The Manchester Food and Drink Festival (MFDF) is to make its grand return on Thursday 15th September and the epic full programme of events has been unveiled to celebrate the ultimate foodie festival’s 25th anniversary.
MFDF will take place at Cathedral Gardens which will be the centre of the action and home to The Festival Hub - the free to enter, pop up food and drink village. A food and drink haven, Festival fans can expect a huge Manchester beer bar, an incredible host of street food, an artisan food market, and live music. There will also be events taking place in restaurants and bars around the city.
Spread out over two massive weekends, the free-to-enter Festival Hub is open from Thursday 15th - Sunday 18th September and then again from Thursday 22nd - Sunday 25th September.
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Here are the full programme highlights for MFDF 2022…
AT THE FESTIVAL HUB…
The Manchester Beer Bar x Joseph Holt at the Festival Hub
Open 12noon - 11pm. Thursday 15th - Sunday 18th & Thursday 22nd - Sunday 25th September at Cathedral Gardens
Manchester’s best and biggest bar is back, this time with the ‘Unmistakably Northern’ brewery and powerhouse Joseph Holt as the official lager partner, who will be brewing a special 25th Anniversary beer and ale especially for the festival. Since 1849, Joseph Holt has sat at the heart of communities across the North West. Now with 127 pubs across the region they are famous for brewing award winning pints and bringing people together through their authentic pubs.
25 years, 25 beers!
The Manchester Beer bar will also be serving 25 of Manchester’s best breweries, to celebrate 25 years of the festival, as well as our vibrant, unique craft beer scene. Breweries on site include Brightside Brewery, First Chop, Burton Road Brewery and Thirst Class Brewery.
MFDF Street Food Village
The Festival Hub’s epic village of street food vendors is also back, serving food from all over the world right in the heart of the city. From big juicy burgers to woodfired pizzas, and also Spanish, Cypriot, Italian and Ethiopian cuisines, MFDF are going big and treating Manchester foodies to dishes from all over the World for their 25th birthday bash this year…
Thursday 15th - Sunday 19th September
●Grandad sausages - brilliant bangers made in Bury by the ultimate sausage aficionados - expect the best and most decadent dogs around
●Senor Paella - traditional and delicious Spanish paella
●I Knead Pizza - Neapolitan, wood fired pizzas made with freshly made dough and locally sourced ingredients
●What’s Your Beef - serving their locally and ethically sourced grass fed beef burgers.
●Oh My Glaze - bringing wraps, wings & halloumi to the celebrations
●Parmogeddon - Taking “Parmos”, a classic Northern Eastern treat, and finishing them off with loads of epic twists
●Herbivorous - 100% vegan comfort food from the best in the city.
●Bab K - Authentic Korean prepared using fresh, local ingredients
●Cha Cha Churros - Amazing, delicious vegan churros
●Spoon Desserts - Crepes and waffles with an array of sweet toppings
Thursday 22nd - Sunday 25th September
●The Spinn - The Gatley-based indie restaurant & bar will be bringing their amazing trademark burgers to the festival
●Il Forno - Manchester’s very own mobile pizza van with its woodfired oven and Italian classic recipes
●Super Bao - Light and fluffy bao buns served with love, style and lip smacking fillings
●House of Habesha - Authentic Eritrean & Ethiopian soul food, that combines health, culture & heavenly flavours in all their dishes.
●Cyprus Kouzina - The very best in regional producers of Greek Cypriot street food
●Hip Hop Chip Shop - serving up uber cool twists of the classic Northern chippy tea
●Meksikan - Handcrafted tacos pieced together with mind blowing Mexican flavours at the heart
●Mi & Pho - Award-winning Vietnamese food made with high-quality, fresh ingredients
●Heavenly Indian -Delicious, authentic, Indian street food.
●Cafe Cannoli - The original Sicilian street food trader once more brings their famous cannoli to the Hub.
●Guzzle - Vintage caravan with a retro espresso machine serving hot drinks and ice cream for all tastes.
MASTERCLASS KITCHEN AT THE HUB
●The Leftovers Kitchen with Recycle for Greater Manchester
Saturday 17th September, Festival Hub Kitchen
This year, MFDF are teaming up with Recycle for Greater Manchester and Open Kitchen MCR to host ‘The Leftover Kitchen’ - a full-day event surrounding demonstrations on how to ditch excess food waste and cook amazing meals with leftovers from the fridge.
