Award winning cookery author and health food advocate will host a pop up deli, two banquets, a Q&A and book signing
As part of its 20th anniversary celebrations, Manchester Food and Drink Festival (MFDF) has announced that clean-eating entrepreneur Ella Mills will make her debut appearance at this year’s festival.
On Saturday 30th September, the hugely popular food blogger is to host two ticketed pop up banquets; one at lunchtime plus a dinner service in the Festival Hub on Albert Square. In between the two banquets there will be a Deliciously Ella Q&A event as well as a book signing.
Ella and her team will also create a Manchester version of MaE Deli – the delicatessen and catering company she co-owns with her husband Matthew, which has three branches in central London. They are well known for serving her trademark natural recipes including customisable salad bowls as well as organic cold pressed juices and smoothies.
Commenting on her appearance at the festival and The Albert Square pop up deli, Ella Mills said: “I’m really excited to bring our delis to Manchester - it’s the first time we’ve taken the team to another UK city for an event, so it’s really special for us.''
Ella is famed for her popular blog, deliciouslyella.com, which she began in 2012 after contracting a rare debilitating illness. She started documenting her recovery through diet and lifestyle changes, adopting a natural, plant based diet. Sharing her experiences and recipes online led to a loyal following resulting in the creation of the Deliciously Ella brand. Her philosophy focuses on delicious, wholesome foods under the premise that eating well is not about diet or deprivation, but about celebrating what you can create with simple, unprocessed ingredients. All her recipes are naturally wheat, dairy and refined sugar free with no additives, preservatives or stabilisers.
Deliciously Ella is now the most widely read healthy food and lifestyle blog in the UK and was awarded the Observer Food Monthly Best Food Blog award in 2015. Deliciously Ella has also established a large social media following, with over a million Instagram followers, over 100 million hits on her site and a number one app on iTunes.
When it launched in January 2015, Ella’s eponymous first book became the fastest selling debut UK cookery book of all time and a NY Times best seller. Her second book, Deliciously Ella Every Day, released in January 2016, also became a number one best-seller as did a third book, Deliciously Ella With Friends, released in January 2017.
She has since launched a product line across the UK including a range of plant protein energy balls containing dried fruit, nuts and seeds. Ella’s team will be roaming round the Festival Hub offering visitors samples of Deliciously Ella energy balls throughout the day.
Phil Jones, Festival Director, said: “Ella is world renowned for her work and it’s a real coup for the Festival’s 20th anniversary that she has decided to bring a pop-up banquet for the first time to us here in Manchester.”
MFDF will take place between 28th September - 9th October across Manchester, celebrating innovation and the best Manchester has to offer. This year’s special 20th anniversary event will welcome a stream of national, international and local food and drink brands. The full list of exciting foodie events; from extraordinary banquets to kid’s cookery classes across Manchester will be published in the next few weeks.
Tickets will be on sale soon from www.foodanddrinkfestival.com
