The 25th Manchester Food and Drink Festival (MFDF) makes its return this month, kicking off on Thursday 15 September as it returns to its home at Cathedral Gardens.
Following a long build-up to the 25th-anniversary event, organisers have today revealed the full programme line-up ahead of its opening.
Alongside a host of street food traders, an artisan food market, and a live music stage, this year will also see the return of the Manchester Beer Bar in The Festival Hub. Sponsored by local brewing magnate Joseph Holt, beer lovers will find a host of different local selections here, including a special 25th-anniversary beer created to mark the occasion.
Elsewhere, the festival’s Masterclass Kitchen will play host to some of Manchester’s hottest cheffing talent, with a line-up featuring renowned food journalist and author Felicity Cloake, Kate Humble, Lia Leendertz and Edd Kimber.
The Hub will also be bringing together a host of incredible and eclectic street food fit for an anniversary Festival including Bab K, Herbivorous and Hip Hop Chip Shop.
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Other highlights include the return of the smash-hit Curry Club happening at the Hub. Dishoom, The Little Sri Lankan, Aunty Jis, Nila’s Burmese Kitchen and Lily’s are just a few of the traders that will bring cuisines of India, Burma and Sri Lanka to the table.
The Festival Firepit, sponsored by Weber, will see some of the region’s best loved chefs cooking over fire for a first time festival feast on Cathedral Gardens.
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Chefs hosting the BBQ include Caroline Martins, founder of the Sao Paolo project, Robert Owen Brown and Francisco Martinez from Fazenda.
There’ll also be a big focus on budget cooking and how to spruce up any leftover food to get the most of your ingredients with Recycle for Greater Manchester.
Outside of the Hub meanwhile, the feast continues with activities programmed in restaurants and bars across the city including a £25 for 25 years menu extravaganza.
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Spread out over two massive weekends, the free-to-enter Festival Hub is open from Thursday 15-Sunday 18 September and then again from Thursday 22-Sunday 25 September.
Feature image – Supplied
Manchester
Police appeal to find next of kin after man found outside Palace Theatre
Daisy Jackson
Police are trying to track down the family of a man who died after being found unresponsive outside the Palace Theatre in Manchester.
The man, who has now been named as Jonathan Bernard Carroll, was seen outside the city centre theatre at around 6.30am on Tuesday 12 November.
Emergency services rushed to the scene and Mr Carroll was taken to hospital.
Tragically, the 47-year-old passed away a short time later.
A large cordon was in place on Whitworth Street and Oxford Road while police and security attended the incident.
Greater Manchester Police are now appealing to find his next of kin.
It’s believed that he resided in the Salford area of Greater Manchester.
Anyone with any information should contact the Coroner’s Office on 0161 856 1376.
Foldies – Popular Manchester pizza joint to open ‘the world’s greatest sandwich shop’
Daisy Jackson
The team behind Manchester’s much-loved Brewski and American Pies have announced a brand-new concept.
They’re claiming that Foldies, which is opening in the city centre later this month, will be ‘the world’s greatest sandwich shop’.
The team are already the proud creators of Brewski, home of outrageous creations like the ‘batter platter‘ (which included chicken poutine butties, beef shin rag pudding and a katsu curry fondue) as well as their deep-dish pizzas over at American Pies.
They recently shifted American Pies from its spot on Mosley Street, right near the Manchester Art Gallery, to Cutting Room Square in Ancoats, leaving that prime site ready for a new concept.
Enter Foldies, where you’ll find stone-baked sandwiches filled with overnight slow-cooked or cured meats and sauces made in house daily.
These folded pizza-style butties will be ready in 60 seconds and they claim it’ll be ‘your first true sandwich love’.
The dough for the sandwiches will be made with double zero flour, proved for 12 hours before being folded and cooked on a stone at 400 degrees.
Foldies will also served breakfast sandwiches, with fillings including scrambled sage and cheddar egg, and bacon, nduja, egg and crumbled goat’s cheese.
At lunchtimes, there’ll be everything from mortadella and pistachio pesto to a ‘pizza dog’ with crispy onions, Korean BBQ and fries.
Foldies is set to open at 58 Mosley Street at the end of November, and will be open from 7.30am-11.30am for breakfast, and 11.30am-6pm for lunch.
They’re currently giving away a chance to win free sandwiches for a year too – you can see more on that HERE.