CityLife

Manchester Food and Drink Festival - and Chorlton!

MFDF brochure - out now

THE Manchester Food and Drink Festival 2009 brochure is now out and lip-smacking reading it makes – detailing 12 days of dedicated troughing and swigging, culminating in the MFDF Awards Gala Dinner, hosted by the Hairy Bikers at the Palace Hotel on Monday, October 12.

Tickets are still available at £80 a head (inc VAT). To book your place, visit link right.

Of course, the festival is not just about city centre glitz. The event, now in its 12th year, prides itself on its reaching beyond the city centre's usual suspects.

Pils and pigtails

Chorlton is a prime foodie outpost with five out the 56 MFDF Awards nominees – Electrik, Ostara, Sweet Tooth Cupcakery, Barbakan and Unicorn. And 30 out of an amazing 80-plus independent outlets in one square mile are taking part in the subsidiary Chorlton Food and Drink Festival. For full details visit chorltonfringe.com.

The main festival base, around St Ann's and Albert Squares, offers a host of star names from Michael Caines to Clarissa Dickson Wright and looks like a return to form after last year's unfortunate switch to Spinningfields.

I particularly recommend the MFDF Local Food Heroes Exhibition – specially commissioned photographs on show at sponsors Harvey Nichols.

Bizarrely veteran crooner Andy Williams, who is performing the RNCM, gets a brochure listing (a bit like the time Jackie Mason was almost roped into the Irish Festival!) and alongside the impressive, ale, wine and whisky festival line-ups, there's the late addition of an Albert Square Oktoberfest (October 8-11) for those who get off on oompah, pils and pigtails.

The Wurst of both worlds, says CityLife.