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 Manchester Food and Drink Festival 2011

This year’s Manchester Food and Drink Festival takes place between 7^th-17^th October, and intends to be the most extravagant yet with more events on that ever before! The festival sets off at the Festival Hub in Albert Square, where a host of delights are sure to tempt even the pickiest of taste buds.

Heat up your Friday by heading down to the Chilli Lovers Fair at the Hub. It opens at 6.30pm, and the passionate creators behind this event have generated a multitude of hot treats from chilli beer to flaming marinades. If you’re looking for something a little more competitive, try joining in with the Chilli Eating Contest at 7.30pm and see how far you can really go! Be aware that entry must be booked prior to the event by emailing Melissa@foodanddrinkfestival.com or calling 0161 834 4312.

If chocolate is more your thing, Saturday 8^th will be presenting the debut Manchester Chocolate Festival. From midday onwards, bask in cocoa heaven with over ten different producers aiming to open up your world with their inventive produce.

For those of you that are a fan of your drink, head down to the Festival Hub in Albert Square where you can try a variety of local and regional ales in its mini Real Ale Festival. And don’t forget Manchester’s very own Oktoberfest where the German beer Veltins will be holding a Bierkeller. There will also be live entertainment within the newly born food village to keep you indulged. And the best thing yet? All of these have free entry and are set up for the duration of MFDF.

A special event during the festival takes place in the Hub, where Tampopo co-founder David Fox has teamed up with Masterchef Finalist Jackie Kearney to create an East Asian Food Odyssey. They have created a six course culinary feat complete with wine. We caught up with Jackie to talk about her eastern adventures and latest accomplishments:

You’re food passion centres in vegetarian dining and Asian street food, is this just a result of all of your travelling?

“I always loved Asian food and it was my interest in street food that was ignited. Vegetarianism has always been a bit of a challenge here, and travelling opened up different kinds of food where it isn’t an issue to be vegetarian, it’s just great food, especially in India and parts of South East Asia.

When you were out in the East did you pick up a lot of new tips?

Loads! A lot of food is made roadside, so you can see what kind of skills go into different dishes. I also did a couple of cooking classes whilst I was travelling: I learned how to make momos (dumplings) from a Tibetan monk, and I learned how to make a lot of the Punjabi influenced food – although that’s been influenced as much by people I know in Chorlton!

Are there any specific chefs that have helped to influence your cooking style?

One of the biggest influences in terms of being proud about vegetarian food is Yotam Ottolenghi. His food is amazing and his recipes are unfailable. They let me come and work there and everybody was so supportive, I learned a lot. He’s been a food hero of mine, and he lived up to being that hero.

I’ve also got a huge respect for Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. There’s politics in food, and I admire people that have the courage to stand up and put their head above the parapet and go, for example, ‘it’s not alright to trawl our sea beds like this’. I’d like to shake that man’s hand!

For the Manchester Food and Drink Festival you’re going to be working with Tampopo’s co-founder David Fox. This is quite a big step forward isn’t it?

It’s a big step forward in terms of the opportunities it gives me to work with a really experienced team of East Asian chefs. I’m really excited about the menu; it’s challenging but I know we can deliver it because the team is so good. The fact that it’s mine and Dave’s menu is fantastic. I really like working with [Dave], we’ve got a lot in common and he’s a really genuine guy.

What are your favourite Manchester restaurants?

Got to be Tompopo. [Laughs] But there’s also a tiny little Thai place upstairs from the lap dancing bar Long Legs that’s called Phetpailin. It’s named after a town in Northern Thailand, and is very famous for its food. That’s what attracted me to go there and I have to say, Phetpailin in Manchester has some of the most authentic Thai food that I’ve ever had.

Rumours have it that you’re planning on opening a new restaurant in the city centre…

Well, I’m currently launching my underground restaurant at home next week - I’m going to be doing vegetarian and fine dining at home! The underground restaurant idea is new to Manchester but it’s all over London. Essentially, you turn your own dining room into a floor restaurant for the night.

In style with Manchester’s talent for joining in with the party, plenty of local restaurants are also doing their part to support MFDF. The Festival Hub itself will be holding a food marathon within its ‘Festival Fifteen’ menu offer – this gets you a £15 dinner within the festival period at a choice of top food venues including Tampopo and Vertigo. Booking is necessary at www.manchesterconfidential.co.uk where you can also see a full list of the offers. With a special menu by Miguel Cancio Martins, A-list venue Vermillion will be holding nights of sensuous delights until 17^th October and Sandinista just off St Ann’s Square are holding The Gringo’s Guide to Latin Cuisine with a taster menu complete with cocktails. 

With a world of food and drink waiting at your fingertips, this is a festival not to be missed!

For a full list of all the events and further information, go to: www.foodanddrinkfestival.com.

Natalia Fedoruk