MFDF plans a massive 21st birthday bonanza

CLEAR your diaries, because the dates have just been announced for Greater Manchester’s eleven day celebration of food and drink.

This year’s Manchester Food and Drink Festival will begin on 27 September and will culminate on 8 October with the annual MFDF Gala Dinner and Awards presenting twenty coveted gongs, ranging from restaurant of the year through to best beer. 

The festival team are as busy as ever cooking up an extraordinary programme of food demos, celebrity chef events, book signings and pop-ups, but after celebrating the twentieth anniversary festival last year, MFDF organisers want to turn towards Manchester’s food and drink lovers for some fresh ideas.

They’re offering an exciting opportunity for the public to have their say on how the next chapter of MFDF unfolds by inviting anyone who’s passionate about food and drink to get in touch with ideas and suggestions for how they’d like to see the festival develop. 

Throw your ideas into the pot and you could help make this years’ festival, which always attracts some huge culinary names, the best ever. 

Past festivals have seen cookery demonstrations and talks from the likes of Nadiya Hussain, Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Gordon Ramsay. Last year, a corner of the Festival Hub was taken over by Deliciously Ella's Ella Mills, who set up a pop up version of her London deli in Albert Square.

The MFDF team promises to read and review all ideas, so whether you’ve always dreamed of meeting a certain celebrity chef, have an idea for an original banquet, or a suggestion about how your community could get involved – this is your chance to have a seat at the MFDF planning meeting.

Festival Director, Alexa Stratton Powell, said: “Ours has always been a festival for the people. With that in mind, we’d love to hear from the food lovers of Manchester on what they’d like to see in the Festival as we enter our next decade.

“We have always listened to our fans and followers and paid careful attention to the city’s ever-changing food trends. Now we’re taking that a step further as we plan our most innovative festival yet and consider lots of fresh ideas... who better to be part of this brainstorming session than those who attend it year on year.”