Produce market, gala dinner and more at MFDF
INDEPENDENT restaurant and deli Salvi’s is hosting a celebration of all things Italian on Sunday 2 October. It's part of Manchester Food and Drink Festival and looks set to be one of this year's highlights.
With appearances from top chefs, special offers, live music, guided walks, a produce market – and a superb four-course gala dinner – it's a must-go for Italian food fans.
Italian Festa on Albert Square
At the Manchester Food and Drink Festival free Festival Hub on Albert Square, Salvi’s are taking over an entire marquee – and filling it with the fabulous food and drink from their home country!
Maurizio and his team will be staging Neapolitan cookery masterclasses throughout the day – showing you how to make the best of the wonderful Italian ingredients you can buy from Salvi’s. Plus Maurizio will be welcoming his old friend Carlo Molon, the executive chef from the Sheraton Hotel in Milan. He's visiting from Italy to perform a live cookery demo.
The marquee at the Hub will also be home to a mini Italian market. Fill up on produce including Salvi’s famous mozzarella, fine Italian cheeses, olive oils, wines, breads, meats and treats.
There’ll also be boozy drinks sampling, a ‘Nonna Pasta-Making Station' where Italian mums will demonstrate how to make homemade pasta, and live music from an Italian band flown in from Naples.
The centrepiece of the celebrations at Albert Square will be the pizza cook-off. Watch Maurizio and his team creating a huge table of non-stop pizza – totalling 20-metres in all. You can grab a slice of the action by paying £5 for a portion of pizza and a Peroni.
20% off food at Salvi's
Also on 2 October, Salvi’s restaurants (John Dalton Street and Corn Exchange) and their Rostecceria (John Dalton Street) will offer free samples of their best produce. Plus, there’ll be 20% off food if you sign up to the Salvi’s mailing list all day and throughout the mailing list – SIGN UP HERE
Italian Food and Heritage Walks
Want to learn more about Manchester's Italian heritage? An Italian Food and Heritage Walk will start at the Festival Hub and take in the city centre, stopping at Salvi’s venues along the way for refuelling. Places on the tour are limited and cost £10 (details of how to buy below).
Italian Gala Dinner
As a finale to the festivities, Salvi’s is hosting an Italian Gala Dinner at the Corn Exchange, in association with Peroni and Aperol.
This four-course feast will make the most of the fine Italian produce that Maurizio has sourced for the occasion. It will be a true celebration of Neapolitan food, drink and ingredients, beginning with an Aperol drinks reception. There'll also be live music and the chance to create your own Peroni beer cocktail.
Maurizio said, “We wanted to bring a true taste of Neapolitan life to Manchester for the Food and Drink Festival. So we have really pulled the stops out to make sure that this is a day and night where the people of Manchester can really immerse themselves in Italian culture – mozzarella, beer, pizza, cocktails, music, cheese and bread, and even some Manchester Italian history and masterclasses.
“It’s all about food, drink and joy – just like it is back home when we celebrate in Naples. Hopefully this can be an annual celebration.”
For more information on the Salvi's events on Sunday 2 October, and for tickets to the Italian food and heritage walk, visit Manchester Food and Drink Festival.
