the Year’, Adam Reid, will be bringing an exclusive and bespoke tasting experience to the Festival Hub. Expect an original take on a truly inclusive tasting menu, designed specifically for MFDF 2016.
Baratxuri In The City
The amazing team behind Ramsbottom’s Baratxuri pintxos bar will be bringing their delicious Basque Country themed menu out from the suburbs and into the heart of the city to take over the Festival Hub guest restaurant for one night only. More details to be announced soon. Ticketed.
Other highly recommended events:
The MFDF Big Indie Wine Fest Whitworth Art Gallery, October 7 and 8.
One of the Festival’s longest standing and most beloved events finds its spiritual home at last, as it comes to a venue that can finally equal the beauty of the wines on offer from some of the best best independent wine merchants from across the UK. Some food masterpieces, too! Tickets on sale soon.
Italian Festival in association with Salvi’s Festival Hub, October 2. Free .
MFDF have teamed up with Manchester’s authentic Italian food business, Salvi’s, to stage a weekend dedicated to the likes of buffalo mozzarella, Gorgonzola, Prosecco, pizza, gelato, olive oil, salami, Parma ham, Primitivo and stacks more. Salvi’s will be inviting their favourite producers from their native Naples and the Campania region for a weekend of blissful banqueting at the Festival Hub. As well as food stalls, samplings and tastings there’ll be a “20 Metre Pizza” street collaboration as well as dedicated ‘Italian heritage’ walks around the city.
Three Wine Women Festival Hub, September 29.
After the success of last year’s ‘Three Wine Women’ visit this year MFDF is restaging the event on a new theme and with a new visiting ‘wine woman’! Susy Atkins will join the BBC’s Kate Goodman (owner of Didsbury’s Reserve Wine Shop) and Evuna Manchester’s Jane Dowler who will make up this year’s trio of talent hosting an extraordinary evening of fabulous wines. Tickets on sale soon.
Great Manchester Bake-off Festival Hub, October 9. Free.
Following the success of last year’s Great Manchester Bake Off, MFDF is on the search again for Manchester’s greatest bakers! We’ll be inviting the region’s hottest amateur bakers to enter the race to become Manchester’s second MFDF Bake Off Champion. Entrants will need to register, then will be invited to bring their creations to the first heat to be judged by MFDF’s answer to Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood (they are not telling yet!). Finalists will be chosen at the first heat when they’ll be challenged to bring another creation to the Festival Hub on October 9, where a huge Festival Bake Sale will be taking place.
The Festival Fringe
As well as the Festival events mentioned so far, there’ll be a whole host of other wild and wonderful food events across Manchester’s spectacular restaurants, bars, cafes, delis, museums and more. The full programme will be announced over the coming months, but participating venues include El Gato Negro, Hawksmoor, Iberica, Eagle and Child, Tariff and Dale, Mr Cooper’s, Albert’s Schloss, Harvey Nichols, Heaton Hops, James Martin and many more.
Bookatable Festival Feast
Across Manchester, throughout the Festival, booking required.
The Bookatable Festival Feast will be a series of limited edition, bespoke, dining menus, created by Manchester’s restaurants especially for the Manchester Food and Drink festival in association with Bookatable.
The Manchester Food and Drink Festival Gala Dinner and Awards will take place on October 10. Full details of the location plus the Awards Shortlist will be announced on Wednesday, June 22.
Festival founder Phil Jones commented: "The 2016 Festival will be a true celebration of Manchester's place as a European food and drink capital. The emphasis is on creating new and exciting events, of which we are announcing many today, as well as revamping old favourites, such as The Festival Hub on Albert Square and The Big Indie Wine Fest.
“The MFDF Awards will be even more hotly contested than ever. We're very proud of the consistent economic benefits they bring to the nominees (around 750 different outlets since conception) and the prestige poured upon the winners. Please put the dates in your diary and we’ll see you there."
Festival sponsors include, Marstons, Bookatable, City Card Manchester, Deliveroo, Caterer.com, Manchester Evening News, Allied London, Reserve Wines, Vin Van Voom. The Festival is calling on all food and drink heroes in Greater Manchester and beyond to join in the celebrations and contribute to the programme. Interested parties should email [email protected].