Food & Drink

Wing Fest – the world’s biggest chicken wing festival – is returning to Manchester

70,000 wings will be served by 20 different street food traders

The Manc The Manc - 11th May 2021

The UK’s biggest (and now world’s largest) chicken wing festival is returning to Manchester for a huge 2021 chicken showdown.

Back in 2019, we helped Wing Fest make its official debut in Manchester with an enormous city centre festival that broke records.

Tens of thousands of wing lovers descended onto First Street South for three days of wing showdowns, live music, food challenges and lots of drinking – and it got the weather, too. That weekend in September turned out to be one of the hottest of the year, which only helped make Wing Fest’s Manchester debut a special one.

Wing Fest

Fast forward two years and Wing Fest’s return to the city should actually be its third event in the region.

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The pandemic, of course, stopped Wing Fest 2020’s progress in its tracks, with the team behind the event – which also runs annually in London and Bristol – pausing all activity and gearing up for a year of missed opportunity.

That year of missed opportunity is 2021. The date is the 14th and 15th of August. The location is First Street South (still to be fully confirmed).

Wing Fest 2021 comes when we really need it. Since 2019, we’ve lost lots of things that we love, including eating wherever we want, whenever we want. Live music has become extinct and chicken wings are now very rarely eaten outside of your home – unless you’ve burnt a load of Aldi wings on the barbecue surrounded by five people from the same household.

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Wing Fest

Basically, what I’m saying is, Wing Fest Manchester is here to deliver every single thing that you love about leaving your home. Chicken wings, live music, great beer, unparalleled atmosphere, exclusive wing sauces, food challenges and plenty of opportunity for good Instagram content.

The event will showcase the best chicken wings the UK has to offer, with thousands of lucky ticket holders and a judging panel deciding who really does do the best wings. Meanwhile, over 70,000 wings will be served by 20 different street food traders, restaurants and BBQ teams.

It will roll into Manchester on the 14th and 15th of August and you can buy tickets for the event on their official website now.

Food & Drink

This Manchester bar is selling PINTS of Bloody Mary and a slice for six quid

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

Whether it’s downing pints of water before bed, spending all day on the sofa asleep, or a big fat fry-up the morning after, everyone has a favourite hangover cure.

One of ours has to be the Bloody Mary, aka the best ever hair of the dog – a mixture of spicy tomato juice, vodka, lemon, hot sauce and, in a perfect world, something smoky with pickles.

So when we heard that Manchester rock bar Jimmy’s is selling PINTS of the stuff for just six pounds with a big fat slice of focaccia-like Detroit pizza included, we felt compelled to share the good news.

After all, party season is basically upon us – and that means struggling through more hangovers than we can typically endure.

Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats

The Ancoats boozer is currently home to Manchester’s original Detroit pizza heroes Corner Slice, a long time favourite in The Manc office from day one.

The team also has a pizza shop in Failsworth, but for the next month (well, until 23 December), they’re slinging their signature slices out of the kitchen at Jimmy’s to help you soak up the booze.

The deal, which is available every day, includes a pint of Bloody Mary and a square slice of their thick deep-pan Red Top pizza: a mixture of red sauce, Corner Slice’s signature cheese blend and basil pesto.

Available every day of the week, from open until the kitchen closes, you can opt to enjoy your pint of Bloody Mary and pizza in the bar or get it to take away if you’d rather curl up on the sofa with some grease and your favourite TV show.

Image: The Manc Eats

The brainchild of owners Frank Brashaw and Danny Broadbent, Corner Slice has made a well-deserved name for itself in Manchester thanks to serving up deep pan pizza with traditional Italian toppings and a curly cheese crust.

The popular Failsworth-originated pizzeria was the first to bring its Motor city-inspired rectangular pizza pies to Manchester after what it said was a “light bulb” moment during lockdown.

Read more: Bundobust launches new Christmas menu with sprout bhaji butties

As well as the simple ‘Red Top’, some of Corner Slice’s best-loved dishes include square pies loaded with the likes of Korean Cauli, Portocini (a mix of portobello and porcini), and a number of regularly-changing specials and vegan specials.

Feature image – The Manc Eats

Food & Drink

There’s a big ‘Winter Beer Fest’ happening in Manchester to kick off the new year

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Once Christmas is over and the hustle and bustle of the festive season has died down, there’s often not a great deal to look forward to in January.

But this time, Manchester’s very-own GRUB has got you covered as the much-loved Winter Beer Fest is back by popular demand for 2023, and tickets are already on sale if you’re keen to kick off your new year with a pint or two.

Unfamiliar with what GRUB is?

Well, it’s a street food market space that’s located just outside the city centre at the Red Bank Project in Cheetham Hill, and it’s known for having a wide range of rotating food vendor pop-ups that provide foodies in Manchester with some of the best eats from right across the globe.

But, despite what the name suggests, and even though that may be what it’s best-known for, GRUB isn’t just about food – and, to properly see in the new year in style, the venue is once again hosting it seasonal beer festival in January.

The GRUB Winter Beer Fest gives Manchester beer lovers the chance can sip creations from some of the best local breweries.

Running from Friday 22 – Sunday 24 January 2023, over the course of the three-day festival you can expect there to be plenty of local brews to taste test – with brewery bars coming courtesy of some of the region’s best like Unbarred Brewery, Rivington Brewing Co, The Runaway Brewery, and Squawk Brewing Co.

That’s not all either, as there’ll also be over 30 guest taps too.

If you’re not a big beer lover, you can also expect a street food market, a mulling bar, pop-up tasting events, and so much more over the extended weekend.

GRUB Winter Beer Fest is taking place from Friday 22 – Sunday 24 January 2023 / Credit: Jonas Jacobsson | Amie Johnson

Fancy it then?

Tickets for the GRUB Winter Beer Fest 2023 will set you back just £6, and include entry to the festival, access to the full range of beers – including all the brewery bars and guest taps – as well as branded WBF glass to take home with you afterwards.

Read more:

You can grab tickets from the GRUB website here.

Featured Image – GRUB

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