The Manchester Food and Drink Festival (MFDF) has just announced the shortlists for its 2022 Awards as it opens up voting to the Manchester public.
This years’ shortlists have been chosen by a judging panel of local food critics and feature a total of 113 nominees split across 16 categories, including a newly-created award designed to recognise great service.
Following a slight change of format caused by the pandemic, this year, winners will once again be decided by the public and MFDF judging panel.
With voting open from now until 16 September, the city’s food and drinks fans are being invited to vote for their favourites over on the MFDF website.
Image: Supplied
This year’s MFDF shortlisted venues are as follows:
PLANT-BASED OFFERING OF THE YEAR
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Four Side Pizza
Herbivorous
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Otto Vegan Empire
Ruyi Chorlton
Sanskruti
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The Walled Garden
Wholesome Junkies
INDEPENDENT DRINKS PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
Bundobust Brewery
Cloudwater
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Hip Pop
Into the Gathering Dusk
Stockport Gin
Steep Soda
Track Brewing
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INDEPENDENT FOOD PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
Polyspore
Dormouse Chocolates
Great North Pie Co
Holy Grain
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Long Boi’s Bakehouse
Yellowhammer
La Choquette
FOODIE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF THE YEAR
Ancoats
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Chapel Street, Salford
Monton
Prestwich
Ramsbottom
Sale
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Stockport
COFFEE SHOP OF THE YEAR
Cafe Sanjuan
Factory Coffee
Grind and Tamp
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Grapefruit
Just Between Friends
Station South
Pollen
FOOD TRADER OF THE YEAR
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Burgerism
House of Habesha
The Little Sri Lankan
Lovingly Artisan
Mira
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New Wave Ramen
Pico’s Tacos
AFFORDABLE EATS VENUE OF THE YEAR
Aunty Ji’s
Bahn Mi Co Ba
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Cafe Sanjuan
Levenshulme Bakery
Go Falafel
Mama Flo’s
Salt & Pepper MCR
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POP UP OR PROJECT OF THE YEAR
Platt Fields Market Garden
Sao Paulo Project
Suppher
Eat Well MCR Spring Festival
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Bungalow at Kampus
Heart and Parcel
Foodie Friday
PUB OR BEER BAR OF THE YEAR
Bridge Beers, Staylbridge
Heaton Hops
House of Hops
The Kings Arms
Nordie
Track Taproom
Station Hop
BAR OF THE YEAR
Blinker Bar
Flawd
Henry C
Ramona
Schofield’s Bar
Speak in Code
10 Tib Lane
NEIGHBOURHOOD VENUE OF THE YEAR
Baratuxi Bar
Bar San Juan
The Easy Fish Co.
Nilas Burmese Kitchen
Ornella’s Kitchen
Osma
The Perfect Match
FOOD AND DRINK RETAILER OF THE YEAR
Ad Hoc
Chorlton Cheesemongers
Hello Oriental
Coopers Lets Fress Deli
Le Social
Out of the Blue
Wandering Palate
GREAT SERVICE AWARD
Sponsored by Manchester Evening News
Bull & Bear
Dishoom
Hawksmoor
Flawd
Schofield’s Bar
This year, winners will be announced at the MFDF Gala Dinner and Awards sponsored by Bruntwood and taking place at Escape to Freight Island on 26 September.
Some categories will be decided entirely by public vote and some made up from the public votes alongside a mystery shopping visit from members of the judging panel.
The Independent Drinks Producer of the Year and the Independent Food Producer of the Year Awards will also be judged by a panel taste test.
Alexa Stratton-Powell, Director of MFDF said:“This is an incredible list of brilliant businesses that we are proud to celebrate. As we look forward to our 25th year it’s all about the talent that has shaped this last quarter century and made the city’s food scene the world-class destination that it is today. Please get involved, vote for your favourites and visit the amazing venues on the shortlist for yourselves!” Charlotte Wild, Head of Retail & Leisure at Bruntwood commented: “We’re proud to become headline sponsor for these important awards. Manchester’s hospitality scene is phenomenal and the industry is absolutely central to our vision of creating thriving cities. We’re excited to celebrate 25 years of the Manchester Food and Drink Festival this Autumn, alongside all the talented nominees and winners at the Awards on 26th September. Congratulations to all those shortlisted!”
