MANCHESTER FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL 2009
Watch Manchester’s streets come alive this October as the city celebrates its fine food and delicious drinks during this year’s much-acclaimed Food and Drink Festival.
The weather may have taken on an unexpected chill but that won’t stop AGENT2’s readers come out in full force to taste exciting cuisines from the region’s best chefs. In the week long event, the festival takes place in various venues around the city centre allowing everyone to sample some of the country’s best food, made and produced in the Northwest.
MFDF’s Executive Director, Phil Jones said: “This year’s festival aims to highlight the best of Manchester, focusing more than ever on the great dining and drinking businesses we have here in Greater Manchester… [and] show the rest of the nation how much they have to offer.”
This gastronomic extravaganza, from October 1-12, has become one of the UK’s flagship food events, enticing foodies, experts and hungry passersby from all over the country. Last year, over 250,000 people nibbled their way through the 11-day festival, and this year expects to top that with new events and the return of popular classic fêtes.
Some of this year’s line-up includes the Fine Food Market, Oktoberfest, and the Whisky and Local Wine Festivals.
The carnival kicked off with the temporary establishment of the Fine Food Village in St. Anne’s Square, last Thursday October 1. Here the best chefs and producers from around the region congregate to show their masterpieces and take part in the Fine Food Market. Visitors can also enjoy the vibrant atmosphere by popping over at lunchtime and sampling some of Manchester’s highest quality food and drink.
Throughout the week, the lively festival will keep burning with daily chef demonstrations at the Festival’s Chef Demonstration Theatre. Learn the latest techniques, pick up some unique culinary ideas and choose from the finest ingredients at the market, to recreate these succulent dishes at home.
Each weekday evening a series of dining events will take part in the city’s fanciest restaurants. The Dinner in the City Series in Association with Forever Manchester Festival sees chefs and MFDF create unique specific menus for each restaurant which will give the diner a scrumptious, if not surprising, evening.
The event that expects to see Manchester’s biggest turnout is the Albert Square’s Festival Finale Pavilion, from Friday October 9 – Sunday October 11. Thousands are anticipated to turn up at the outdoor celebration to witness a number of events take place in Manchester’s notorious square. Featuring Lancashire’s quality manufacturers and food brands, you can choose from a selection of market produce, hot snacks, restaurant samples, Germany’s legendary Oktoberfest to the extremely popular Real Ale Festival.
Oktoberfest, a traditional German festival, is an extravaganza of fabulous food, traditional beer and live brass brand entertainment. If you haven’t brought your lederhosen then why not try some delicious German sausages and wash them down with Paulaner? Clap traditional Stein ale glasses together and join in on the charismatic Bavarian song and dance.
Director of MFDF, Siobhan Hanley is looking forward to the four-day event, adding: “We think Bavarian beer will go down very well, providing a unique option for visitors to the pavilion, particularly as this will be the only Oktoberfest happening in Manchester.”
Official sponsors, Lufthansa are also offering two lucky festival-goers the chance to win flights to Germany, the homeland of an authentic Oktoberfest’s festival. Enter via the website or at the pavilion itself.
Last year, MFDF’s first Real Ale Festival blew visitors away. The unprecedented success of this bona fide British gala has led to the return of this fair. From October 9-11, around 30 local breweries and micro-breweries will take their place in the Taste Tent in Albert Square, with their best autumn beers for you to sample and sup. Guests have to buy a minimum of £5 beer tokens to enter the marquee.
Brewers will be vying for two awards for their smooth tipples: The People’s Pint, voted by you, Manchester’s ale devotees and The Manchester Ale of the Year, chosen by expert judges. Winners will be announced at the MFDF Gala Dinner and Awards ceremony on Monday October 12, the last event in this year’s MFDF calender. Fifteen awards in total will be given to the region’s best restaurants, producers and bars, chosen by both professionals and the public. Presented by the Hairy Bikers, this prestigious event will round the festival off in style with banquets and guaranteed delicious, succulent food. The public can buy tickets for £92 from www.mfdfgaladinnerandawards.eventbrite.com.
With a catalogue of appetising activities and events too long to list here, it’s really best if you check it out for yourself. Whether you’re passing by on your way back from work or you find yourself supping real ale on the weekend, MFDF is a sure way to enjoy yourself with quality food, excellent company and superb drinks.
Don’t let the October wind put you off; warm your cockles with Bavarian beer and wander through its maze of stalls, sampling some exquisite hot freshly cooked snacks. The MFDF is not only an opportunity to bask in the exceptionally high standard of our region’s food and cooking but, it’s also a fabulous way to spend the weekend.
Just remember to bring your coat.
Visit www.foodanddrinkfestival.com for more information, to vote or enter competitions, and the full schedule of events.
