Eats

Manchester Food and Drink Festival has been postponed for a week

Organisers made the announcement following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 12th September 2022

Following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, organisers of Manchester’s Food and Drink Festival (MFDF) have announced that its 25th-anniversary event will be postponed for a week out of respect for the royal period of mourning.

The festival will now take place from Thursday 22 September, with events running until Sunday 25 September, then again from Thursday 29 September to Sunday 2 October at its free-to-attend festival hub on Cathedral Gardens.

The MFDF curry club, initially due to take place on 20 September at 7pm, has also been postponed for the time being with a new date due to be announced by festival organisers soon.

Elsewhere, the MFDF wine and fizz festival will now take place after the festival on 7-8 October. Moving t a new home this year, it will be held over at New Century, the brand new music venue and food hall at NOMA.

Image: The Manc Eats
Image: MFDF

The MFDF Gala dinner, meanwhile, will take place on 26 September as originally planned at Escape To Freight Island.

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Read more: Manchester Food and Drink Festival unveils full 25th anniversary programme

Last week, organisers unveiled the full programme for the festival’s 25th anniversary event, which will feature a host of street food traders, an artisan food market, and a live music stage, as well as a huge beer bar pouring locally-made brews throughout.

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Elsewhere, there’ll be live fire pit cooking from some of Manchester’s top chefs and a series of talks and workshops from renowned food journalist and author Felicity Cloake, Kate Humble, Lia Leendertz and Edd Kimber and more as part of its Masterclass Kitchen.

Read more: Manchester Food and Drink Festival reveal 2022 awards shortlists as voting opens

Beyond the festival hub meanwhile, this year will also see restaurants around the city partner with MFDF to offer £25 menus in celebration of its longstanding presence in the city, with the likes of Three Little Words, District, Embankment Kitchen, Mi&Pho and more all taking part.

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For more details on the festival and its upcoming events, you can visit the MFDF website here.

Feature image – MFDF

Eats

Get Baked announces delay to first Manchester bakery – and ‘monumental’ changes

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Get Baked announces delay to first Manchester bakery - and 'monumental' changes

Get Baked has shared another major update on its move to Manchester – and while things are delayed, the plans are looking bigger than ever.

The viral bakery, famed for its gigantic chocolate ‘Bertha’, was set to open in the Northern Quarter in November.

But they’ve now confirmed the whole process has been delayed until February or spring next year.

The good news is that it’ll be worth the wait – Get Baked is now taking over the unit next door on Stevenson Square too, so it’s an even bigger space for its incredible coffee, pie, and a slice of its legendary 24-layer chocolate cake.

The Leeds-founded brand then teased that they’re bringing ‘monumental changes to our existing offering’ – and ones that ‘nobody will have seen coming’.

Whatever those changes are, they’ll then be rolled out to Get Baked’s Headingley store too.

Summing up what to expect in Manchester, they wrote: “It’ll sort of be like if Greggs shagged Gail’s but it happened in America so there’s sprinkles and unhealthy sh*t just absolutely everywhere.”

And explaining the delay, they said: “I announced the opening of Manchester a few months ago now, and explained that we were hoping for a November opening.

“That obviously hasn’t happened, which is sad, and unfortunately if you miss November, December is a bit of a write off because of Christmas, and so is January because tradespeople like to go back to work half way through the f*cking month.

“In all honesty though, even February is looking unlikely.

“The delay started (oxymoron?) because the renovation of our bakery took a lot longer than planned — we have doubled the size of the space that we moved into earlier in the year, which has been a lot of work, and it’s still ongoing.

“We have already outgrown the newly doubled space, but luckily for us, the unit next door to the one we have just taken, is now up for lease.

Get Baked announces delay to first Manchester bakery - and 'monumental' changes
Get Baked announces delay to first Manchester bakery – and ‘monumental’ changes

“So, we’re taking that space too, which will mean not only will I be sh*tting my pants at the thought of our overheads, but we’ll also be in a position where we can finally rollout stores the way we want to.”

Their statement also said: “In regard to the pending concept changes, I’ll leave you with this…

“In 2021 when I restarted Get Baked, I had a vision to create my own version of Greggs.

“Greggs is a truly wonderful situation, but it’s got too big for its boots in many ways hasn’t it.

“I’ve never been able to live out my fantasy of creating my version of Greggs, but half a million slices of Bruce (and Bertha) later, I’m nearly there. F*ck Greggs?”

You can keep up with the latest updates on Get Baked Manchester HERE.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

A huge Oasis-themed bar and music venue has opened in Manchester

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Inside Definitely Maybe, a new Oasis themed bar in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group

A new bar and gig venue that’s a shrine to all things Oasis is opening in Manchester city centre this week.

From memorabilia from the band’s history to artwork inspired by their work, Definitely Maybe is packed out with nods to the Gallagher brothers.

The bar has taken over the old Black Dog Ballroom site in the Northern Quarter, in the basement unit of Afflecks.

This huge Oasis bar splits into a few sections, from a live music stage to a mini gallery displaying memorabilia and posters.

There’s even a pair of Liam Gallagher’s Tommy Hilfiger pants suspended in one display unit.

Other items on display include one of Noel’s guitars (and a few more signed replicas), a pair of Liam’s maracas, early photography and sketches, and live gig photography.

Inside Definitely Maybe, a new Oasis themed bar in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Inside Definitely Maybe, a new Oasis themed bar in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Inside Definitely Maybe, a new Oasis themed bar in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Inside Definitely Maybe, a new Oasis themed bar in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Inside Definitely Maybe, a new Oasis themed bar in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Inside Definitely Maybe, a new Oasis themed bar in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group

There are even Oasis lyrics scrawled along the wall of the bar, and globe-shaped light fixtures.

You can play pool, make use of the free photobooth, and sip on themed cocktails while feeling like a Rock n Roll Star.

Oasis-inspired cocktails include the Pina Columbia, the Strawberry Lemonade, and the She’s Electric.

Entry to the bar costs £5, but you’ll get a drinks token in return – or you can buy a membership for the rest of the year for just £6.

Definitely Maybe is already a well-loved name in Bolton and now it’s here in the city centre ready to help you live our your Rock n Roll Star dreams.

Oasis mania is alive and well down here.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

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