Manchester Food and Drink Festival has today revealed the first part of its programme as a raft of events go on sale ahead of this Autumn’s foodie bonanza.

MFDF, the country’s biggest urban food event, is taking place from 26th September – 7th October. It is one of the city’s best loved and most established festivals, and for the first time the central, outdoor “Festival Hub” is happening in Manchester’s beautiful Cathedral Gardens, creating an entirely new festival experience right in the heart of one of the city’s most picturesque public spaces.

This new Festival Hub destination will create a more village-like, greenfield-style Festival site - a foodie oasis in the city centre, which will be home to the “Dining Dome”. A bigger, better-than-ever epicentre for the Festival’s impressive programme of phenomenal foodie events at the Hub, the new-look Dining Dome will form the centrepiece of this exciting new location on Cathedral Gardens. It will be surrounded by a great variety of bespoke booze offerings including an exceptional gin bar hosted for the first time by J.J. Whitley, a premium spirits range inspired by the British countryside, and Lamb and Watt natural range of premium mixers. The J.J. Whitley gin range includes London Dry Gin, Elderflower Gin, Nettle Gin, Violet Gin and Pink Cherry Gin which will all be available at the Festival gin bar, perfectly complemented by Lamb & Watt’s superior range of mixers made with organic blue agave, all natural ingredients and spring water sourced in the English Lake District. The range includes original tonic, light tonic, cucumber, hibiscus and basil tonics, as well as a refreshing ginger ale – so a truly wild, natural and botanical gin experience is coming to the Hub this year.

There will also be a HUGE local craft beer bar serving up the very best beers from the region’s incredible brewery and micro-brewery scene – from Beatnikz to Black Jack - as well as a new wine bar.

Camden Town Brewery will also be ‘here with the beer’ at the Festival Hub, pouring fresh beers from their shipping container bar including Camden Hells Lager, Pale Ale and Show Off Juicy Lager. As the Festival’s Official Lager Partner there’ll be plenty of beer activity happening throughout including tastings and samplings plus all their beers will be available on the main, gigantic craft beer bar too.

The new Festival Hub will also, for the first time, be home to an artisan market bringing some of the finest food and drink producers together for a gastro shopping experience, plus as ever, an expertly curated collection of the finest street food heroes around. 

The City Life stage will feature an eclectic mix of Manchester’s best talent, plus there’ll be chef demos, a cider fest and a whole host of other fantastic foodies popping up throughout the 11 day Festival Hub celebrations.