NOW in its eighteenth year, Manchester Food and Drink Festival (MFDF) celebrates a Manchester milestone as new food and drink openings over the last decade surpass even London, with a 57% increase in restaurants, bars and cafes compared with London's 32%.
A six-course feast whipped up by top chef Robert Owen Brown and served under a giant whale skeleton won’t disappoint
From award-winning restaurants and world-class craft breweries to trailblazing street food initiatives, MFDF seeks to honour Manchester's soaring food and drink stock with a calendar of cook-offs, banquets, demos, experiments and tastings from 10 to 21 September.
Slope around the Big Indie Wine Fest, drop into Albert Square's Mushroom Farm (no not that kind) or burnish your inner star baker in The Great Manchester Bake Off. Alternatively, just devour yourself into oblivion in the Festival Hub with over 35 food traders including Iberica, The Mac Factory and last year's champions, The Viet Shack.
Make sure you get your fill with our handy guide to this year’s highlights...
CHILLI AND TEQUILA FESTIVAL | Friday 11 September
Thomasina Miers, founder of lauded Mexican restaurant group Wahaca, spices up proceedings with a fusion of heat and hard liquor. Some do indeed like it hot and, for those who appreciate a dollop of extra zing, a showcase of the UK’s best chilli and tequila brands should hit the spot.
There will also be a book signing and demo with Miers, whose latest Wahaca opens in the revamped Corn Exchange on 10 September.
Festival Hub, Albert Square, M2 5DB, noon-8.30pm (free)
Thomasina MiersFEVER-TREE COCKTAIL BAR AT THE HUB | 10-20 September
Premium drink mixer producers Fever-Tree head up north for a boozy bonanza. A Pick ’n’ Mix with added pizzazz, bargoers can customise their own G&T classic with a selection of tonics and garnishes. Don’t worry if mixology isn’t your thing as there will be master classes outside the bar (with sampling of course). Those with a sweet tooth can alternatively opt for a cocktail concocted with favourites like Lemon Berry Fever.
As this coincides with the Street Food event, why not team your tipples with some international nosh?
Festival Hub, Albert Square, M2 5DB, noon-11pm.
BIG INDIE WINE FEST | 11-12 September
We’ve covered cocktails and liquors but those of a vintage vein needn’t worry as the seventh Indie Wine Fest returns to MFDF. A litany of acclaimed independent merchants display their winey wares amidst the neo-Gothic glory of Manchester Town Hall. Between all that sipping and slurping, be sure to refuel on nibbles from the likes of Cheshire Cheese Company, Ludo and Veeno.
Oenophiles will also enjoy the Three Wine Women event on Thursday 10, at which a trio of celebrated wine experts – Kate Goodman, Jane Dowler and Fiona Beckett – will host a tasting of their best beverages.
Manchester Town Hall, Albert Square, M13 9PL (£12.50.)
11 September, 6-9pm; 12 September, 2-5pm and 6-9pm
VinVanVoom Wine barMFDF 2015 FRINGE | 10-21 September
If you can tear yourself away the beer tent, you’ll find over twenty foodie events taking place citywide as part of the MFDF Fringe programme. Highlights include mushroom picking in Didsbury, a visit to Piccadilly brewers Cloudwater, pizza making with Rudy's in Ancoats and a DJ/banquet mash-up with former Aumbry chef Maty-Ellen McTague and electronic music pioneer Delia Derbyshire.
Various venues - check the website
BIO-HISTORIC BANQUET | 12 September
Perfect for those who like dining with a difference, a six-course feast whipped up by top chef Robert Owen Brown and served under a giant whale skeleton won’t disappoint. Inspired by Manchester Museum’s vast collections, spanning ancient Egypt to contemporary culture, the menu will comprise local produce grown by the Biospheric Foundation - whose aquaponic-grown mint will also feature in pre-dinner mojitos. If all that wasn’t enough, museum curators will contextualise each delicious dish.
Robert Owen Brown will also be lending a helpful hand to homeless charity The Mustard Tree, whose cafe will be taken over by three top chefs for one week only. Participants can donate towards cooking or, from 19-20 September, raid their cupboards in aid of the ‘Empty Pantry.’
Manchester Museum, Oxford Road, M13 9PL, 6.30pm (£50.)
The Beer Tent100 GREATEST MCR BEERS FEST | 14-20 September
MFDF’s regional beer fest has always been the most representative of food festivals’ so say ‘cheers’ to sheer beer Nirvana. Coupling exciting entrants with long-established brewers, who needs Munich’s Oktoberfest when you can have Manchester’s ‘Septemberfest’? For the festival’s final furlong, a gigantic beer bar will be the hub’s centrepiece, with live entertainment from an eclectic mix of local solo artists thrown in for good measure.
On Friday 18 you can even pair your pint with courses from a six-course ice cream buffet by Ginger’s Comfort Emporium (£35.)
Festival Hub, Albert Square, M2 5DB, noon-11pm (free.)
WEEK GASTRONOMIQUE | 15-19 September
As a longstanding Manchester icon, it’s befitting that The Midland Hotel is home to Simon Rogan’s restaurant The French. Michelin-starred chefs from each of his prized portfolio of restaurants will devise a tasting menu that is sure to be a show-stopper, plus £20 from every ticket sold will go to Hospitality Action.
The only downside is that it’s actually not a ‘week’ but five days. And £100. Ouch.
The French at the Midland, Peter Street, M60 2DS, various times (£100; optional wine flight £60)
Simon RoganManchester Food and Drink Festival takes place from 10 to 21 September and is centred around Albert Square - the home of the Festival Hub. More info @MFDF15
