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The Manchester Food and Drink Festival award winners 2022

The votes have been cast and this year's Manchester Food and Drink Awards winners have been revealed for 2022

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 27th September 2022

On Monday night, the Manchester Food and Drink FestivaL (MFDF) celebrated 25 years in the city at its annual awards gala dinner.

17 award winners were announced across the Greater Manchester region, recognised in a range of different categories including Restaurant of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, Bar of the Year and Neighbourhood Venue of the Year.  

Designed to showcase the amazing talent within the region’s dining community, this year’s categories were jam packed with individuals and stand-out food and drink businesses who have given their all to industry over the past year. 

Keep reading to discover who took home what at last night’s event.

Awards categories and nominations:

Restaurant of the Year

Winner: Where The Light Gets In

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Shortlised: 10 Tib Lane, Erst, The Sparrows, Another Hand, Mana, The Firehouse, Where The Light Gets

Bar of the Year

Winner: Speak In Code

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Shortlisted: Blinker Bar, Flawd, Henry C, Ramona, Schofield’s Bar, 10 Tib Lane, Speak In Code

Chef of the Year

Winner: Eddie Shepherd (The Walled Gardens)

Shortlisted: Caroline Martins (Sao Paulo Project), Joseph Otway (Flawd), Sam Buckley (Where The Light Gets In), Patrick Withington (Erst), Adam Reid (The French), Julian Pizer (Another Hand), Eddie Shepherd (The Walled Gardens)

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Pub or Beer bar of the Year

Winner: The Kings Arms, Salford

Shortlisted: Bridge Beers, Heaton Hops, House of Hops, The Kings Arms, Nordie, Track Taproom, Station Hop

Food and Drink Retailer of The Year

Winner: Chorlton Cheesemongers

Shortlisted: Ad Hoc, Chorlton Cheesemongers, Hello Oriental, Coopers Lets Fress Deli, Le Social, Out of the Blue, Wandering Palate

Independent Food Producer of the Year

Winner: Dormouse Chocolates

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Shortlisted: Great North Pie Co, La Chouquette, Holy Grain, Long Bois Bakehouse, Polyspore, Yellowhammer, Dormouse Chocolates

Image: Pollen

Coffee Shop of the Year

Winner: Pollen (Cottonfield Wharf)

Shortlisted: Cafe Sanjuan, Factory Coffee, Grind and Tamp, Grapefruit, Just Between Friends, Station South, Pollen

Food Trader of the Year

Winner: Burgerism

Shortlisted: House of Habesha, The Little Sri Lankan, Loveingly Artisan, Mira, New Wave Ramen, Pico’s Tacos, Burgerism

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Plant Based Offering of the Year

Winner: Wholseome Junkies

Shortlisted: Four Side Pizza, Herbivorous, Otto Vegan Empire, Ruyi Vegetarian House, Sanskruti, The Walled Gardens, Wholseome Junkies

Affordable Eats Venue of the Year

Winner: Salt & Pepper

Shortlisted: Aunty Ji’s, Bahn Mi Co Ba, Cafe Sanjuan, Levenshulme Bakery, Go Falafel, Mama Flo’s, Sat & Pepper

Image: Salt & Pepper

Foodie Neighbourhood of the Year

Winner: Ancoats

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Shortlisted: Monton, Prestwich, Sale, Stockport, Ramsbottom, Ancoats, Chapel Street, Salford

Pop Up or Project of the Year

Winner: Platt Fields Market Garden

Shortlisted: The Sao Paulo Project, Suppher, Eat Well Spring Festival, Bungalow at Kampus, Heart and Parcel, Stockport Foodie Friday

Independent Drinks Producer of the Year

Winner: Hip Pop

Shortlisted: Bundobust Brewery, Cloudwater, Hip Pop, Intro The Gathering Dusk, Stockport Gin, Steep Soda, Track Brewing

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Neighbourhood Venue of the Year

Winner: Bar San Juan

Shortlisted: Baratxuri, The Easy Fish Co, Nila’s Burmese Kitchen, Ornella’s Kitchen, Osma, The Perfect Match, Bar San Juan

