The 25th Manchester Food and Drink Festival (MFDF) makes its return this month, kicking off on Thursday 15 September as it returns to its home at Cathedral Gardens.
Following a long build-up to the 25th-anniversary event, organisers have today revealed the full programme line-up ahead of its opening.
Alongside a host of street food traders, an artisan food market, and a live music stage, this year will also see the return of the Manchester Beer Bar in The Festival Hub. Sponsored by local brewing magnate Joseph Holt, beer lovers will find a host of different local selections here, including a special 25th-anniversary beer created to mark the occasion.
Elsewhere, the festival’s Masterclass Kitchen will play host to some of Manchester’s hottest cheffing talent, with a line-up featuring renowned food journalist and author Felicity Cloake, Kate Humble, Lia Leendertz and Edd Kimber.
Image: MFDF
The Hub will also be bringing together a host of incredible and eclectic street food fit for an anniversary Festival including Bab K, Herbivorous and Hip Hop Chip Shop.
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Other highlights include the return of the smash-hit Curry Club happening at the Hub. Dishoom, The Little Sri Lankan, Aunty Jis, Nila’s Burmese Kitchen and Lily’s are just a few of the traders that will bring cuisines of India, Burma and Sri Lanka to the table.
The Festival Firepit, sponsored by Weber, will see some of the region’s best loved chefs cooking over fire for a first time festival feast on Cathedral Gardens.
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Chefs hosting the BBQ include Caroline Martins, founder of the Sao Paolo project, Robert Owen Brown and Francisco Martinez from Fazenda.
There’ll also be a big focus on budget cooking and how to spruce up any leftover food to get the most of your ingredients with Recycle for Greater Manchester.
Outside of the Hub meanwhile, the feast continues with activities programmed in restaurants and bars across the city including a £25 for 25 years menu extravaganza.
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Spread out over two massive weekends, the free-to-enter Festival Hub is open from Thursday 15-Sunday 18 September and then again from Thursday 22-Sunday 25 September.
Feature image – Supplied
Manchester
Keely Hodgkinson and Sarah Lancashire among famous Greater Manchester names on 2025’s New Year Honours list
Emily Sergeant
Keely Hodgkinson and Sarah Lancashire are among famous Greater Manchester names on 2025’s New Year Honours list.
A new year is here, and that means 2025’s New Year Honours list is out.
This year’s coveted list of names – which is published annually ahead of New Year’s Day, and is used to recognise a person’s merit in terms of achievement and service – has everything from community champions and impressive young people, to sporting stars, acting greats, and major public figures being a part of it.
More than 1,200 recipients are receiving honours this year across all sectors, and two of those famous recipients are two of Greater Manchester‘s most impressive talents from 2024 – Olympian Keely Hodginkson and actor Sarah Lancashire.
Hodgkinson appears for the first time on an Honours list this year, being awarded an MBE for services to Athletics.
Congratulations to everyone recognised in HM the King's New Years Honours 2025! 🎉
The Atherton-born middle-distance runner was already an Olympic medallist prior to heading into Paris 2024, having taken home a silver in the 800m in Tokyo back in 2020, but it was last year’s competition that saw her become an Olympic champion – bagging the gold in that same event.
While 2023 may have been the year that Sarah Lancashire was at the forefront of the public’s praise, most-notably during the final season of ITV’s Happy Valley which got the whole nation talking, it’s hard to deny that she deserves an Honour this year.
Sarah Lancashire as Sergeant Catherine Cawood in ITV’s Happy Valley / Credit: ITV
Lancashire – who was born in Urmston, before spending the majority of her upbringing in Oldham – has been named an CBE in 2025.
In releasing this year’s recipients, the Government in a statement: “The Government is committed to ensuring that honours are awarded to outstanding people from across the whole of the UK and the system reflects the best of society.
“The list ensures that people from underrepresented communities and a wide variety of types of work are rewarded, to celebrate the fantastic contribution of people throughout the country.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer added: “[Those honoured] represent the very best of the UK and that core value of service which I put at the centre of everything this Government does.”
Featured Image – British Athletics (via Twitter) / Keely Hodgkinson (via Instagram)
Manchester
Popular Manchester city centre club forced to close on New Year’s Eve due to flooding
Daisy Jackson
The heavy rain that hit Manchester on New Year’s Eve has caused flooding across the region, including the city centre.
One city centre venue had to close early on one of the biggest nights out of the year as water rushed into its basement.
In a statement shared today, Joshua Brooks shared that it had to close its New Year’s Eve party prematurely ‘to ensure everyone’s wellbeing’.
The popular city centre club had moved revellers upstairs to its clubhouse, rather than its basement, but ultimately feared the ‘unknowns regarding electrical safety’ and shut down early.
Luckily, party-goers were able to ring in the new year before the venue shut at around 2am.
Joshua Brooks shared: “Unfortunately, in the early hours of New Year’s Eve, we had to make the difficult decision to close the club prematurely due to unexpected flooding in our basement. The heavy rainfall in the Pennine mountains caused the River Medlock and several tributaries to overflow, impacting multiple venues along the riverbank, including ours.
“Our top priorities are always the safety of our ravers and the preservation of our equipment. As water levels continued to rise, we considered moving the party to the clubhouse upstairs. However, there were too many unknowns regarding electrical safety, so we ultimately decided to shut down the event around 2 AM, just under two hours before the end of the night, to ensure everyone’s well-being.
“We understand the inconvenience and disappointment this has caused you and sincerely apologise for disrupting your New Year’s Eve celebrations.
“Our warm-up DJs were absolutely smashing it, and Alan Fitzpatrick was playing great until the moment we had to close.
“While this type of incident is rare and hasn’t happened in years, there is always a risk due to our location. We want to assure you that we are taking this matter seriously and exploring all options to minimise the chances of this happening again.
“Thank you for your understanding and continued support.”
Luckily, Joshua Brooks hasn’t been left with any lasting damage to its main bar area, and is set to go ahead with its New Year’s Day party this evening.
The Manc -
7th September 2022 
