Top 5: Food & drink at Manchester Christmas Market 2019

The official name for these icing sugar covered clouds is ‘pofferties’. These particular ones are cooked before your eyes on a grand, pock-holed hot plate. They are then stacked on paper trays and smothered in your choice of topping. We suggest that Nutella and whippy cream is the best combo, with a squirt of maple syrup for good measure.

Delicacies from Luxembourg, located near the giant rotating ‘mobile’ bar/sculpture on Albert Square serves the cheapest hot mulled wine on the market. The stall used to be run by two self proclaimed ‘fat ladies’ who became personal friends of mine over the years. Sadly, they retired a couple of years ago, probably to the tune of £2m each which they made at the Manchester Christmas Market. The stall is now run by a younger generation and has expanded its offer to include pretzels.

The Eat Greek menu describes this dish as ‘Halloumi Fries (Too Die For)’. Pedants will note that the team have added an extra ‘o’ to the word ‘to’ but this typo takes nothing away from these wobbly, gooey, delicious sticks of joy, served on a bed of salad and drizzled with mint yoghurt and scattered with pomegranate seeds. This is probably the most expensive way to enjoy halloumi this side of Dubai – but it’s worth it.

Lakeland in the centre of the Albert Square market serves ethically sourced meats, grilled to order on a massive hot plate and accompanied by artisan chutneys and cheeses. The stall is always busy because the food is honestly delicious. In my book this is the only place to eat sausage at the markets as you know where its coming from (not very far away) and you know it’s cooked with the kind of love and care the lamb, pig or cow deserved. The stall serves classic hotdogs in the English style (think a fat, hot sausage, with ketchup in a fluffy sub) or burgers and I’d recommend ordering both.

The Snowdonia Cheese Company has a lot to answer for, such as the national trend for wrapping perfectly good cheese in lashings of colourful wax and tripling the price. However their cheeses are very good. Prior to trying Nature’s Nectar, a mature cheddar with rum-marinated figs and honey, my favourites were Red Devil (a spicy Red Leicester) and the extra mature cheddar, Black Bomber. Basically you can’t go wrong.