Manchester Food and Drink Festival Awards 2020

Ian Jones, Food and Drink Editor

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Manchester Food and Drink Festival Awards 2020

5 October 2020

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Manchester Food & Drink Festival 2019
MFDF 2020
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There’s a new format for the much-loved Manchester Food and Drink Awards in 2020, following an extraordinary year for the hospitality industry.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact it has had upon the hospitality sector, the 2020 awards have been adapted for this year with changes to format, award categories and the MFDF Gala Dinner and Awards ceremony.

Voting will be carried out entirely by the public

The MFDF Awards 2020 will be presented in partnership with festival sponsors Just Eat, and will be the culmination of the Manchester Food and Drink Festival (24th September-5th October). The awards will celebrate the innovation, resilience, altruism and successes that have taken place since the last awards, particularly in light of the vast challenges that the industry has faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Voting will be carried out entirely by the public via the MFDF website and the brand new MFDF app which will be downloadable from early September. The shortlists have been compiled by the MFDF judging panel, made up of the region’s leading food and drink critics, writers and experts.

An extraordinary year for the hospitality industry

The awards ceremony itself will be taking place at a venue to be announced and live-streamed so that, for the first time, the industry and public alike will be able to watch at the same time. More details will be announced soon.

The closing date for votes is midnight on the 26th September and the winners will then be announced in October at the virtual Awards ceremony on 5th October.

Where to go near Manchester Food and Drink Festival Awards 2020

Manchester
Restaurant
Dahlia Stereo

Dahlia Stereo is a Latin American-inspired open-fire kitchen and bar off the Northern Quarter’s Stevenson Square, with a pitch perfect soundsystem.

Balance Taproom
Manchester
Restaurant
Balance Taproom

Manchester has a glut of taprooms, and Balance Brewing’s is far and away the best. Drinks, decor, service – all a cut above.

Richard Hards ‘Strangeways’
Manchester
Gallery
Moon Grove

A Georgian front room in Rusholme houses Moon Grove, an independent gallery with an unusually ambitious international programme.

In Focus: Chinese Contemporary Art.
Manchester
Gallery
New Adelphi Exhibition Gallery

New Adelphi Exhibition Gallery opened in 2016, providing a permanent space to showcase the University of Salford Art Collection within the New Adelphi School of Arts and Media.

Cumbria
Restaurant
1863 Restaurant

1863 offers a seven-course Lake District tasting menu that overdelivers at every turn. Cumbrian ingredients, clever ideas and classical cooking techniques.

City Centre
Bar or Pub
Schofield’s Bar

Schofield’s could be Manchester’s most grown-up bar. Very precise drinks in an upmarket city centre venue. It’s not cheap, hey, but true class costs.

Manchester
Restaurant
Sampa

Sampa’s underground space is the perfect place to learn about both her new mind-expanding dishes and vintage sherries, reimagined for the late 2020s.

Northern Quarter
Restaurant
Sicilian NQ

Busy backstreet Sicilian restaurant in the Northern Quarter, serving up traditional dishes with well-executed vegan versions that more than match up.

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Woodhill by LUNG Theatre.
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Nwando Ebizie and Sidiki Dembélé wear jewel-toned clothes against a midnight blue backdrop.
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Food and Drink in the North

Step into autumn safe in the knowledge that you have the North's very best mid-September guide to food and drink in Manchester and beyond.

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Our latest exhibition picks include a lost recording of the Strangeways protest, Manchester's first sound art festival, and queer archives revisited.

Emily Lloyd-Saini as Grace in Space and Harrie Hayes as Lieutenant Strong in Horrible Science
Family things to do in the North

Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
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There's no shortage of great films out at the moment, whether you're looking for the latest blockbuster, that hot arthouse flick fresh from Cannes or a cosy classic.