Eats

Festa Italiana 2022 – full line-up, opening times and how to get there

Brought to Manchester by Salvi’s, the festival has become something of a favourite amongst local foodies

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 17th August 2022

Festa Italiana, the free-to-enter weekend-long festival celebrating Italian food, drink and culture is returning to Festival Piazza this August bank holiday weekend for its fifth year in the city.

Taking place from 26 to 28 August 2022 at Cathedral Gardens in Manchester city centre, it will bring together some of the city’s best Italian and Sicilian eateries alongside a host of live music, Italian bars and special chef masterclasses.

Featuring street food pop-ups from the likes of Pasta Factory, T’arricrii and Lucky Mama’s, to a dedicated Aperol Spritz bar and Airstream bar selling Italian craft lagers, and a special intimate chef’s dinner event, there is a lot for foodie fans to get excited about this year.

What is the street food line-up at Festa Italiana 2022?

Over the course of the weekend, foodie fans can enjoy sweet treats from Café Cannoli, wood-fired Neapolitan pizzas from  I Knead Pizza and Proove, and ‘rasta pasta’ from Chorlton-via-Eccles favourites Lucky Mamas.

T’arricrii will bring along handbuilt arancini and fritto misto, whilst the Pasta Factory will be on hand with its authentic plates of fresh Puglian-style pasta dishes.

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Elsewhere, there’ll be sweet treats from festival founders Salvi’s, doughnuts from Destination Doughnut and grilled paninis, cakes, drinks and snacks from Kickback Coffee.

What bars are on offer at this year’s Festival Piazza?

The main festival bar will serve Italian favourites including fine Italian wine, Ponte prosecco, Luxardo, gin and tonics and other popular Italian spirits.

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An Airstream Bar from Birrificio Angelo Poretti will serve Italian craft beers, whilst an Aperol Spritz bar will be on hand serving up everyone’s favourite low-ABV aperitivo. Soft drinks and coffees will also be available on-site across the weekend.

Live music

This year, Compagnia Sole Luna will bring traditional folk music from Naples, revisited in a folk-rock style from southern Italy.

There will also be a full lineup of local artists and bands including the city’s best-loved opera singer The Manchester Tenor, while DJs will be spinning records each night.

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What events and masterclasses are taking place?

Festa Italiana Feaast – Dine with legendary Italian restaurateurs, authors, and UK TV favourites at the Festa Marquee

On Saturday 27 August an intimate chefs’ table dinner featuring top-class Italian TV celebrity chefs, Gennaro Contaldo, Giancarlo Caldesi, and Aldo Zilli, hosted and cooked by Salvis-owner Maurizio Cecco, with fresh pasta made from scratch by Carmela Serano Hayes. Guests and chefs will dine alongside one another, enjoying a four-course meal and drinks reception hosted by Gin Mare.

Festa feast tickets available here

Masterclasses inside the Festa Marquee

Carmela’s Kitchen – Carmela Sereno Hayes will be hosting ‘Carmela’s Kitchen’ across the entire weekend, with free drop-in sessions on the hour, every hour teaching pasta-loving adults and kids how to make the perfect pasta.

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Friday 26 August

1.30pm – Festival founder Maurizio Cecco hosts a cooking masterclass with his daughter Sienna.

2.30pm – The team from I Sapori di Corbara Tomatoes will be flying in from Naples and doing a talk showcasing the brand and their products

3.30pm – Giulia Martinelli of The Pasta Factory will be showyou how to be a pasta master

4.30pm – A drinks masterclass from the Luxardo Maraschino team, whose versatile cherries are used in desserts and drinks across the world.

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 5.30pm – A drink making Campari masterclass.

Saturday 27 August 

1.30pm – Maurizio Cecco hosts a pasta masterclass

2.30pm – Masterclasses and book signings from Gennaro Contaldo, UK brand ambassador for Parmigiano Reggiano, (Saturday Kitchen, Two Greedy Italians, Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast)

3.30pm – Masterclasses and book signings from celebrity chef and award-winning restaurateur, Aldo Zilli (The One Show, This Morning, Celebrity Masterchef) 

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4:30pm – A drinks masterclass from the Aperol team, showcasing the methods behind some of the most loved Italian drinks

Sunday 28 August

1:30pm – Masterclasses and book signings from Giancarlo Caldesi (Return to Tuscany, Saturday Kitchen, Sunday Brunch

2:30pm – Gennaro Contaldo returns for a masterclass

3:30pm – A masterclass from Great British Bake Off 2021 winner Giuseppe Dell’Anno 

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4:30pm – A very special pizza making masterclass by the team from Pizzeria Da Michele

When is Festa Italiana 2022 and what are the opening times?

Festa Italiana 2022 will take place from 26 to 28 August 2022 at Cathedral Gardens.

It will open across the weekend from 11am to 11pm, Friday to Sunday.

How do I get to the Festa Italiana festival hub?

Located opposite Manchester Victoria Station, the Festa Italiana festival hub sits in Cathedral Gardens. It can easily be accessed via tram, bus or train and is a short walk from Manchester Piccadilly.

Eats

New smash burger joint launched by Almost Famous founders appears to shut for good

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Super Awesome Deluxe appears to have closed for good in Manchester. Credit: THe Manc Group

A new smash burger joint opened by the team who originally founded the legendary Almost Famous appears to have closed after only eight months.

Super Awesome Deluxe, on Thomas Street, hasn’t been open since last week and has turned off deliveries online.

Super Awesome Deluxe launched in the Northern Quarter last October, serving up just three signature burgers (the Super, the Awesome, and the Deluxe).

It was a new takeaway brand from the same group who were, at the time, behind Almost Famous, one of Manchester’s most popular burger joints.

While Almost Famous was famed for its towers of patties and sauces and toppings, Super Awesome Deluxe opted for simpler smash burgers with crispy-edged patties.

Shortly after the launch of the new project, Almost Famous announced the shock closure of all of its sites (it was later bought out and reopened by D2, though some restaurants did close for good).

Super Awesome Deluxe continued to operate after the loss of Almost Famous, along with the ‘hidden’ cocktail bar beneath it, Ego Death.

Manchester burger joint Super Awesome Deluxe. Credit: The Manc Group
Manchester burger joint Super Awesome Deluxe. Credit: The Manc Group
Manchester burger joint Super Awesome Deluxe. Credit: The Manc Group
Manchester burger joint Super Awesome Deluxe. Credit: The Manc Group

But then last week it was announced that Ego Death had been told by backers that it would have to close – and even its final service on Sunday ended up being cancelled.

And it’s now looking like the reason for Ego Death’s closure is linked to the seeming closure of Super Awesome Deluxe.

The shutters to the burger joint have been closed all week during its listed opening hours.

The Manc has approached Super Awesome Deluxe for comment.

Read more

Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

Beloved Stockport bar Bask is rebranding as Greater Manchester’s latest Irish bar

Danny Jones Danny Jones

Yes, one of the names synonymous with Stockport’s resurgent hospitality scene, Bask, is set to rebrand into yet another Irish bar following a flurry of openings across Greater Manchester.

The lively bar, breakfast and pub grub spot, also known for live music nights, matchday pints for Stockport County and various other events, has had a bit of a turbulent period over the past few months or so, but remains a much-loved local venue.

Bask were forced to issue a statement following an arrest back in February, and one of the founding members behind the venture also stepped away in August 2024.

Looking to close that door firmly behind them, the team – now headed up by native DJ and producer Jon Fitz (John Fitzpatricks) – are set to launch the all-new Fitzpatricks “very soon.”

Fitz (a Stopfordian by birth) announced the latest iteration of the unit located just next to Stockport train station on social media late last month, writing: “It’s been a long time coming, and we’ve poured our hearts into this one — we’re aiming to open very very soon…”

As detailed in his most recent post, also shared on Bask’s existing accounts, this is tipped to be the start of “a bold new chapter.”

Detailing a distinct Irish-American theme, influenced by the “friendly bars of Boston to the lively streets of New York City, Fizpatricks brings that gritty charm and warm hospitality across the pond, fusing Irish roots with American spirit.

Fans of Bask’s roots in entertainment will also be glad to hear that lineups of live music will remain “every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday — with the best of Irish, American and Country music.”

With co-creator Benji Taylor, who ultimately stepped away last year, having brought his music industry background to the business model, live entertainment has also been a big selling point of the bar and, thankfully, will remain so.

In terms of food, Fitzpatricks will be delivering everything from classic American comfort food to “healthy gym options” as part of their new bar and grill approach, along with a proper Sunday roast menu.

Perhaps most notably, much like Taylor’s influence over the course of his tenure, the new-look venue is set to further immerse itself in the local sports experience, promising plenty of cold pints for the punters heading to the match at Edgeley Park, as well as an exciting brand new ‘360 multi-screen experience’ and more.

Fitzpatricks even looks set to embark on an official partnership with Stockport County ahead of the 2025/26 League One season – a big coup, indeed.

Bask may be over, but there’ll always be the memories. In fact, we wagered it was the best night in Stockport, so here’s hoping Fitzpatricks can follow in its footsteps. We can’t wait to see what comes next and can’t wait to split another G or two.

Bask is not so quietly becoming the best night out in Stockport
Bask is no longer, but there’s a new kid on the ever-growing Irish bar block, although an opening date is yet to be confirmed.

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Featured Images — The Manc Eats/Jon Fitz (via Facebook)

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