The Manchester Food and Drink Festival is a nationally acclaimed event that has developed to its current level over 10 years (2007 will see the 10th annual event to take over the City). Conceived and developed by Phil Jones and Chris Tomlinson in 1998, the event originated as a means of showing the rest of the nation that there was more to Manchester dining than meat pies and gravy! In the 9 Festivals that have taken place over that time, the Festival has achieved a national status.
The Festival is, and always has been, part of the Manchester City Council calendar of events for the City.
The Festival is unique for a number of reasons –
- It is an urban food and drink festival, there is no single location, rather the Festival takes over as much of the City Centre and surrounding districts of Greater Manchester as possible, with a huge programme of events taking place, both indoor and outdoor.
- The Festival highlights a number of ‘Festival themes’ – issues which affect the food and drink industry in the region.
- Like Manchester itself, the Festival is both Original and Modern. Events and participation have ranged from a children’s food workshop at a community library in Salford, to a glittering Gala Dinner at Manchester’s Town Hall.
Over the years the Festival has drawn names as diverse as Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay and Bill Wyman.
