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

City Centre
Restaurant
GiGi Gusto Griglia

GiGi is a lavish Italian restaurant just off Deansgate, with 1950s décor and a menu that sticks to the classics.

Blackburn
Restaurant
Northcote

Northcote’s Michelin-starred restaurant is the jewel in the crown of the Ribble Valley. We get a first look at the new autumnal menu.

Cumbria
Restaurant
Pentonbridge Inn

Pentonbridge Inn is a Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms in north Cumbria. Eight courses of bunkum-free fine dining from head chef Chris Archer.

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.

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