●Octopus Cookbook Confidential
Saturday 24th September, Festival Hub Kitchen
The Hub will also host the Octopus Cookbook Confidential demo kitchen on Saturday 24th September in collaboration with Octopus Books. Top chefs and industry experts will be coming together to share their tips, ideas and knowledge in cookery demos, conversations and debate discussions. The full lineup and schedule are as follows…
12.30PM - Pip Payne and Nicky Corbishley: Tips, ideas and hacks for putting dinner on the table every night without breaking the bank
1.30PM - Joe Woodhouse, Josh Katz & David Bez: Providing all the veggie recipe inspiration you could hope for, as well as sharing top reasons why we should all be incorporating more vegetables into our diet
2.30PM - Edd Kimber and Rahul Mandal: Discussing their love of puddings from childhood to becoming professionals, as well as sharing solutions for any baking mishaps at home
3.30PM - Jeremy Pang: School of Wok’s Jeremy Pang, will be giving a demo from his latest book and introducing his super simple Wok Clock cooking technique
4.30PM - Kate Humble & Lia Leendertz: TV presenter, writer and author of her debut cookbook just this year, Kate Humble will be talking about Home Cooked and eating with the seasons with author of the bestselling annual, The Almanac, Lia Leendertz
6.00PM - Jaega Wise vs Joel Harrison in conversation with Neil Ridley: Closing off the day, author of Wild Brews, Jaega Wise, will be in friendly debate with Joel Harrison and Neil Ridley, authors of multiple drinks books.
Sunday 18th and Sunday 25th September
Come and join a selection of local chefs and expert producers as they share their tips in the Manchester Masterclass Kitchen. Join the likes of Tampopo and Ancoats Coffee as they share some of their secrets and knowledge.
MFDF ARTISAN MARKET
Thursday 15th - 18th September & Thursday 22nd - 25th September
Open midday - 7pm
Festival Hub, Cathedral Gardens After the success of this free-to-enter, independent shopping experience at the Festival Hub last year, MFDF’s Artisan Market is back with some of the best independent food and drink businesses within the North West.
Split across two weekends you can expect….
●Dghnt MCR - Serving artisan brioche doughnuts made fresh every single day
●Paradiso Authentic Italian - Freshly made, authentic Italian desserts including their famous Tiramisu…. Bellissimo!
●The Flat Baker - Combining a taste of Brazil with the traditional classics of baking, The Flat Baker produce delicious artisan breads and pastries
●DevilDog Sauces - Small batch chilli sauces and seasonings made right here in Greater MCR
●Prodjuice Juicery - Cold pressed raw juices - juices for health
●Gourmet Jay - Award winning rolls, pies and pastries
●Two Lasses - Made-from-scratch British rum and rum liqueurs crafted and conceived by two Northern lasses
●Small Farmers Coffee - Jamaican Blue Coffee dealers
●The Doughnuteers - Handcrafted delicious doughnuts
●Global Nomad - Internationally Inspired Artisan Sauces, Spices & Preserves
●Ancoats Distillery -Luxury craft gins, rums, vodka and ales created and beautifully packaged down the road in Ancoats
●The Chocolate Cafe - Popular Ramsbottom dessert spot, serving hand-crafted chocolate made with the finest Colombian cocoa and very best British ingredients
●Prendi il Biscotti - Authentic, artisan Italian biscuits and sweet treats handmade in Saddleworth
●World Famous Hot Sauce - Small batch all natural, gluten free and vegan hot sauce from local legend Elliot Eastwick.
Coffee Rave with Factory Coffee
Friday 16th, 12-3pmMFDF Coffee Shop of the Year nominee, Factory Coffee, will be serving the ultimate pick-me-up with their viral ‘Coffee Rave’. Taking place on Friday 16th September, caffeine lovers should head on down to the Festival Hub from 12-3pm to enjoy a FREE coffee from one of Manchester’s ever growing coffee brands. As well as free espressos and flat whites, Factory Coffee have teamed up with the Rogue Artisan ice cream to offer festival go-ers an exclusive opportunity to try their incredible affogatos, all for free, whilst local DJ will be spinning the decks for the perfect soundtrack for your afternoon boost.
MFDF Curry Club
Tuesday 20th September, 7pm onwards
Festival Hub, Cathedral Gardens
MFDF’s sell-out Curry Club has been once again added to the line-up of MFDF’s 25th Festival celebrations, and tickets are now on sale.
The Curry Club, taking place at the Festival Hub on Cathedral Gardens on 20th September from 7pm, features an exciting host of people and businesses from Manchester’s ever-growing Asian culinary scene. The line-up includes national favourite Dishoom, local gem Lily’s, The Little Sri Lankan, Aunty Ji’s, Nila’s Burmese Kitchen, and Cheeky Tikka.
Festival Fire Pit
Thursday 15th September - Sunday 18th September & Thursday 22nd - Sunday 25th September
Festival Hub, Cathedral Gardens
After a scorching hot summer, MFDF is proud to present the first ever Festival Fire Pit, coming to the Hub for both long weekends to create the ultimate British barbie. Sponsored by Weber, one of the world’s leading barbecue specialists, the Festival Fire Pit will invite some of the region’s best loved chefs to cook over fire for a massive festival feast.
Amongst those who will be bringing their own specialist BBQ flavours to the fire pit as part of Weber’s takeover are Caroline Martins, founder of the Sao Paolo project, Francisco Martinez from Fazenda and Robert Owen Brown.
OUTSIDE THE HUB… The Festival Fringe
A fantastic programme of events is taking place across the city too showcasing some of Manchester’s most exciting restaurants, bars, cafes and chefs. Highlights from the Festival Fringe are below. For the full programme, details and T&Cs please click HERE.
