News

Manchester’s huge Italian festival Festa Italiana returns in August – here’s what to expect

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 28th July 2023

Festa Italiana, the UK’s biggest Italian food festival hosted annually in Manchester, will return for its sixth season this August bank holiday weekend.

The free-to-attend event, which every year brings together some of the best Italian food traders from across Greater Manchester, has revealed this year’s line-up of food, drinks and culture as it gears up to take over Cathedral Gardens once again.

The brainchild of Maurizio Cecco, the Neapolitan chef behind family-run Manchester restaurant group Salvi’s, every year Fest Italiana brings together Manchester’s huge Italian community for a three-day knees up in at its Cathedral Gardens home.

This year, the festival is mixing it up with brand-new additions to its much-loved programme, including Friday’s Festa Italiana Della Donna – a full day dedicated to outstanding female cooks including Cucina Con Sofia, Carmela’s Kitchen, Salvi’s head chef Valentina Ambrosino, and Claire and Maurizio’s daughter Sienna Cecco – and a grand dining experience, curated with Italian brewery Poretti. 

Speaking on the upcoming 2023 festival, Maurizio said: “This year Festa Italiana is all about celebrating our huge Festa family. We’re delighted to introduce Friday’s Della Donna, and of course the very special Poretti Grande Tavola dining experience, which will gather diners around a huge table, transporting them straight to beautiful Naples.

ADVERTISEMENT

“We have also prepared a feast of authentic Italian food, drink and entertainment, with fully vegan and gluten free options. Our menu is brimming with love and we can’t wait to welcome visitors from across the city into our little Italy right in the heart of Manchester.”

2023 Festa Italiana line-up highlights

festa italiana
Image: Festa Italiana
festa italiana
Image: Festa Italiana

Festa Italiana Della Donna

ADVERTISEMENT

This year, Festa Italiana is set for a powerful opening day with the brand-new Festa Italiana Della Donna, where three outstanding women will take centre stage to showcase their craft.

Proud MasterChef UK 2021 contestant and inspiring Culinary Generations winner, chef Sofia Gallo, will be passing down her family knowledge to Festa audiences with a live cooking demo at. Pastaia and Festa regular Carmela Sereno Hayes will be sharing her personal take on the art of fresh pasta making. There will also be cooking demos by Salvi’s head chef Valentina Ambrosino, and Claire and Maurizio’s daughter Sienna Cecco, with details to be announced.

Claire Wheeler, Managing Director and Salvi’s matriarch, said: “Creating a platform for women in such a male-dominated sphere is important to us because, as much as we love creating traditions, we also love breaking them and starting afresh.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Poretti Grande Tavola

Bringing something new to Festa Italiana 2023, Birrificio Angelo Poretti is hosting the ultimate ticketed dining experience on Saturday 26th August.

Festival goers can pull up a chair and enjoy a classic Italian menu from Salvi’s that has been curated to pair perfectly with Poretti and sip on the authentic Italian lager from Poretti’s iconic airstream – from a delicious Italian Fritto Misto, including an array of Neapolitan street food dishes such as fried courgette flowers, stuffed olives, croquettes, and more, to a beautiful lemon sorbet.

Poretti has been elevating mealtimes for over 140 years so what better way to showcase the lager than at the UK’s largest Italian food festival. Not only can guests enjoy a glorious sit-down meal, Poretti’s beer sommelier will be on hand to explain why each dish, curated by Salvi’s, pairs perfectly with Poretti.

This experience is a ticketed event on Saturday 26th August and the area is then open to all on Sunday 27th August, where visitors can gather, grab a Poretti and dine on their favourite food from the festival food vendors. Buy tickets to Birrificio Angelo Poretti’s Grande Tavolahere

ADVERTISEMENT

Live Cooking Masterclasses – Festa Marquee (free)


On Saturday 26 August, there will be a masterclass and book signing from Italian cooking superstar and Parmigiano Reggiano’s UK brand ambassador, Gennaro Contaldo (Saturday Kitchen, Two Greedy Italians, Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Night Feast). He is followed by TV star and restaurateur Giancarlo Caldesi (Returning to Tuscany, Saturday Kitchen, Sunday Brunch), who will bring his Caldesi cookery school and endless charm to the Festa masses. 

Sunday 27 August will see an encore masterclass from Gennaro, while Great British Bake Off 2021 winner, author, and proud Britalian, Giuseppe Dell’Anno dives into the world of bread and cakes.

