Manchester Food and Drink Festival will return to its home at Cathedral Gardens this September, marking 25 years in the city with some extra special events.
As part of its anniversary celebrations, the festival will bring back some of the most popular chefs and events to have taken place over the decades – including appearances from restaurants involved in its very first event.
Returning to the city from 15 – 25 September, as well as taking us on something of a nostalgia trip, this year’s festival promises to bring together some of the most exciting new food talent in the region through its various street food pop-ups, banquet dinners and fringe events.
Image: Supplied
The 25th-anniversary events will also put a big focus on sustainability, with the free-to-access Festival Hub going completely plastic-free this year with dedicated panel talks, as well as zero waste and budget cooking classes.
As ever, those heading down to the pop-up food and drink village will find a huge beer bar, wine and gin bar, alongside a raft of street food traders, live music and an artisan food market.
Elsewhere, there’ll be some special banquets taking place throughout the week as well as masterclasses from some of the region’s leading chefs.
ADVERTISEMENT
Image: Supplied
Speaking on the 25 anniversary, festival founder Phil Jones said: “We’re proud and excited to be presenting the 25th Anniversary Manchester Food and Drink Festival. I can honestly say when we started the Festival 25 years ago we could never have imagined what was to come for the city or the event itself.
“This year’s Festival will be about celebrating that progress and looking ahead too… From restaurants who took part in the very first MFDF to some of the hottest new talent, it’s going to be a superb festival for everyone”
The festival is now looking for restaurants, bars, chefs, makers and bakers to take part in the 25th-anniversary celebrations. Anyone who would like to get involved is encouraged to email the team here.
Feature image – Supplied
News
Police warn criminals ‘don’t bother’ attending Parklife after already making arrest
Daisy Jackson
Greater Manchester Police have said that criminals shouldn’t ‘bother’ coming to Parklife festival this weekend, after already making an arrest at the festival site.
Officers have been carrying out searches of people arriving on site this week – and have already arrested a 24-year-old man.
A quantity of pills and a knife were both recovered from the man, who has been arrested on suspicion of possession of Class A drugs and possession of a bladed article.
After the arrest, Superintendent Phil Spurgeon issued a statement to criminals, saying ‘don’t bother coming to Parklife’.
He said: “We have a really robust police and partnership community safety operation for the festival, and the arrest and seizure yesterday demonstrates the vigilance of security staff, our thorough search procedures and our commitment to keeping people safe.
Parklife Festival, and (right) the suspected Class A drugs seized this week by police. Credit: GMP
“Make no mistake, illegal items such as weapons and drugs can have fatal consequences. Our top priority this weekend is keeping people safe, and anyone caught trying to take such items into the festival will be robustly dealt with.
“I hope the genuine festival-goers are excited for the fantastic weekend ahead and I am confident the majority will enjoy the event responsibly and safely.”
Greater Manchester Police and Parklife security staff will be working closely together to intercept anyone travelling to the festival with criminal intentions.
The arrest on 8 June was thanks to the festival’s drug detection dogs.
University of Manchester hit by cyber attack with ‘data likely copied’ by unauthorised party
Emily Sergeant
The University of Manchester (UoM) has confirmed that it has today become “the victim of a cyber incident”.
In a formal statement addressing the situation, the city‘s flagship further education institution says some of its systems have been accessed by an “unauthorised party” and that data has “likely been copied” as a result of this.
The University’s in-house experts are said to be “working around the clock” to resolve the issue.
External support teams are also said to be working in collaboration with the University to understand what data has been accessed.
Patrick Hackett – Registrar, Secretary, and Chief Operating Officer at the University of Manchester – explained in a statement issued this morning: “Regrettably, I have to share with you the news that the University is the victim of a cyber incident, [as] it has been confirmed that some of our systems have been accessed by an unauthorised party and data have likely been copied.
“Our in-house experts and established expert external support are working around the clock to resolve this incident, and we are working to understand what data has been accessed”.
— The University of Manchester (@OfficialUoM) June 9, 2023
Mr Hackett said he understands the nature of the issue will “cause concern to members of our community”, and says the University is “very sorry for this”.
The University says it is also working with relevant authorities – including the Information Commissioner’s Office, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the National Crime Agency, and other regulatory bodies – to resolve the issue, and will provide information to those affected as soon as they are able to.
Students and staff are also be told to be vigilant to any suspicious phishing emails within the coming days – with the University’s IT Services team having published some relevant advice to refer to.
Georgina Pellant -
25th May 2022 
