SHADES of the Romans colonising Castlefield – a pride of food critics is being thrown to the lions in a cook-off at the quarter’s new foodfest with that gladiator of Manc kitchens Robert Owen Brown giving the thumbs up or down.
For the Coliseum read the Castlefield Bowl from 11am to 4pm on the Saturday, the middle day of the first ever Castlefield Food Festival (May 15-17). Slaving over the demo kitchen hobs for the Food Challenge will be the likes of bloggers Simon Binns (http://eatdrinkmanchester.com and Hannah Bermudez of http://www.itsgrimupnorth.co.uk, Bitten magazine publisher Chris Grimes – and yours truly, hoping the Taste of Manchester contribution actually tastes of something.
On the Sunday the pros take over. Claire Kelsey of Ginger’s Comfort Emporium and Mike Jennings of Grenache and Dave Mooney of Beef and Pudding are just some of the star names doing demos.
The festival’s wine offering comes from BBC Food Show wine guru Kate Goodman, of West Didbury’s Reserve Wines, and her Vin Van Voom vintage airstream trailer.
The family-friendly and free event features pop-up restaurants from Dukes 92, Dimitri’s and Veeno as well as street food stalls, a world and farmers’ market and cocktail-making classes. Music comes from Quentin Tarantino tribute act A Band Apart and funk Spanish crossover band Break Latino.
For full details visit http://castlefieldfoodfestival.co.uk and keep up to date on Twitter via @castlefieldfood.