News

Manchester Food and Drink Festival reveal 2022 awards shortlists as voting opens

Winners will be announced at the MFDF Gala Dinner and Awards on 26 September

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 28th July 2022

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

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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. 

Read more: The family-run Prestwich bagel shop with queues out the door

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.

Read more: Inside Platzki, the city-centre Polish restaurant with an ever-evolving menu

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!”   

To cast your votes, visit the MFDF website here.

Feature image – MFDF

News

Tributes pour in after Oldham Coliseum announces ‘heartbreaking’ death of general manager

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Oldham Coliseum says it’s “heartbroken” to announce that its general manager has sadly passed away over the weekend.

Lesley Chenery served as the Oldham-based theatre’s Head of Production from 2013 – 2021, before leaving the position and then returning in January 2023 as General Manager to help the theatre through “a difficult situation”.

Lesley has been described as the “backbone of the Coliseum”, as she helped guide the company through its recent loss of NPO Funding.

She was 58 years old when she sadly passed away.

Sharing the heartbreaking news of her shock death on social media last night, Oldham Coliseum Theatre said in a statement: “We are heartbroken to announce the passing of Coliseum General Manager Lesley Chenery this weekend.

“Lesley was head of production from 2013 to 2021, and returned this January as General Manager to help guide the company through the loss of NPO Funding. Lesley was the backbone of the Coliseum, her presence at the theatre over the past weeks has brought immeasurable relief to us all.

“She was a friend, a support and a rock to many current and previous members of Coliseum staff [and] her knowledge, experience and love for the Coliseum and the team is unmatched – we will miss her beyond words.

“Our thoughts are with her family and friends.”

Tributes pour in after Oldham Coliseum announces ‘heartbreaking’ death of general manager / Credit: Oldham Coliseum Theatre

Hundreds of people have been sharing their heartfelt tributes to Lesley since the announcement.

One person shared in tribute on social media: “Absolutely heartbroken to hear this news. She was such a fireball of fun, strength and fairness. Always a voice of equality & standing up for whoever wasn’t in the room, with a huge passion for theatre. Loved and admired by many.”

Another wrote in tribute: “What awful news, Lesley was always so incredibly supportive to everyone working at The Coliseum. She was also a lovely warm funny person.

“Thinking of her family, friends and everyone at The Coliseum. What a terrible loss.”

A third person wrote: “Very very sad news. Lesley will be missed by so many of us who have worked with her across the industry. I remember working with her earlier in my career at the dukes Lancaster and then years later at the coliseum.

“She was a very experienced production manager, plus a thoughtful and caring person.”

The news of Lesley’s untimely passing comes just days after Oldham Coliseum Theatre announced that it was forced into making the “incredibly difficult decision” to cancel all its upcoming events and theatre shows after its funding was cut.

The historic venue was dropped from Arts Council England’s National Portfolio from 1 April.

Read more:

Featured Image – Oldham Coliseum Theatre

News

An award-winning pie and mash cafe is opening in Manchester

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

This month award-winning piemakers Great North Pie Co will officially open in Manchester city centre, bringing its high-quality goodies to Kampus for the very first time.

Serving up a modern take on traditional pie and mash dinners, a new, seasonal menu features four butter-pastry pies, stuffed to the brim using only the best ingredients from North West producers.

From 14-hour braised beef and ale pies, to roast chicken and mushroom and the company’s hero classic Lancashire cheese and onion, pie fans can expect to find classic flavour combinations done well at the cosy and intimate new space.

Each pie on the menu is served with a wide range of sides, with choices including buttery mash or proper home-style chips, cauliflower cheese, pickled red cabbage, mushy garden peas or chip shop mushy peas all served with roast onion and brown sauce gravy or the house curry sauce- the ultimate feed.

There will also be weekly comfort food specials such as lamb and pea steamed suet puddings, corned beef hash, Lancashire Hot Pot, and keema and chips.

Image: Great North Pie Co
Image: Great North Pie Co

To round off the perfect meal, puddings include school dinner-style sweet treats like chocolate sponge and custard and the classic sticky toffee pudding. 

Breakfast sandwiches will be served daily between 10:30am and 2.30pm and will feature quality versions of all the breakfast classics including Cheshire Smokehouse honey-cured bacon and Stornoway black pudding.

The drinks menu, meanwhile, includes the likes of Manchester Union Lager on draught, a selection of quality wines and proseccos, plus a handful of spritz style cocktails.

Read more: All the February Manchester restaurant deals, discounts and offers you need in 2023

With booth-style seating for 20 inside and an outdoor area seating area for up to 30 more overlooking the Kampus garden and canal, the cosy new pie cafe is the first resident to arrive on the cobbles of Kampus’s Little David Street.

Neil Broomfield, co-founder of Great North Pie Co, said: “Since we started making pies it’s always been an ambition to have a base in the city centre.

“We’d been looking for a while and as soon as we saw Kampus, Little David Street and the gardens, we knew it was the right place for us. While it’s our first city centre venue, we don’t have plans  to rollout out any more, as we place our focus on keeping the quality and consistency we aim for.

Image: Great North Pie Co
Image: Great North Pie Co

“We just want to concentrate on doing one thing and doing it well. The mix of traders coming into Kampus is amazing and we’re so proud to be part of it.”

Read more: Huge waterside food hall to breathe life into old Manchester warehouse

Great North Pie Co also has venues in Lake District’s Ambleside and in Altrincham Market.  Its products can also be found at monthly farmers markets, where they started the business, in locations such as Urmston, Knutsford, Northwich, Altrincham, Chester, Wilmslow, Chorlton, Bakewell, Macclesfield and West Didsbury.

The pie brand supplies pubs and restaurants nationwide and also supplies to the likes of Booths, Robinsons’s brewery, Dukeshill Hams, Manchester City Football Club, Stockport County FC, and other popular pubs and restaurants across the country.

Read more: A new Deep South-inspired dive bar is coming to Manchester’s Northern Quarter

Its new cafe will officially open its kitchen & bar at Kampus on Monday, 27 February, with its handcrafted pies available to take away cold as well as eat in.

Feature image – Great North Pie

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