AS THE first events from this year’s Manchester Food & Drink Festival (29 Sept – 10 Oct) begin to trickle out, one occasion in particular is likely to catch the imagination of festival-goers.
The banquet will form the first in a series of pop-up summer events to be held within the iconic landmark before major renovation works begin
Manchester House chef Aiden Byrne has been tasked with feeding over 200 ticket holders in a ‘totally unique’ one-off banquet to be held within the old Engine Room of London Road Fire Station – the crumbling Grade II-listed Piccadilly landmark recently rescued by developer Allied London after three decades of neglect and deterioration.
READ: Exclusive look behind the scenes of London Road Fire Station
The banquet will be the first in a series of ‘hidden banquets’ – in association with Allied London - to be held within a number of the city’s ‘secret, undiscovered and down-right jaw-dropping spaces’ featuring some of the nation’s most talented and upcoming chefs.
Each of the banquets will be themed around crucial aspects of the city’s heritage and identity, the first of which, hosted by Byrne, will be ‘Innovation’ – a suitable concept indeed for this star-chasing culinary trickster (read up on Manchester’s history of innovation with 46 Ways Manchester Changed The World.)
London Road Fire StationThe banquet will form the first in a series of pop-up summer events to be held within the iconic landmark before major renovation works begin to convert the extravagant Edwardian Baroque structure into a four-storey melange of restaurants, bars, art spaces, boutique hotel rooms and luxury apartments – more here.
Elsewhere, MFDF organisers have announced the return this year of the Festival Hub in Albert Square, the Big Indie Wine Fest, and, of course, the big beer tent, alongside guest spots from Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain and three-Michelin star Spanish chef Nacho Manzano, amongst others.
Tickets for the Hidden Banquet at London Road Fire Station will go on sale very soon - a contribution from each ticket sale will go to The Christie and Manchester Children's Hospital in the name of Living Ventures visionary Tim Bacon, who passed away in April.
Find out more about the Manchester Food and Drink Festival (29 Sept-10 Oct) on the website at foodanddrinkfestival.com
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