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
Shortlised: 10 Tib Lane, Erst, The Sparrows, Another Hand, Mana, The Firehouse, Where The Light Gets
Bar of the Year
Winner: Speak In Code
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)
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025
Emily Sergeant
Rochdale has officially been named Greater Manchester’s Town of Culture for 2025.
Taking over the reins from Bolton – which held the title in 2024 – and following in the footsteps of Stockport before that, which held the title in 2023, and even hosted a massive ‘Town of Culture Weekender’ festival with 50+ free events to celebrate and bring its title year to a close, it’s now the turn of the north-eastern Greater Manchester borough of Rochdale.
Rochdale’s year will build on the town’s already-rich cultural history and international reputation as the home of the co-operative movement.
More than 35 arts organisations will be bringing together an ambitious programme of festivals, exhibitions, events, and performances throughout the year.
Unfamiliar with what the ‘Greater Manchester Town of Culture’ title is all about? It’s an accolade that’s handed out every year to different boroughs across the region.
Bury was the inaugural title-holder 2020 and held onto it in 2021 too due to the COVID pandemic, before being followed by Stalybridge in 2022, Stockport in 2023, and of course, Bolton in the year just gone.
The title celebrates Greater Manchester’s culture and heritage.
As well as getting a new title to shout about, it also sees the towns given a grant from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) culture fund to help develop a programme of cultural events and activities throughout the year.
Rochdale has been named Greater Manchester’s ‘Town of Culture’ for 2025 / Credit: The Manc Group | Rochdale Council
In Rochdale’s case, you can expect the ‘very best local talent’, as this year is promising to put ‘people power’ centre stage, with residents helping to plan, develop, and deliver a lineup of creative activities, alongside a number of major events.
This includes the popular free days out for families, an exciting new urban arts festival, two different food and drink festivals, a lantern parade, the Ignite Fire Festival, a Pride parade, and so much more.
You can also expect live music performances, a new people’s gallery, and even some major international collaborations that are yet to be announced.
Rochdale is taking over the reins from Bolton, which held the title in 2024 / Credit: Rochdale Council
“Rochdale is a place with a rich cultural history, so it is great to name it Greater Manchester’s town of culture as it’s town hall and town centre enter a new era,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham as the borough was crowned this week.
“Rochdale submitted a fantastic bid for this which, was incredibly exciting and ambitious, while being firmly rooted in its local talent and deep history.
“We are definitely going to see the very best of what Rochdale has to offer over the next 12 months and people will come from far and wide to see it.”
Featured Image – Rochdale Council
News
The Lowry Theatre undergoes revamp following Biffa Award grant
Danny Jones
The Lowry in Salford Quays has had a bit of TLC with one of its biggest theatre spaces undergoing a pretty significant refurb this past month.
Following a well-deserved grant distributed via the Biffa Award, a multi-million-pound fund that helps to build communities and transform lives through community and environmental projects across the UK, the legendary local theatre received nearly £75k last year.
As a result, all 440 seats and various other aspects of The Lowry‘s Quays Theatre have now been renovated and refurbished.
The short story is, she looks more gorgeous than ever – see for yourself:
Being initially handed over in March 2024, The Lowry was awarded a total of £74,816 to reupholster seating in the venue’s Quays Theatre with new padding and fabric.
After almost 25 years of constant use as one of the most popular theatres in the North, the seats in the Quays Theatre were much in need of a refurb, and with work completed in December, Lowry visitors can now enjoy watching the venue’s wide range of theatre, dance, comedy and drama in comfort.
The work was actually carried out between July and December, with seats being carefully removed in batches and reupholstered off-site.
This was made possible due to the Biffa Award’s most recent ‘Cultural Facilities’ theme, which aims to improve recreation, interest and education, drawing funds from the UK government’s wider Landfill Communities Fund.
The old fabric and padding were disposed of sustainably, with lots of it being repurposed where possible to minimise waste and all the new materials used meet current guidance for safety and quality.
The Lowry’s Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Development, Gwen Oakden, said of the long overdue update:“It is so important that our audiences are able to enjoy our world-class performing arts programme in a comfortable and welcoming space.
“For many visitors to the Quays Theatre, this is their first experience of live performance – often to see a family show or as part of a school trip. We really want it to be the best experience possible, and for them to begin a lifelong relationship with Lowry.
“As a registered charity, without the generous support of this Biffa Award, for which we’re hugely grateful, we couldn’t have carried out this important work for our audiences.
As we head into our 25th Anniversary year, we are delighted to be able to welcome audiences and visitors can enjoy the beautiful and revived Quays Theatre.”
As for the Biffa side of things, Grants Manager Rachel Maidment added: “We are delighted to have supported The Lowry in refurbishing the Quays Theatre seating, ensuring audiences can continue to enjoy performances in comfort.
“Through Biffa’s Cultural Facilities theme, we fund projects that provide engaging and inspiring spaces for communities. The Lowry is a key cultural venue, and we’re proud that our funding, made possible through the government Fund, has helped enhance the experience for visitors for years to come.”
Like most Mancs, we love The Lowry, so here’s to hosting countless more theatregoers in the most comfortable seats possible for generations to come.
We’ve been to some brilliant performances around here of late.
Georgina Pellant -
27th September 2022 