●Eat Well MCR Fundraising Banquet
Tuesday 20th September, Hello Oriental, 7.30PM- 10.30PMNonprofit and social enterprise Eat Well MCR are back this year with another exciting fundraising feast as part of the 2022 Manchester Food and Drink Festival. The fundraising banquet, hosted by uber cool underground Chinese market hall Hello Oriental, will showcase Manchester’s best East Asian and Southeast Asian food producers.
The line-up gearing up to celebrate the very best of Asian cuisine in the region includes:
Hello Oriental - Hosts Hello Oriental offer uncensored East Asian street food across three floors. Comprising a restaurant, bar, cafe, bakery, events space and fully-stocked supermarket, it recently received a rave review in The Times, with celebrated critic Marina O’Loughlin calling it a ‘northern powerhouse… grungy, futuristic and fun’.
Neon Tiger - A new urban drinking and dining space serving rural Thai barbeque snacks and small plates. Neon Tiger will curate a gin-based cocktail especially for the event using Manchester Gin.
Rice Over Everything - Burmese-born home cook May Kyi Noo is best known for her range of incredible chilli oils that focus on complex flavours, not just heat.
New Wave Ramen - Nominated for Best Food Trader at this year’s Manchester Food and Drink Awards for their umami-rich ramen bowls served up at Mackie Mayor food hall.
Tampopo - One of the OG’s to bring East Asian street food to Manchester, Tampopo have been delighting customers for 25 years with their vibrant, authentic flavours, with influencers stretching from Yangon to Kuala Lumpur.
WowYauChow - Not your standard Chinese, Henry Yau’s WowYauChow sets its sights on impeccable Chinese street food combined with British Chinese favourites.
Diners can expect platters of sushi and sashimi, next-level dim sum, fresh and zingy salads, umami-rich ramen, fiery aromatic curries and platters of fragrant rice, followed by a selection of desserts.
Tickets are £70 pp and are currently available to purchase. All proceeds from the sale of the tickets will help provide meals to people in need across Greater Manchester.
Get your tickets HERE.
●Wine Fest
New Century, Friday 16th - Saturday 17th September
Mancunian wine lovers, whether it be red, white or both, can jump in joy, as this year’s MFDF will see the return of Wine Fest. This year’s Wine Fest is set to be extra special, as it will be the first event to take place at the iconic New Century in Manchester’s NOMA district.
The stunning New Century will host Wine Fest over two days and will proudly showcase some of the finest wine retailers in Greater Manchester. The likes of Its Alive, Sip, Supper, Grape to Grain, Cork of the North, Italy Abroad, UkiYO Republic and Isca Wines, will all be peddling their plonks in this incredible setting.
Tickets can be purchased from the MFDF website and are £15 per person.
●Harvey Nichols ‘Taste on Two’
Thursday 15th SeptemberThe ultimate foodie feast is here! Visit the Second Floor of Harvey Nichols for tasting stations, drinks masterclasses, food workshops, live demonstrations, and samples.
●Unicorn GroceryChorlton vegan icons Unicorn Grocery are celebrating 26 years of providing M21 and beyond with delicious, wholesome food. This worker co-operative is rooted in trading in a more ethical and sustainable way than the mainstream supermarkets while keeping prices competitive - they don’t have shareholders knocking on their door asking for dividends.
●Eat Well MCR Harvest Festival
17th - 18th September, Platt Fields
This year, Eat Well MCR’s Harvest Festival will be bringing together an array of incredible hospitality people known for their commitment to seasonal eating. The festival will take place at Platt Field Market Garden to celebrate a variety of Autumnal produce alongside lovely food, drink, music and amazing vibes all round.
Image: It's me Louis Photography
●£25 for 25 years Offer To celebrate 25 years, Manchester’s brilliant restaurant community has put together a host of special menus to showcase what they do at a special price. This year all restaurants taking part will provide a stunning meal and drink offer for £25 pp. Venues taking part this year include the likes of…
●District - The Thai barbecue cookery experts over at District have a fantastic offering of 3x New Wave Thai dishes for £25pp.
●Embankment Kitchen - Vibrant brasserie and bar Embankment Kitchen have curated ‘A Taste of Embankment’ for 2 offer, which includes a host of dishes from the seasonal menu. Food can be enjoyed with x2 of their wine cocktails, all for £25pp.
●Mi&Pho - Northenden’s Award-winning Vietnamese restaurant is offering any 2 starters and any 2 mains for £25pp.
●20 Stories - Enjoy dinner with a view at 20 Stories Manchester, who are offering a 3 course meal and glass of wine for £25pp.
●Harvey Nichols - Antipasti fanatics should head over to the Deli Bar @ Harvy Nichols, where they can enjoy a stunning charcuterie board, accompanied by two glasses of white, red or rose wine for £25pp
MFDF Awards
Don’t forget to vote for your favourite food heroes in the MFDF Awards via the MFDF website. The event is sponsored by Bruntwood and is taking place at Escape to Freight Island on 26th September.
The best way to keep up to date with the full programme of events is to download the MFDF app where food fans can view and book all the events, takeovers, masterclasses and more.
Download on IOS and Android
Follow on Instagram: @mcrfoodfest and Twitter: @McrFoodFest
Please head to the MFDF website for details on all offers.