Street Food

Image: T’arricrii
Image: T’arricrii

Firing up the authentic Neapolitan ovens will be local legends and traditional pizza-makers I Knead Pizza, alongside the award-winning and proved to perfection, Proove.

ADVERTISEMENT

For the first time ever, Festa will also welcome sustainable pizza champions Purezza who will challenge the preconceptions of authentic Italian food, delivering full of flavour, fully vegan pizza with gluten-free options available. 

The Pasta Factory will be serving up fresh handmade pasta, cooked according to the family recipe books. Priding themselves in traditional homemade sauces, they will also feature vegan options, one of which is well-loved vegan parmesan. Pasta La Vista.

Bringing classic Sicilian street food to the heart of Manchester will be T’arricrii, serving specialty arancini, alongside much-loved freshly-imported Polara drinks, while anyone with a sweet tooth can head over to Cafè Cannoli and Prendi Il Biscotto, who will bring an extensive range of hand-made Italian cannoli and biscuits. 

Luxury gelato parlour Grandpa Greene’s will once again be serving classic Italian ice cream out of their signature truck, with a surprise charity Festa Italiana collaboration flavour, the full proceedings of which will go to The Christie NHS Foundation Trust.

In keeping with tradition, Salvi’s will be serving sweet treats and branded Salvi’s delights brought in from their Deli. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Bars

In addition to its extensive Grande Tavola dining experience, Italian brewery  Biriffico Angelo Poretti will be serving craft pints from its beautiful Poretti Piazza airstream. 

Festa fans will also be treated to a brand-new spritz bar serving a selection of authentic Italian aperativi, including summer hits Aperol Spritz, Campari Spritz, and Limoncello Spritz, with a surprise cocktail to keep things fresh.

With a dedicated bar this year, Birra Murano will be inviting Festa goers to take a moment to appreciate the magical atmosphere with a clean, crisp and refreshing Italian-style pilsner.

Plus, the Salvi’s festival bar will be serving Italian craft beer, DOP-stamped wine, and, of course, glasses of Prosecco. 

ADVERTISEMENT
Image: Festa Italiana
festa italiana
Image: Festa Italiana

Music

Italian-turned-Manchester-favourites Compagnia Sole Luna will once again be flying in from scorching Naples to provide a traditional Neapolitan folk music, revisited in a folk-rock style.

The music under the Festa sky will also feature local artists and bands, including the city’s best-loved opera singer The Manchester Tenor, Mojoband, and more. 

Families

Carmela’s KitchenPasta maestra Carmela Sereno Hayes is back with ‘Carmela’s Kitchen’ across the entire weekend, with free drop-in sessions, teaching pasta-loving adults and kids alike how to make beautiful AND delicious fresh pasta from scratch. 

Featured image – Festa Italiana

News

Law requiring landlords to repair hazards within 24 hours comes into effect

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Awaab Ishak

Landlords will now have 24 hours to repair hazards reported to them as a new law comes into effect across England.

The law taking effect today comes after a ‘landmark’ new social housing bill – which was given the Royal Ascent to become law in July 2023 – was proposed and approved in early January last year.

‘Awaab’s Law’ is named after Greater Manchester toddler Awaab Ishak, who tragically died in 2020 as a result of prolonged exposure to mould in his Rochdale home, a coroner ruled back in 2022, and following his death, the Government had been pledging to deliver the new reforms.

But today (Monday 27 October), the first part of the law finally comes into effect.

This means that all social landlords – generally the local council, or a housing association – will from now be required to repair any hazards which are reported to them within 24 hours.

Landlords must also investigate ‘significant’ damp and mould within 10 working days of being notified, and then make properties safe in five working days.

For both types of hazards, they must also write the findings to tenants within three working days of inspection.   

On top of that, as part of the reforms, landlords now must also consider the circumstances of tenants which could put them at risk – including young children and those with disabilities or health conditions – and alternative accommodation must also be offered if homes cannot be made safe within the required timeframes.

Awaab’s Law is being called a ‘lasting legacy’ to the two-year-old.

“Everyone deserves a safe and decent home to live in and Awaab Ishak is a powerful reminder of how this can sadly be a matter of life or death,” commented Housing Secretary, Steve Reed, as Awaab’s Law comes into effect today.   

“Awaab’s family has fought hard for change and their work to protect millions of tenants’ lives will live on as a legacy to their son.  

