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.
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“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
Image: Festa Italiana
Image: Festa Italiana
Festa Italiana Della Donna
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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.”
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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
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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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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Image: 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
Breakaway competition R360 issues statement after rubgy unions warn players of sanctions
Danny Jones
Prospective breakaway competition R360 have issued a response to the joint statement from multiple countries’ rugby unions, which has warned players of sanctions should they choose to join the new league.
While the vast majority seemingly remain opposed to the new concept, backing from certain key figures has resulted in the likes of the UK and Irish rugby unions, along with other key nations, sharing their unified stance against the potential rival.
Put in the simplest terms, the R360 model is rugby’s equivalent of what the proposed European ‘Super League’ was for football just a few years ago, with similar questions being raised around how it could jeopardise existing contests, player wellbeing and more.
Now, though, the new format – which has been largely backed and developed by former World Cup winner with England, Mike Tindall – delivered its own reply on Wednesday, 8 October.
Shared publicly to the press, the alternative tournament wrote: “It’s not always easy to embrace new opportunities, but as we’ve seen throughout history, it’s essential for any sport to grow. So many players love what R360 can do for them and the game, and we can’t wait to kick off next year.
“Player welfare is one of the key reasons for creating our global series, which will greatly reduce player load and capture the attention of a new generation of fans globally. We want to work collaboratively as part of the global rugby calendar.
“The series is designed with bespoke schedules for men’s and women’s teams and R360 will release all players for international matches, as written into their contracts. Our philosophy is clear – if players want to play for their country, they should have that opportunity. Why would the unions stand in their way?
“We look forward to submitting to the World Rugby Council for sanctioning next summer as planned.”
At present, R360 is due to hold its inagural season this time next year, with eight new male teams and four women’s sides expected to get underway from October 2026 onwards.
In addition to more lucrative contracts like those promised in the IPL (Indian Premier League) cricket, LIV Golf and the aforementioned albeit failed Super League, R360 is also set to offer a reduced playing schedule but one that would still tempt athletes away from their current teams to new franchises.
The national rugby unions of New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, England, Scotland, France and Italy have released the following statement on the proposed R360 competition ⬇️#IrishRugby
Although they have assured player care is an utmost priority, their health and fitness is one of my concerns put forward by the total eight rubgy unions who have urged current pros to stay away from the breakaway competition.
In case you haven’t seen the statement release by England, Ireland and Scotland, as well as France, Italy, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, it begins by “urging extreme caution for players and support staff considering joining the proposed R360 competition.”
Assuring that they welcome “investment and innovation in rugby”, they feel this particular idea won’t improve the sport but could instead “fragment or weaken it.”
Having assessed the proposals supposed value/addition to the “rugby’s global ecosystem”, it seems the fear is that the outcome will be a “net negative to the game”, with little to no detail as to how it can run alongside existing fixtures, assure proper management of player welfare and more.
As for Wales, despite opting not to put their name to the open letter itself, they have stated publicly: “The Welsh Rugby Union supports this statement, and we’re considering changes we may need to make to qualification rules in Wales as part of ongoing analysis following our recent consultation process.”
The statement continues: “The R360 model, as outlined publicly, rather appears designed to generate profits and return them to a very small elite, potentially hollowing out the investment that national unions and existing leagues make in community rugby, player development, and participation pathways.”
It seems there is deep concern for how it could affect grassroots and the international rugby too, not just league and union, and have failed to full explain or help key organisations “better understand their business and operating model.”
Most notably, they sign off by adding: “Each of the national unions will therefore be advising men’s and women’s players that participation in R360 would make them ineligible for international selection.”
What do you make of the whole debate – do you like the current schedule/format as it is, or do you think there’s room for a new chapter in the rugby world?
Passengers warned of ‘disruption’ ahead of more Bee Network bus strikes this weekend
Emily Sergeant
Bus services across Greater Manchester will be disrupted later this weekend as drivers from two companies stage strike action.
In what is the latest chapter in a long-running dispute, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) says it has had confirmation that staff from two operators, Stagecoach and Metroline, will go ahead with further planned strikes this weekend.
If this is the first you’re hearing of the upcoming industrial action, 2,000 workers who were employed by Stagecoach, Metroline Manchester, and First Bus Rochdale – each of which are firms among those that make up the bus part of the Bee Network – walked out in a number of co-ordinated strikes earlier this month amid an ongoing pay dispute.
Unite the Union said each of the firms are ‘highly profitable’ and it’s therefore ‘disappointing’ that workers are being denied a fair wage.
In this case, Unite has confirmed that drivers at First have called off further action after voting to accept a revised pay offer.
Passengers are being warned of ‘disruption’ ahead of more Bee Network bus strikes this weekend / Credit: TfGM
However, both Stagecoach and Metroline staff have opted to proceed with strike action onFriday 10 October, Saturday 11 October, and Monday 13 October.
This means that around 190 services, including some dedicated school buses, will not run on strike days, and TfGM is therefore advising everyone to ‘check before they travel’ and allow extra time to make their journey.
Bus services in Tameside, Trafford, and Stockport are not expected to run, and some services in South Manchester, parts of the city centre, and Rochdale will also be impacted.
Many bus services will continue to run ‘as usual’, however, and this includes services such as the Free Bus in Manchester city centre, as well as the majority of buses in Bolton, Bury, Salford, and Wigan.
The strikes are the latest in an ongoing dispute over pay / Credit: TfGM
“While we are pleased that planned industrial action by First staff has been called off, we encourage Stagecoach, Metroline, and Unite to continue discussions to avert further strike action,” commented Danny Vaughan, who is the Chief Network Officer at TfGM.
“We’ll continue to keep passengers informed and support them to make journeys wherever possible. We encourage everyone to check the latest status of their service before they travel, leave plenty of time for their journey and to get in touch if they have any questions.”
Unite has indicated that further industrial action will also happen on Saturday 18, Thursday 23 and Friday 24 October.
Georgina Pellant -
28th July 2023 