New endometriosis pill helping hundreds of women with ‘debilitating’ condition to be made available on NHS
Emily Sergeant
A groundbreaking new pill to help women with a ‘debilitating’ condition is set to be made available on the NHS.
The new daily pill for endometriosis – which has been approved for use on the NHS in England by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) – is called linzagolix, and will be available for those who have had previous treatment for endometriosis, working to manage any symptoms they may be experiencing.
Around 1.5 million women in the UK are thought to be currently living with endometriosis.
Endometriosis can cause chronic pain, heavy periods, and extreme tiredness when tissue similar to the womb lining grows elsewhere in the body.
A new daily pill for endometriosis has been approved for use on the NHS, and could help over a thousand women in England every year manage the symptoms of the debilitating condition.
As mentioned, linzagolix will be available specifically for patients whose previous medical or surgical treatments for endometriosis have been unsuccessful, and will be given alongside ‘add-back’ hormone therapy – which involves using low-dose hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to prevent menopause-like symptoms and bone loss.
This is the second take-at-home treatment to be approved to treat endometriosis on the NHS, and it’s thought that more than 1,000 women will benefit.
In clinical trials, linzagolix was shown to be successful in reducing painful periods and non-menstrual pelvic pain, compared with placebo, hence why it has been approved on the NHS by NICE.
“This is welcome news for women with endometriosis who haven’t found relief from previous therapies or surgery,” commented Dr Sue Mann, who is the National Clinical Director in Women’s Health for NHS England.
“It’s another treatment option which will help women take control of their health and better manage the symptoms of this often painful and debilitating condition.
“This is a testament to our ongoing commitment to improving treatment, care and quality of life for women.”
Featured Image – Heute
News
Wigan woman jailed after hitting pedestrian in Fiat 500 while driving high on nitrous oxide ‘balloons’
Emily Sergeant
A young woman from Wigan has been handed jail time after hitting a pedestrian while driving high on nitrous oxide.
Louisa Tunstall was driving a white Fiat 500 towards the East Lancashire Road in Wigan at around 7pm on Friday 24 May 2024 – a time when traffic conditions were said to be ‘quiet’ – but Tunstall was under the influence of a now-banned drug, nitrous oxide, at the time of the incident, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed.
While driving under the influence, 19-year-old Tunstall veered to the left onto the pavement and collided with a 51-year-old woman pedestrian.
After striking the woman, the car then overturned and, in the process, caused serious life-changing injuries.
When questioned by police, Tunstall stated that she ‘took her eyes off the road’ to retrieve something in the footwell before knowing the car had flipped, but she also confirmed that she had just been out to purchase nitrous oxide to use that evening.
After obtaining witness accounts, investigating officers were able to track down nearby CCTV footable which showed Tunstall inhaling nitrous oxide through a balloon whilst driving, seconds before the collision occurred.
#JAILED | It's not a laughing matter when you get behind the wheel under the influence of drugs.
Now Louisa Tunstall has to spend over a year behind bars after inhaling nitrous oxide and causing serious injury in #Wigan last year.
— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) May 14, 2025
Further investigation by GMP’s Forensic Vehicle Examination Unit examined the Fiat 500 and confirmed that no defects were found on the car to contribute towards the collision.
Still to this day, the victim says she is trying to recover from the injuries sustained to her leg that will prevent her from continuing life as she did before.
“The incident is still very raw when I think about it,” the victim explained in her impact statement released by GMP. “I become upset when I think at everything which has been taken away from me and the ongoing affect it has had and continues to have on my daily life.”
GMP says it’s seeing the use of nitrous oxide being a factor in incidents they attend increasing year on year.
Nitrous oxide, also known as ‘laughing gas’, is reported to produce euphoria, relaxation, dizziness, giggling or laughing fits, impaired judgement, and occasionally dissociation and hallucinations – which GMP says affects reaction time and and is ‘likely lead to impairment’ in driving performance, particularly when faced with an unexpected or hazardous situation.
Tunstall appeared at Bolton Crown Court this week, and has been sentenced to one year and eight months imprisonment for having possession of a Class C drug, driving under the influence of drugs, and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Alongside being jailed, she was also disqualified from driving for two years and eight months, and has been ordered to take an extended test when she is released.
Georgina Pellant -
28th July 2022 
