Manchester’s culinary scene speaks for itself, with some of the best restaurants and street vendors you’ll find anywhere in the country – yeah, we said it – so it only seems right that the British Street Food Awards would also wash up on our shores.
The annual celebration of the very best street food the UK has to offer, which also forms part of the wider European Street Food Awards (ESFA), is broken up into regions and this year’s Northern final is taking place right here in Manchester city centre.
Set to take place at Freight Island, where there’ll also be live entertainment as well as plenty of food and drink on top of the competition and ceremony itself, this year’s awards are set to attract a massive and very hungry Manc crowd.
Taking place over a full weekend, we can’t think of many better ways to spend our time.
Credit: Supplied
So how does it work? Well, the British Street Food Awards (BSFA) brings together top street food traders to compete for the British Street Food Awards ‘Northern Champion’.
The Northern finalists are set to showcase their one killer signature dish for a judging panel. This year’s judges are still yet to be revealed but previous panels have welcomed the likes of Michelin-star chefs and acclaimed food writers such as Ed Cooke, Richard Corrigan, Gizzi Erskine, Giorgio Locatelli, and more.
Following this stage, successful regional finalists then take their dishes to the UK final in London on 13-15 September as they compete for the ultimate domestic award: the prestigious British Street Food Awards Champion.
From there, the sky’s the limit and they can go on to compete in ESFA, whose grand final takes place in Germany later this year.
Past winners include popular names such as Wingmans, MEATliquor, BAO and more. The event promises a weekend filled with mouth-watering dishes, vibrant atmospheres, and the chance to discover the next big name in street food. Safe to say we know a thing or two about that around here.
In addition to the obvious wealth of food offerings at your disposal over the weekend, there’ll also be a performance by Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip on the Sunday, as well as live sets by Body Heat DJs.
The competition itself not only showcases the finest in street cuisine but also offers food enthusiasts the unique opportunity to vote for their favourite vendor in The People’s Choice award. Both The People’s Choice and the Northern Champion will be announced on the final day of the awards.
The British Street Food Awards regional final for the North West takes place at Freight Island on Saturday, 17 and Sunday, 18 August from 12 pm until 6pm. You can book your tickets to the Northern edition of the 2024 British Street Food Awards HERE.
Until then, we highly recommend you feast your eyes on what is just a taster of one of the very best street food hubs in our wonderful city – though we’ll pre-warn you, the mouth will water…
Award-winning chippy in Prestwich announces heartbreaking restaurant closure
Daisy Jackson
Chips @ No. 8, a chippy in Prestwich that’s lauded as one of the best in the UK, has announced the sad closure of its restaurant.
The award-winning takeaway made some big moves last year, expanding into the unit next door so that they could comfortable double their space downstairs and add a restaurant upstairs.
The restaurant was a brand-new concept for the much-loved Prestwich chippy, serving a seafood-focused menu that wasn’t necessarily all about the fryer.
But sadly, Chips @ No. 8 has announced that the restaurant element of its business, Loft @ No. 8, has closed for good.
They wrote that the economic climate and the huge amount of choice in Prestwich has left them struggling to fill seats in the chippy restaurant.
The good news is that the fish and chip shop itself remains open for business and thriving, and customers will be able to use the former restaurant space to eat their takeaway in.
The bar downstairs also remains open for business for a cheeky pint or glass of wine while you wait for your order.
The Loft @ No. 8 is closing. Credit: The Manc GroupCurry sauce on a Chips @ No 8 chippy tea. Credit: The Manc Group
In a statement, Chips @ No. 8 said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the closure of Loft.
“With so many great places to eat in Prestwich, and the economic climate being what it is, we have struggled recently to fill enough seats to continue to make it a financially viable side to our business.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support whilst we were open, the team for their efforts, in particular, Craig, the creator of the delicious food that we had on offer up there.
“Chips @ No.8 remains open as normal and going forward, we are opening up the space upstairs for additional casual seating for the takeaway.
“The bar will remain open so you can still enjoy a pint or a glass of wine with your fish & chips, even if it is out of a box! We hope to see you soon!”
There’s a tiny Japanese restaurant inside a Manchester cafe serving matcha afternoon tea
Daisy Jackson
There’s a tiny little Japanese restaurant space in Manchester tucked inside a coffee shop – and they’ve just started serving matcha afternoon teas.
Niwa Yakitori is a brilliant addition to the city centre – by day, it’s sharing the space at North Star Piccadilly and operating as a matcha cafe.
And by night, it transforms the space into a cosy Japanese restaurant, complete with paper lanterns, bamboo plants, and neon signs.
While the word-of-mouth restaurant space is a real rising star thanks to its menu of freshly barbecued chicken and seafood, as well as delicious flights of sake, it’s the new matcha afternoon tea that we popped in for this time around.
Each table is presented with a tiered tower of treats infused with the popular Japanese green tea, and this is some world-class baking that’s going on at Niwa Yakitori.
Let’s break it down, tier by tier, to give you an idea of what you can get.
Up first is a Japanese egg mayo sandwich, made with fluffy shokupan bread and Kewpie mayo, then sprinkled in Furikake for a little bit of salt and texture.
The Japanese egg mayo sandoStrawberry sando with matcha creamThe half-and-half cookieMatcha basque cheesecakeScones with matcha cream and yuzu jamJapanese afternoon tea in Manchester
Also joining the sandwich line-up are strawberry sandos (yes, the ones that M&S had a go at this summer), made with a matcha cream and more of that pillow-soft shokupan.
Moving on up, and what afternoon tea would be complete without some scones? These ones come with a matcha cream and a yuzu and chilli jam. Divine.
Then the very top tier has a gang of miniature treats, including an adorable teddy bear-shaped matcha chocolate truffle; a matcha muffin; and a matcha-infused madeleine.
A real star is the chunky cookie, a clever half-half yin-yang of matcha and white chocolate, vs vanilla and dark chocolate.
Niwa Yakitori is a tiny Japanese restaurant in ManchesterJapanese afternoon tea in ManchesterMatcha and hojita at Niwa Yakitori
And they show off their baking prowess with a slice of matcha basque cheesecake, with three layers and a scoop of strawberry ice cream on top.
All washed down with ceremonial-grade matcha or hojicha lattes, which can be made table-side in a traditional tea ceremony.
The team at Niwa Yakitori are hoping this afternoon tea will fill crucial tables in their tiny space at a time where hospitality is being crippled with rising costs.
So please, for the love of all that is matcha, get this lovely Manchester Japanese spot on your list to visit.
Danny Jones -
22nd July 2024 
