The annual celebration began on the Thursday 26th September and is running 12pm-11pm until the 7th October, at Cathedral Gardens.
14 food and drink stalls were present as well as live music in the main festival bar.
Paolo Fuschi, frontman and guitarist of Mancunian band, The Italian Job said: “It’s great playing in front of this many people… it’s always a good vibe… and the beer is amazing.”
The band recently played a gig in Worsley, Salford.
The festival focused on promoting local businesses and the director of the event, Alexa Stratton-Powell described it as a “celebration of Manchester’s food and drink scene.”
It is estimated to attract 90,000 people across the 11 days.
Sponsors of Manchester Food and Drink Festival included Camden Town Breweries, providing nearly 100 different ales for the event.
“We’ve done the food and drinks festival for fifteen years,” explained the brewery’s partner, Kay Ruby.
“It’s got great beer, great music, the food is fantastic. It’s a really good range.”
A couple from Denmark enjoyed the festival because it reminded them of home.
They said: “It’s what we like in Denmark; live music and a lot of beer.”
Manchester’s cider, gin and wine suppliers were also present, including Montann’s boutique wines, made in Manchester using Oxford-grown grapes. Montann’s best seller was the dry white wine, Muller Thurgau.
For more information, visit https://www.montann.co.uk/our-range/sparkling-wine/
Aside from drink, the festival included 10 food stalls, which catered to a range of tastes.
Many provided gluten free and vegan options, such as Vegan Fried Chicken offering vegan deep fried seitan.
Tampopo, a local restaurant found their vegan option, jackfruit rendang as popular as their Thai curry chicken noodles.
Most companies were regular festival attendees, but newcomer, Grace Stevens’s was new to the scene having set up her #Cookie Dough van in April this year. Selling a range of cookie doughs, ice creams and milkshakes, #Cookie Dough offered a sweeter taste of Manchester.
Follow Grace on Twitter: #Cookiedough, Facebook: R&G Catering and Instagram: r_g_catering
Festival director, Alexa welcomed new businesses.
She said: “We have lots of brands and street food traders who return every year…we love that they want to come back, but we also make sure that we have new traders to make sure that everything feels different every year.”
Throughout the day, chefs showcased their cooking in the festival’s dome.
Manchester’s Chef of the Year and Head Chef of Baratxuri restaurant, Rachel Stockley, demonstrated how to make a traditional Spanish tortilla.
Ben Chaplin, a sous chef from 20 Stories encouraged people to try his herb crusted plaice which features on 20 Stories’ autumn menu.
One person described the festival’s food as “absolutely delicious.”
Manchester Food and Drink Festival will continue until the 7th October and shall involve more food and drink partners.
For more information, visit http://foodanddrinkfestival.com/
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