Image: Bar San Juan

Newcomer of the Year

Winner: Another Hand

Shortlisted: Flawd, The Alan, The Black Friar, Bundobust (Oxford Street), Yellowhammer, 10 Tib Lane

Great Service Award

Winner: Dishoom

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Shortlisted: Bull & Bear, Dishoom, Hawksmoor, Flawd, Schofield’s Bar, Speak In Code, 10 Tib Lane

The Howard and Ruth Award for Outstanding Achievement

Winner: John and Rosemary Barratt, Stockport Foodie Friday

  1. The Howard and Ruth Award for Outstanding Achievement

Recognising people who have contributed something outstanding to the hospitality industry in Greater Manchester.

How the votes were cast

The shortlists were compiled by the MFDF judging panel, with all categories carefully considered and created to reflect an innovative, diverse, and inspiring food and drink industry. 

The shortlisted venues were put to the public vote via the MFDF website where  food and drink fans voted for their hospitality heroes.

For some of the awards, the public votes were combined with a mystery shopping visit from members of the judging panel. Others were decided entirely by public vote.

The Independent Drinks Producer of the Year and the Independent Food Producer of the Year Awards were judged by a panel taste test during the MFDF opening weekend.

The awards were presented in partnership with MFDF Awards headline sponsors Bruntwood, and commemorated a year of ongoing innovation and success to further establish Greater Manchester’s importance on the national food and drink scene.

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The Manchester Food and Drink Festival continues this weekend, having been postponed for a week following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Read more: Manchester Food and Drink Festival unveils full 25th anniversary programme

Speaking on the 2022 awards,s Alexa Stratton-Powell, Director of Manchester Food and Drink Festival said: “The strength of this year’s awards are testament to the hard work and dedication of all the nominees. As ever, the awards put the spotlight on the incredible talent and resilience of our brilliant hospitality industry.

“Despite hugely challenging times for the industry, we’ve celebrated 112 fantastic Greater Manchester businesses this evening as the reputation of the sector continues to go from strength to strength. We’d like to thank the judges, everyone who voted and the nominated businesses who took part in this year’s awards, as well as our hosts at Escape to Freight Island for a wonderful night of celebrations.” 

James Tootle, Head of Retail and Leisure, added: “We’re thrilled to have supported the MFDF Awards this year and proud to have been part of celebrating such a fantastic year for hospitality.

“Great restaurants, bars, cafes as well as talented chefs and entrepreneurs are at the heart of thriving towns and cities, and recognising the best in class is a fantastic way of celebrating the importance of this industry to the region as a whole. Congratulations to everyone who was nominated tonight!”

Feature image – MFDF / King’s Arms Salford

News

Trams are officially coming to Stockport as part of £2.5bn investment package

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

It’s official… Stockport is finally getting trams.

It’s been a long time coming, so long, in fact, that rumours first began swirling all the way back in July 2022 when then Prime Minister Boris Johnson hinted at in PMQs, all before Mayor Andy Burnham insisted in October 2023 that he had ‘big ambitions’ to deliver the project once and for all, but now it’s finally been confirmed.

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has today revealed that Stockport will be connected to the Metrolink tram network thanks to a £2.5 billion funding boost from the Government.

At this moment in time, Stockport is one of only a few boroughs in the region that’s not currently connected up to the expansive Metrolink network, but all of that is set to change very soon, as Greater Manchester is beginning the construction of the town’s very-first tram line.

While the intention for trams to eventually travel to and from the town has been known for quite some time now, there hasn’t been much talk of timelines or when this would actually become a reality.

For now, it seems there’s still no timelines as such, but at least there’s confirmation.

The confirmation that trams will be coming to Stockport forms part of a lineup of exciting transport announcements this week, all of which Andy Burnham has called a ‘game-changing moment’ that will ‘underpin Greater Manchester’s green growth’ for years to come.

