Your bumper briefing of news and what to look out for
MFDF Awards now open for voting
Voting is now open for the Manchester Food and Drink Festival Awards 2024.
The annual festival awards, taking place at New Century Hall on Monday 27 January 2025, will see the best in hospitality from the city and beyond compete across 17 categories.
This year’s crop of talent includes everything from takeaways to Michelin-starred restaurants, taking in categories like Affordable Eats Venue of the Year, Neighbourhood Venue of the Year and Great Service Award.
As well as the public vote, a mystery shopping period will now commence where judges visit nominated venues in some categories - or pay an anonymous dining visit - and will score venues based on their experiences.
The mystery shopping and public voting period will end at midnight on 10 January when the polls will be counted and combined with the judges’ scores, and the winner of each category will be chosen.
For a full list of the 17 categories and nominees visit the website.
Paramount pledges funding for state of the art cinema
Following Manchester’s hosting of the MTV EMAs on Sunday, awards partner Paramount Global has agreed to contribute funds towards a state-of-the-art cinema being built in the city’s Oxford Road Campus hospitals.
In partnership with the charity MediCinema, which has been building and running cinemas inside hospitals for the last 25 years, the project will see an existing lecture theatre inside the Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) turned into a cinema with room for beds, wheelchairs and medical equipment.
Once operational, the new MediCinema will support patients of all ages cared for throughout the Trust’s Oxford Road Campus hospitals, including Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, Saint Mary’s Hospital and Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, as well as Manchester Royal Infirmary.
When not in use as a cinema, the space will provide an enhanced facility for staff training and education services as a lecture theatre.
The build is expected to commence in the second quarter of 2026, with the MediCinema operational by the end of that year.
Speak up...
A night of spoken word and poetry will this week be raising funds for a community garden at one of the city’s crisis centres.
Verses for Growth will take place at Feel Good Club on Thursday (14 November), with all funds being donated to building a community garden at charity Turning Point’s Crisis Point service in New Cross.
The event, at the NQ wellness cafe from 7pm to 10pm, will feature poets E Walker, Aisha Akram and Bonnie Hancell amongst many others.
Buy tickets here.
A warm welcome from Manchester Libraries
Libraries across Manchester are once again open to those in need of support this winter.
As part of the Warm Welcome Spaces Campaign, 24 libraries across the city will be open to provide safe, welcoming and stigma-free places for people in need of support during the colder winter months, whether it is accessing free Wi-Fi, a hot cup of tea or the companionship of other people.
Councillor Bev Craig, Leader of Manchester City Council said: “Heading towards winter we are very much aware that the cost-of-living crisis still continues to affect many families across Manchester. This is why, more so than ever, we as a council continue to do our utmost to support people who may be struggling.
“Our participation in the Warm Welcome Spaces programme, combined with our Cost-of-Living support package shows we are committed entirely to helping as many people as possible during this difficult period.”
The range of support available for people attending our libraries will include:
- Age friendly spaces
- Free hot drinks – available until February 2025 (excluding the Central Library)
- Comfortable seating and welcoming spaces for all ages
- Free access to the internet
- Free Wi-Fi
- Free newspapers
- Information and advice
- Staff who can signpost to other support agencies.
- Digital drop-ins one day a week
- Under 5s story times once a week at 11am (more detail available via your local library)
There are also a range of other non-Council operated venues which are taking part in the Warm Welcome Spaces programme this winter, you can find the list of venues here.
Mary and Archie closes after 13 years
Burton Road stalwart Mary and Archie has announced that it has closed after 13 years.
While its Chorlton site will remain open, the neighbourhood bar and cafe announced it will close after over a decade on Burton Road, an area whose popularity this writer has seen increase exponentially in the years since the lifting of lockdown restrictions alongside the ever-growing popularity of South Manchester suburbs.
“We write this with a heavy dose of mixed emotions - massive sadness but also huge amounts of gratitude. Mary & Archie Burton Rd is now closed for good,” said a statement on the bar’s Instagram. “ Many regulars will know that we made the decision to put the place on the market some time ago. It wasn't what we wanted, but we just couldn't carry on anymore. The last 2 years have been impossibly tough for this industry. We hung on as long as we could hoping things would get better and they didn't, so here we are.
“But, we don't want this message to be all doom and gloom. We have loved being a part of Burton Road - watching it evolve over the last 13 years, whilst also being a part of that evolution has been a privilege and we have no regrets. We have met some of the most wonderful people along the way - many of whom remain firm friends. We have seen romances blossom at 200 Burton Rd and been many a table name or speech mention at regulars' weddings. We will take those special memories and cherish them.
“This isn't the end for us. As you know we have another site @maryandarchiechorlton and we would absolutely LOVE to see you all over there - give us a follow while you're at it. You'll see familiar faces and dishes over there and we will be taking the monthly jazz night over with us too. I'll quit rambling now, but lastly and as always, from the bottom of our hearts, thank-you to everyone who came in over the past 13 years. BIG LOVE EVERYONE.
Elli, Bev, Tom, Jonny and the whole M&A team. Xxxx”
Michael O’Hare restaurant wound up with nearly £1m debts
Michael O'Hare's Michelin-starred Leeds restaurant The Man Behind The Curtain, later trading as Psycho Sandbar, has been wound up with debts approaching £1m.
The chef, known for his appearances on Great British Menu sporting a silver lion’s mane of hair, opened The Man Behind the Curtain in 2014 and won a Michelin star the following year.
He then renamed the restaurant in January of this year to Psycho Sandbar, along with changing its dining concept, explaining the move was in response to the changing landscape of hospitality as well as Brexit and the cost of living crisis.
Gary Neville, well-known for his forays into the restaurant world, became a director in the business in 2018, a role which was terminated in December of this year.
In a statement of affairs filed to Companies House last week, The Man Behind The Curtain noted a total deficiency of £993,684, with HRMC owed £519,000 and Gary Neville’s Relentless Leisure Limited owed £366,848.
The Egyptian Room opens in Oldham
Oldham town centre now boasts a five-kitchen food hall following the regeneration of the Old Town Hall.
The Egyptian Room is now open in the grade II listed building, with capacity for over 200 people and food from Ply Loves Pizza, Wings of Power, Tuk Tuk, The Last Stop and Seacoles.
Cllr Arooj Shah, Leader of Oldham Council, said: “The new modern food hall complements and showcases the building’s stunning Victorian architecture, making it a true one-of-a-kind venue. It’s a great attraction to bring local people and visitors into the town centre, especially in the evenings, and will not only boost our local economy but also create jobs for residents.”
"This is another piece of the jigsaw bringing our regeneration of the town centre to life."
For more information on the venue and vendors visit their website.
Picture of the Week
Picture of the week today comes from photographer Richard Kelly, who was heading walking to MMU and snapped this underpass on the Mancunian Way.
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