Read more:

“Our changes will give tenants a stronger voice and force landlords to act urgently when lives are at risk, ensuring such tragedies are never repeated.”

More of Awaab’s Law will be phased in both next year and in 2027 to make homes safer from more hazards, the Government has confirmed.

Featured Image – GMP / Family Handout

News

The Greater Manchester high street that now has THREE great wine bars in a 200m stretch

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Prestwich has become a wine bar hub in Greater Manchester

A popular suburb of Greater Manchester seems to be having a bit of a wine bar moment – and for once, we’re not talking about Stockport.

Prestwich has a buzzing little food and drink scene, and just this week has welcomed a brand-new wine bar.

That brings the total number of wine bars in the village to three – and they’re all in just a 200m stretch of the high street.

The latest addition is Cellar Door, headed up by siblings Ben and Sarah and sitting side-by-side with acclaimed neighbourhood restaurant The Pearl.

Cellar Door joins long-standing favourite Whole Bunch Wines (formerly known as Grape to Grain) and the new-ish Chin Chin, which comes from the same team behind Elnecot in Ancoats.

And beyond that, The Pearl has a ‘wine window’ where they’ll pass your drink out to you to drink on their pavement bistro tables.

If you much prefer a decent glass of wine instead of a pint, Prestwich is becoming the new hotspot for a bar crawl.

Read on for more on each of these brilliant independent businesses.

Cellar Door

Cellar Door is the newest wine bar to open in Prestwich. Credit: The Manc Group
Cellar Door is the newest wine bar to open in Prestwich. Credit: The Manc Group
Cellar Door is the newest wine bar to open in Prestwich. Credit: The Manc Group

The newest wine bar on the Prestwich high street is Cellar Door, opened just this month by brother and sister Ben and Sarah.

It’s their first project together and is stocked with more than 200 different wines, plus plenty of beers (including some local names), selected batched cocktails served ice-cold, and a menu of nibbles too.

Spanning two floors, there’s a sunny balcony upstairs for sunnier days, but in the meantime, get cosy in a booth with a glass of something from their VAST vino collection.

See more HERE.

427 Bury New Road, M25 1AF

Whole Bunch Wines (fka Grape to Grain)

Grape to Grain wine shop in Prestwich. Credit: The Manc Group
Whole Bunch Wines (formerly Grape to Grain) wine shop in Prestwich. Credit: The Manc Group
Whole Bunch Wines (formerly Grape to Grain) wine shop in Prestwich. Credit: The Manc Group
Whole Bunch Wines (formerly Grape to Grain) wine shop in Prestwich. Credit: The Manc Group

An ‘off licence with a difference’, Whole Bunch Wines (which used to be known as Grape to Grain) is Prestwich’s original spot for a wine.

Almost a decade old now, Whole Bunch Wines has a proper enomatic wine machine which means you can have a glass of their chosen bottles each week (without committing to a full bottle – though no judgement if you do want to do that too).

They also have a counter stuffed with cheese, meat and fresh bread so you can customise yourself a deli board.

There’s not much better than grabbing a bottle to take away from Whole Bunch, then changing your mind and cracking it open sat on one of the barrel tables outside instead.

1 Church Lane, M25 1AN

Read more: Manchester’s most exclusive restaurant, serving omakase sushi to just four customers a week

Chin Chin

Inside Chin Chin wine bar
Inside Chin Chin wine bar

Last but definitely not least on this mini wine crawl around Prestwich is Chin Chin.

This lovely spot comes from the team behind Elnecot, who initially opened it as Dokes Pizzeria (but then Rudy’s opened up opposite and honestly, who can be arsed) before pivoting it to be a wine bar.

There’s jazz vinyls playing, an enormous selection of rotating wines, a smart interior of tiled tabletops and moody red paint, and – a weekly highlight for locals – Sunday Sessions with roast dinner-inspired sandwiches and £4 pints.

449A Bury New Road, M25 1AF

Read more: Prestwich wine bar Chin Chin now serves roast dinner sandwiches

Featured image: The Manc Group

More News

Man City fans angry backlash over being moved out of their seats North Stand stadium expansion plans

Manchester

Manchester City hit with backlash from season ticket holders after ‘divisive’ North Stand update

Art & Culture

A first look into the highly-anticipated TV soap crossover ‘Corriedale’ has just dropped

Westlife announce huge Manchester arena gig on upcoming 25th anniversary tour

News

Westlife announce huge 25th anniversary tour, including an arena show in Manchester

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches