Manchester Food and Drink Festival

The Manchester Food and Drink festival celebrates its 15th birthday with a city-wide party over three weeks. There are free cooking demos, chilli eating competitions, a bonanza of street food stalls and special £15 deals, offers and menus in the city’s best restaurants. Kicking off tomorrow (Fri 21 Sep) at noon, a great place to start your foodie adventure is Albert Square. On this historic site, you can explore the biggest beer tent the festival has ever propped up, with mountains of kegs and over 100 regional ales, lagers and craft beers to sample at the Manchester Beer Fest (until Wed 26 Sep, free to enter). On Sunday 23 September, Altrincham Market will be hosting its very own mini food and drink fair showcasing food and drink from the south Manchester and Cheshire area against a backdrop of live music and entertainment. Chorlton is getting in on the act too. Highlights include Unicorn’s 16th birthday party, with a chapati- and daal-making masterclass in store (Sun 23 Sep, noon – 3pm, £10 refundable deposit) and an edible mushroom hunt (Sat 29 Sep, £10 adults, £5 children) led by wild food guru Jesper Lauder. The three-hour walk, meeting at the Bowling Green pub at midday, will finish with a wild cooking experience to sample your edible finds. Check out a list of restaurants offering £15 menus deals here, including Damson, Ramsons and the new restaurant at the top of the National Football Museum, Kaleido. For a full list of events visit www.foodanddrinkfestival.com.