Manchester’s best bars and eateries
ANCOATS RESTAURANT SWEEPS THE BOARD AT FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL AWARDS CEREMONY
MANA cleaned up at the Manchester Food and Drink Festival Awards on the same day as being awarded a Michelin star.
Simon Martin’s Ancoats fine dining venture won chef of the year, newcomer of the year, premium and fine dining restaurant of the year and the overall restaurant of the year categories at Monday’s ceremony.
The glamorous event, which took place at Gorton Monastery to mark the end of the annual festival, recognises the brightest talents in the region’s hospitality industry.
Businesses and individuals across Greater Manchester were shortlisted and judged across 18 categories, with judges’ scores combined with public votes.
Award categories include Restaurant of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, Chef of the Year, Pub/Beer Bar of the Year and Food and Drink Retailer of the Year.
Two new categories were added this year with Vegan Offering of the Year and Artisan Drinks Producer of the Year up for grabs for the first time.
The awards attracted the biggest names from within the industry as well as famous faces - Coronation Street’s Victoria Ekanoye, presenter Sair Khan, and actor Ian PulestonDavies all presented awards.
This year is a significant one for MFDF, which moved its central hub to Cathedral Gardens for the first time and attracted more than 65,000 visitors.
Phil Jones, Manchester Food and Drink Festival founding director, said: “The talent competing for this year’s Food and Drink Festival Awards credits the thriving hospitality scene in Greater Manchester. Each category is packed with superb quality -thank goodness the public vote decides the final winners.
“I want to say a huge thank you to every single person who took part in this year’s festival and all those who visited us. It’s been a great couple of weeks of really diverse events.
“Every year I wonder how it can get any better, but it does, so roll on 2020.”