The best places to eat in Manchester as Food & Drink Festival confirms 2020 award winners
The winners of the 23rd Manchester Food and Drink Festival Awards have been announced at a virtual award ceremony at MODA Living Apartments in Manchester.
The best food, drink and takeaway services in Manchester were confirmed this week – as Manchester Food & Drink Festival (MFDF) announced the official winners of their prestigious awards ceremony.
The 23rd MFDF Awards was hosted online as a virtual ceremony at MODA Living Apartments on Monday (October 5) – with the ordinary format and categories changed to reflect the sterling efforts of the hospitality sector during a deeply challenging year.
Presented in partnership with headline sponsors Just Eat, the festival awards “celebrated the innovation, resilience, altruism and successes that have taken place within the industry”, with new awards designed to recognise the industry’s innovations since lockdown.
Categories for 2020 included Best DIY Delivery Food Offering, Best Food and Drink Box Delivery, Best Innovation and Lockdown Heroes.
Wholesome Junkies
Votes were cast by the public in the days leading up to the ceremony – which saw the camera cut to winners once they had been revealed by star presenters Noddy Holder, Rhian Sugden, Clint Boon, John Thomson, Victoria Ekanoye, and Sair Khan.
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There were wins on the night for Rudy’s, Shindigger, Wholesome Junkies, Cork of the North and Escape to Freight Island – as well as a special award for Mary-Ellen McTague who recruited an army of fellow hospitality workers to feed heroes on the frontline.
The full list of winners for Manchester Food & Drink Festival Awards 2020 were as follows:
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BEST ONLINE ‘AT HOME’ FOOD AND DRINK CONTENT SPONSORED BY MODA ANGEL GARDENS
Recognising the best online food and drink content shared during lockdown by Manchester’s chefs, producers and industry experts.
Cork of the North– For their live wine tasting masterclasses broadcast via social media.
THE BEST RESTAURANT TAKEAWAY ADAPTATION SPONSORED BY JUST EAT
Recognising restaurants who have adapted their business model, menus and offering to provide a takeaway/delivery service during lockdown.
Rudy’s Pizza– 9 Cotton Street, Ancoats, Manchester M4 5BF
BEST DIY DELIVERY FOOD OFFERING SPONSORED BY ROOMZZZ APARTHOTELS
Recognising the restaurants, chefs and businesses who have created ‘do it yourself’ recipe delivery meal kits for people to create their own restaurant quality meals/dishes at home.
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Northern Soul – Grill it Yourself Kit – Unit 10-11 Church Street, Manchester M4 1PN
BEST FOOD AND DRINK BOX DELIVERY
Recognising the best food and drink delivery boxes created to serve the community with fine food and drink during lockdown.
ShinDigger Brewing Co – Beer Delivery Boxes In Under 3 Hours – Unit 11, Springfield Lane Industrial Estate, Salford, M3 7JQ
BEST INNOVATION SPONSORED BY HUN WINE
Recognising the most impressive business innovations by food and drink operators during the COVID-19 crisis.
BEST ONLINE VEGGIE/VEGAN OFFERING SPONSORED BY MEATLESS FARM
This award recognises the restaurants and food businesses that have provided innovative and exciting menu options for vegetarian and vegan diners via takeaway/delivery services during lockdown.
ARTISAN DRINKS PRODUCER OF THE YEARSPONSORED BY FRANKLIN & SONS
This award recognises the plethora of fabulous local drinks producers, from gins and ciders to ales and meads, if it’s produced in Greater Manchester and tastes great, we want to celebrate it.
This category recognises quality coffee takeaways during the COVID-19 crisis. This category is an adaptation of The Coffee Shop of the year award and only recognises those businesses that were able to stay open via takeaway.
Recognising those individuals and businesses who have provided continued support for the wider community, the food and drink industry and Greater Manchester as a whole during the COVID-19 Crisis..
Recognising someone who has contributed something outstanding to the food and drink industry in Greater Manchester.
Mary-Ellen McTague from The Creameries and Eat Well MCR.
Phil Jones, The Manchester Food and Drink Festival Founding Director, said: “We’re very pleased to be able to recognise our brilliant hospitality sector during this extraordinarily difficult time.
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“MFDF is proud to celebrate such a wonderful range of businesses and individuals, all showcasing the strong stuff that our local industry is made of. There’s been huge amounts of innovation and creativity – even during such a tough time, we’ve much to celebrate.
“Congratulations to all the winners, and nominees – the Festival will continue to support the industry however it can over the coming months.
“Roll on April 2021.”
MFDF itself has been rescheduled to take place in April.
Stay up-to-date with what’s happening in and around Greater Manchester via The Manc’s What’s On section.
Eats
Traders to move out of Manchester food hall as it pivots to ‘new chapter’
Daisy Jackson
Manchester food hall New Century will be closing its existing kitchens, it has announced, making way for a ‘new chapter’.
The New Century Kitchens are home to some top local food traders, including Parmogeddon’s Fricken concept, Wholesome Junkies, and Ply Pizza.
The food hall opened in 2022 as part of the iconic music venue’s rebirth, creating a modern mid-century space with six kitchens.