A man has been arrested after reports of someone letting off gas on board Metrolink trams
Trams are officially coming to Stockport as part of a £2.5 billion investment package / Credit: TfGM

Other announcements include the fact that Greater Manchester‘s Bee Network is to become a fully-electric, zero-emission public transport system by 2030, local rail lines will be brought into the Bee Network before the end of the decade, fully joining up bike, bus, tram, and train travel for the first time outside London, and the introduction of new electric buses, tram lines, tram stops, and transport interchanges.

North Manchester, Bury, and Oldham are the areas set to receive new Metrolink stops to support delivery of thousands of new homes, and Oldham, Rochdale, Heywood, and Bury will all be connected to each other via the Bee Network.

“Building on our strong track record, we can now move at pace to deliver the next phase of the Bee Network – creating the UK’s first fully electric, zero emission integrated public transport system by 2030,” commented Mayor Andy Burnham as the funding package was announced this week.

The Bee Network become a fully-electric, zero-emission public transport system by 2030 / Credit: TfGM

“With a pipeline of major transport projects better connecting our towns and cities, and local rail lines brought into the Bee Network, our communities will be the first outside London to be served by fully joined-up bike, bus, tram, and train travel.

“Greater Manchester has had a decade of growth faster than the UK average, and this funding can be the key to unlocking even more growth in the decade to come.

Read more:

“It’s a major boost for our own plans to deliver £10bn of investment over the next 10 years, build thousands of new homes, create skilled jobs, and open up new opportunities right across our city-region.”

Featured Image – TfGM

News

Police still searching for answers six months after remains of baby girl found in Little Hulton park

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant Floral tributes laid for Baby A after remains found in Salford

Six months on after the remains of a baby girl were found in a park in Little Hulton, police are still searching for answers.

It was on 20 November 2024 that Greater Manchester Police (GMP) received a call from a member of the public reporting the discovery of what appeared to be human remains in a park in the Little Hulton area of Salford – but it was only when officers and detectives attended the scene that they determinted the remains to be that of a baby girl.

At the time, police referred to the baby simply as ‘Baby A’, but it’s now be confirmed that they chose to name her Ava.

Since that day, a dedicated team from GMP’s Major Incident Team has worked ‘tirelessly’ to uncover the truth about who Baby Ava was and what led to her being left alone.

Detectives have followed up on hundreds of public tips, conducted thousands of hours of house-to-house enquiries, reviewed extensive CCTV footage, and collaborated with police forces and agencies across the country in pursuit of identifying who baby Ava was and securing justice for her… but as of yet, there are no answers.

Police issue statement after remains of young baby found in Salford field
Police are still searching for answers six months after the remains of a baby girl found in a Little Hulton park / Credit: Google Maps

Information from the public also led police to speak with potential witnesses nationwide, and time was also spent trawling the national missing person database, focusing on cases involving females who were potentially pregnant and reported missing, yet these were unsuccessful.

To this day, police continue to work closely with a range of experts.

Currently, a botanist is helping detectives determine how long Ava may have been at the discovery site, and work is continuing with an anthropologist, archaeologist, and specialists in dental and bone analysis to establish Ava’s age and ethnicity.

As investigations continue at a rapid pace, police have reissued their appeal to the public for information.

Floral tributes laid for Baby A after remains found in Salford
Floral tributes laid for Baby A after remains found in Salford
Police have since named the baby Ava as their search for answers continues / Credit: GMP

“We will never forget Baby Ava, and despite the challenges in the investigation, we’re committed to uncovering the truth,” commented Detective Chief Inspector Charlotte Whalley, from GMP’s Major Incident Team. “We are more determined than ever to find who Ava is, who her parents are, and all of the possible scenarios and circumstances which have led Ava to being separated from them. 

“I know how heartbreaking this case has been for the communities of Greater Manchester and beyond. The support and compassion we’ve received has been unwavering, and we share the sadness felt for Ava as we continue our search for answers so that we can lay her to rest.

“If you are baby Ava’s mum, please know that you are not alone. You can contact us directly or ask someone you trust to reach out on your behalf. We want to help you.”

Read more:

Anyone with any information that may be of assistance is asked to contact police on 101, quoting log 1319 of 20/11/24, or by heading to the Major Incident Public Portal here.

Featured Image – GMP

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