Manchester Food and Drink Festival 2022

Ian Jones, Food and Drink Editor
MFDF 2022
Ian Jones

22 September — 2 October 2022 Entrance is free — Visit now

Update: The 25th Manchester Food and Drink Festival (MFDF) will now start on Thursday 22nd September. Following guidance from Manchester City Council the Festival will be delayed by a week in order to fall in line with the national mourning period for Queen Elizabeth II and the council’s cessation of events and entertainment on public squares during this time.

The Festival Hub will now open on 22nd September and will run until 2nd October. The Festival Hub opening schedule is now as follows: Thursday 22nd September – Sunday 25th September; Thursday 29th September – Sunday 2nd October. The Hub will be closed Monday – Wednesday as usual. The MFDF Curry Club has been postponed and will be rescheduled as soon as possible.

The 25th Manchester Food and Drink Festival is back for a quarter-century blowout and this year will see an extra special celebration of Manchester’s thriving food and drink scene. There are enough events on offer for all tastes, and you can book your tickets at the MFDF website below.

As ever, Cathedral Gardens is at the heart of the action, hosting The Festival Hub which will be home to an array of street food traders, bars, and artisan producers, as well as masterclasses and takeovers.

It’s fair to say 2022’s festival looks set to be a major improvement on last year’s excellent instalment

Excitingly, the first ever Festival Fire Pit Takeover will be coming to the Hub for both long weekends.  Here’s where you’ll find the region’s best-loved chefs, cooking over fire for a first-time festival feast.  Caroline Martins, founder of the Sao Paolo project,  Robert Owen Brown and Francisco Martinez from Fazenda will all be bringing their own specialist BBQ flavours to the fire pit as part of Weber’s takeover.

The Hub will also host the Octopus Cookbook Confidential demo kitchen on Saturday 24th September in collaboration with Octopus Books. Top chefs and industry experts will be coming together to share their tips, ideas and knowledge in cookery demos, conversations and debate discussions.  A full day of foodie demos and panels will include:

  • Kate Humble & Lia Leendertz: The joy of the outdoors – Eating & Cooking with the Seasons
  • Edd Kimber: Pudding Love! – discussing our love of puddings from childhood to becoming professionals and everything in between
  • Pip Payne & Nicky Corbishley: Tips, ideas and hacks for putting dinner on the table every night without breaking the bank
  • Joe Woodhouse, Josh Katz & David Bez: From the swede to the courgette – why we should all be eating more veg and all the veggie inspiration you could hope for
  • Jeremy Pang: School of Wok Chinese Cooking Demo
  • Rahul Mandal: The Baking Surgery
  • Jaega Wise vs Joel Harrison in conversation with Neil Ridley: Beer vs Cocktails

Free spaces for the Octopus Cookbook Confidential are limited and can be booked here.

But wait, there’s more. Some of Manchester’s best-loved chefs will also be joining the Festival Hub to lead cooking masterclasses on the opening weekend of the Festival. Plus, the much-anticipated Artisan Food Market will take place across the duration of the Festival. This free-to-attend market will showcase some of Manchester’s finest food and drink producers, including New Market Dairy, The Flat Baker & Dghnt.

Away from the festival hub, an array of activities will be taking place across Manchester city centre:

MFDF will be the first event to take place at the iconic New Century in Manchester’s NOMA district, bringing the Wine and Fizz Festival to town. New Century is currently being restored with stunning original features creating an extraordinary new live music and events hall for Manchester. Opening in September, the Wine and Fizz Festival will be the first event to take place in this iconic space. A chance to see amazing retailers like Cork of the North, Prestwich’s Grape to Grain and UKiYO Republic (showcasing their wonderful range of Japanese sake) in an incredible setting. Tickets are available to buy here.

Across the city for the duration of the festival, MFDF is also curating a lineup of fantastic restaurants to take part in their £25 for 25 years menu collaboration. Northern Quarter favourite District will be creating an exclusive £25 drinks pairing menu to compliment their amazing Thai cuisine and celebrate the 25th anniversary of Manchester Food and Drink festival.  Embankment Kitchen are also creating an exclusive £25 menu to give diners a taste of the best of their offering at a reduced price. Other restaurants taking part include Mi and Pho with a Vietnamese take on the exclusive menu offer, as well as Three Little Words, Shoryu Ramen, Tast, Society and more.

From the lineup of events so far, it’s fair to say 2022’s festival is a major improvement on last year’s excellent instalment. Keep your eye on this page for more details as we get them. Until then, mine’s an Aperol Spritz.

22 September — 2 October 2022 Entrance is free Visit now

Where to go near Manchester Food and Drink Festival 2022

Ripley's Believe It Or Not
Blackpool
Museum
Ripley’s Believe It Or Not

Located at Blackpool Pleasure Beach resort, this museum of oddities is the perfect place for families to discover the strange, the unusual and the extraordinary.

Image courtesy of Saoko Cocktail Bar.
Blackpool
Restaurant
Saoko Cocktail Club

This cocktail bar may be the new kid on the Blackpool block, but it’s already renowned for its excellent service and imaginative drinks that offer an ‘experience and a story’.

Little Black Pug by Ian Jones.
Blackpool
Restaurant
Little Black Pug

Head to Balckpool’s Little Black Pug for an historic, laid-back, family-friendly pub with a huge malt whiskey collection.

Ian Jones.
Blackpool
Shop
Aunty Social

Both a lifestyle store and a community arts hub, Aunty Social showcases the very best of Blackpool’s creative community. A great spot to pick up lovingly-made gifts.

Exterior of fish and chip shop
Blackpool
Restaurant
Harrowside Fish & Chips

Winner of the Good Food Award’s coveted Chippy of the Year award on multiple occasions, Harrowside is a great choice for fish and chips in Blackpool.

Ladies eating Fish and Chips
Blackpool
Restaurant
C Fresh

C Fresh is an old school, decidedly affordable chippy near Blackpool prom, consistently busy with locals – a sure-fire sign it’s doing something right.

Twisted
Blackpool
Restaurant
Twisted Indian Street Food

Blackpool’s number one Indian restaurant, Twisted Indian packs a flavour punch and isn’t afraid to mix the traditional with the modern. Their motto? ‘Being normal is boring.’

What's on: Festivals

A close up of a pink bottle of Leeds Sauce
Until
FestivalsLeeds
Compass Festival 2024

With interactive encounters and live performance, Compass Festival is set to animate the city of Leeds this November.

free entry
Until
FestivalsManchester
Winter Island

Freight Island has transformed into Winter Island for the Christmas season, focusing on all things fun and festive.

free entry
ignite at gibside
Until
FestivalsNewcastle
Christmas at Gibside

Experience Christmas at Gibside, a gorgeously traditional celebration of the festive season, set in the eighteenth-century house and gardens.

free entry
FestivalsManchester
Lightwaves at Salford Quays

An unmissable ten days of luminary adventures. Interact with boundary-breaking new commissions, create your own digital masterpieces and take a selfie with a Dalek. Yep, really.

free entry

Culture Guides

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in Manchester and the North

Alongside experimental performance, new writing and free arts festivals, we take a look at some of the Christmas shows happening in the North.