In the years since, it’s welcomed a rotation of amazing food offerings, including Hip Hop Chip Shop, Banh Vi, and Zumuku Sushi.
Now, New Century Kitchens has announced it will be ‘evolving’ to make live events part of the offering across the venue – not just upstairs in the main gig space.
That means that the traders currently based here will be moving out later this year, though the venue has assured people that they have been supported as they take their next steps.
Fans will still be able to visit New Century Kitchens in its current guise this summer, before its new chapter begins in autumn (but still some form of food and drink).
New Century said that music is in the building’s ‘DNA’ and this chapter will reflect that.
Current traders will be moving out of New Century KitchensNew Century is entering a ‘new chapter’
In a statement shared with The Manc, they said: “The ground floor at New Century is evolving. We are currently finalising plans for live events to become an even bigger part of our offering across the whole of the venue.
“As part of this evolution the current community of independent traders are moving onto exciting new chapters, and we have been working very closely with them to support all of these brilliant businesses in their next steps.
“Music is in the DNA of our iconic building and this new chapter will reflect that.
“New Century is a place for people to come together through entertainment and good hospitality and we’re looking forward to sharing more details soon.”
11 Greater Manchester spots have been named among the UK’s Top 100 Curry Restaurants
Danny Jones
In another feather for Greater Manchester’s culinary cap, a total of 11 different Greater Manchester businesses have been named in this year’s list of the Top 100 Curry Restaurants in the UK.
Everyone knows how good the Asian food scene is here, so this comes as little surprise, really.
Nevertheless, we will absolutely be toasting these wins on behalf of all those by booking into at least one of the excellent foodie venues before the month is out – if they have any reservations left, that is.
Some of these names may not shock you, but we’re glad to see some really good up-and-coming independents or long-overlooked veterans finally getting their recognition. Here’s who made the cut across our ten boroughs, in no particular order (at least not ours, anyway).
The best places for a curry in Britain – Greater Manchester
1. Tyga – Manchester city centre
Formerly the site of Asha’s, which was already a much-loved Manc spot, the new chapter for the modern Indian restaurant on Peter St is a nice balance of authentic Rajasthani cuisine and more contemporary, elevated takes on Indo-Chinese dishes.
Another central spot located near the lively university area in and around Oxford Road Corridor, Peace Garden opened up back in 2022 and has gone on to become a hit with much more than just the students living nearby. Give it a try sometime soon.
The very grand spin-off of the original location in Levenshulme – now renamed as MyNawaab – the Royal Nawaab that has now been open for over a year inside the old Co-op pyramid next to the M60. They have also received a notable review from a highly renowned food journalist…
The third and final spot shouted out from within the city might make you double-take, aside from the seafood also do an incredible Japanese curry beef dish. Find out more about what they offer HERE.
Heading out into the borough of Bolton now, and arguably historic Lancashire depending on who you ask, Ayaan’s on Old Road has thousands of fantastic reviews ranging from four to five stars, and remains a renowned regional curry house. Here they are winning the best of the bunch last year:
A beautiful banquet hall and restaurant just on the outskirts of Cheetham and the Green Quarter, Al Maidah is a regular spot for big weddings or pretty much any special occasion, and it goes without saying that they do some incredible curries. They’ve come a long way over the past decade.
Finally heading over towards the direction of Curry Mile, we were expecting more places from the famous district to be named, to be honest, but we’ll definitely take Bardez, which also has a Didsbury restaurant. They do all-you-can-eat buffets, but from memory, chicken chettinad is the one…
Jadugar over in Alty hasn’t even been open for a year yet, but it’s already become the place to go out for a curry in the Trafford market town, with footballers and various other famous faces now making it one of their regular haunts. You can check out their menu online.
9. Purple Olive Ashton – Ashton-under-Lyne
Tameside natives will know this one well, but for those who may not be aware, the Purple Olive branch in Ashton is much more than part of a larger charger chain: this is the best of the bunch, quite literally – that’s why it made its way onto the list. So if you’re over Ashton way any time soon, why not pop in?
10. Spice Mafia – Urmston
Winging our way back to Trafford once again, this next bunch are no strangers to winning awards or picking up this accolade in particular, as cult favourite Spice Mafia has also been named once again. In fact, they earn their place on the list pretty much every year at this point:
Last but not least, ‘The Plaza‘; we confess we’ve only been there for one very messy night, but before it all went a bit fuzzy, we do remember we had some incredible scran, and you can see why so many people swear by it as increasingly not-so-quietly one of the best curry houses in Greater Manchester.
Before we wrap this up to takeaway, special shout-outs go to Ruchi Restaurant in the neighbouring Derbyshire town of Glossop, as well as another relatively nearby village venue, Sigiriya Grill in Knutsford.
Once again, these places have been hailed as not just some of the best curry houses in the region or even the North West, but in the ENTIRE country, according to the Asian Catering Federation (ACF) – a big honour, indeed.
Spotlighting venues that not only deliver top-notch food and drink with great service, but also serve as important community hubs, support the wider hospitality industry and maintain high standards, it’s no mean feat making your way into this round-up.
The Manc -
6th October 2020 
