A festival of food and drink this way comes
MANCHESTER Food and Drink Festival returns this month with another smorgasboard of events celebrating the city’s ever-expanding restaurant and bar scene.
As ever, the beating heart of the festival will be found in Albert Square where a line up of the city’s best street food traders and restaurants will be assembled to feed the hungry masses.
The line up will be split across two sessions, giving festival-goers plenty of reasons to return throughout the festival, which runs from September 27 to October 7.
First up, from the opening day until October 2, there’ll be south Indian snacks and small plates from Chaat Cart; Japanese junk food from Cottonopolis; frankfurters from Diamond Dogs; Philly cheese steaks from Big Lebowski; wood-fired Neapolitan style pizzas from Doughology; pan-Asian dishes from Tampopo; contemporary Ottoman and Mediterranean cuisine from The Ottö-Men; Cypriot specialities from Cyprus Kouzina; and sweet treats from Vive La Crepe and Los Churros Amigos.
The second part of the festival, from October 3 to 7, will feature Indian vegetarian snacks from Bundobust; gourmet burgers from Beastro; Basque pintxos from Baratxuri; Neapolitan pizza from Proove; a taste of southern Italy from Salvi’s; toasties and more at The Melted Cheese Hut; Chinese vegan dishes from Rockin Buddha; Philly cheese steak and jerk pork meatloaf from Knuckle Sandwich Co; and bangers from Grandad’s Sausage; while Café Cannoli, Love is Churros and Waffle Island will be there to sate your sweet tooth.
They’ll be pitching up alongside the festival’s new igloo-style dining dome, which will host a series of supper clubs and newlyannounced cookery demos and masterclasses throughout the event.
The live cookery theatre on Saturday, September 29, will see appearances from MasterChef star and Manchester restaurateur Simon Wood, hunger and poverty campaigner Jack Monroe, and Palestinian chef and cookery book writer Joudie Kalla throughout the day.
On the following Saturday, October 6, the dining dome will become the Saturday Skills Kitchen, hosting hands-on masterclasses including an introduction to tuna with respected sushi restaurant Umezushi’s Omar Rodriguez and the chance to learn to make fresh curds and bread with former Aumbry chef MaryEllen McTague and her new Chorlton restaurant The Creameries’ head baker Chris Cahill.
The revamped festival hub in Albert Square will also feature a G&T bar from Double Dutch; the Manchester Brew Fest bar featuring ales from across Greater Manchester and beyond; the MFDF Cider Fest; a Brooklyn Brewery bus; Vin Van Voom’s 1950s-style wine van, and the CityLife music stage, hosting sets from some of the city’s hottest acts.
The square will be free to enter and will open on Thursday, September 27, with daily opening hours from noon to 11pm until Sunday, October 7.
Elsewhere across the city, festival-goers can also explore Manchester’s wider culinary offering by going on a Small Plates Safari.
Restaurants including Platzki, Pho, Lunya, Grafene, Beastro and Proove will be offering a signature small plate along with a beer, house wine or spirit for just £5 every day throughout the festival. You can find a full list of participating restaurants on the festival website.
The Bookatable Festival Feast is also back, giving festival-goers exclusive deals and menus at restaurants around the city.
Visit bookatable.co.uk/ manchester-food-and-drinkfestival to find out more.