Words Natasha Al-Atassi
FRAE – COOL AS ICE
‘Froyo’ must be the word of the summer. Everyone’s talking about it; everyone’s trying it; everyone’s having it. If you’re not, then you’re definitely missing out. As the curtains are drawn on this year’s rather miserable summer, the season’s best trend can still be found throughout September’s drizzly days and the coming wintry months. We might not need frozen yoghurt to quench our thirst or cool us in sizzling heat, but for whatever reason, froyo is a craze we certainly do need.
New frozen yoghurt company, Frae has opened a new store in London’s trendy Angel Camden Passageway jumping on the bandwagon of the nation’s obsession with healthy but yummy treats. The yoghurt is every nutritionist’s dream. One-hundred percent fat free, Frae’s froyo is made entirely from natural products fresh from the farm. This probiotic yoghurt not only hosts active cultures but is low in calories too, making this the perfect guilt-free splurge.
Available in two flavours, Original and Green Tea, you can also top up your delicious creamy yoghurt with a selection of 18 toppings. Choose from fresh mango or pomegranate, or granola and goji berries for the extreme health enthusiast. For those who like a bit of a treat, a crunchy topping of Oreo cookies, Kit Kat or gooey chocolate brownies might be up your street.
Frae’s froyos have something for everyone; Keira Knightly and Sadie Frost being among its most popular customers. As its fan base grows, it’s not hard to see why. Not only does it greet passersby with velvety healthy delights, but its New York style laid-back design makes for a perfect summer’s day retreat.
The light and airy décor together with bare brick walls mimics a NYC open-loft. Its breakfast bar and cushioned bench offer a fresh and subtle take on ‘fast-food joints’ without the garish colours and greasy food, whilst its lime green stalls add vivacity to ordinary mundane ‘health food stores’. Ideal for a refreshing alternative to ice-cream on a balmy afternoon, its carefree ambiance and comfortable decor is also inviting to friends after a day’s shopping on the Camden Passage, an instant healthy snack ‘to-go’ or even, the perfect haven to escape this summer’s turbulent storms.
To top it off, Frae’s spoonful desert comes in eco-friendly packaging; spoons are made from potato and smoothie cups from corn, as well as bio-degrable coffee cups. Indeed, not only is Frae healthy it is also environmentally aware which will lighten anyone’s conscience when handing over the cash.
Frae also offers organic smoothies and fat-free coffees including their own ‘fraeppuchino’, offering its unique flavours to everyone whilst seemingly doing the impossible: making healthy snacks as delicious as our biggest sins.
Open from 11am till midnight everyday, Frae knows what the people of London want and it knows what we need. The summer may have let us down, but whatever the season, a froyo will be sure to lift our spirits day-in-day-out…without adding any inches to our waist.
Words Natasha Al-Atassi
ROOM WITH A REVIEW
There is only one word that springs to mind on entering the Victorian stone building. Glamour. Old school glamour. Set in the Venetian Gothic old Reform Club on one of Manchester’s most affluent shopping strips, I knew this would be a time-travelling treat but what a treat it was. Let’s just say, if the food was going to be as good as our first impressions then we were in for a very special night indeed.
Room is a restaurant like no other. Opened in 2005, it is set in a 19th Century Liberal Party Reform Club and simply oozes historical and architectural charm through its carved wood ceilings, giant marble fireplaces and unbelievably tall windows. Transcending the rich red spiral staircase is like taking a step back in history, met at the top with a seven foot bronze statue of former Prime Minister William Gladstone. I suddenly wished I had put my glad rags on to match the glamour of this special dining experience. Vaulted ornate ceilings and Timerous Beasties statement print wallpaper against deep rich coloured walls radiated the drama you would expect from this gothic structure.
So theatrical is Room’s period features and Victorian design that it is strangely and effortlessly, en vogue.
Indeed, the clear attempts at making this centurion building contemporary with retro motifs and modern fixtures makes this bistro an archetype for vintage chic. The three gigantic lipstick-red lamp shades that must measure my height in diameter hanging boldly in the dining room, the centrepiece bar with Tom Cruise-esque cocktail staff whisking up exotic drinks for up to 70 guests, and the many club lights delicately draped from the ornate ceiling all made these pieces of history come alive in this paradoxical environment, relishing in fairytale glamour.
Black square dining tables are placed beside the twenty / thirty foot long narrow windows in orderly lines whilst in the bar, leather poofs and bar stools are scattered around giving an ambiance of frivolous pleasure and relaxed, yet sophisticated, jamborees, of which we saw many.
Room is refreshingly unpretentious, despite its refined design and upmarket location, situated on Manchester’s affluent King Street, next to the pricey Agent Provocateur and opposite designer store, Vivienne Westwood. It suits its young professional clientele tastefully, without the slightest hint of snobbery and though its menu may be pricey for a regular night off, for a classy do, it demands just the right amount of cash to splash. Everyone was here to have a good time with their partner or with their friends; albeit an urbane and chic one. And urbane and chic, Room most definitely pulled off.
Still, it’s not the decoration we came to enjoy: it was the food. Hard as it is to believe with its rich, exuberant and plush decor, it is the food which is Room’s pièce de resistance. The philosophy behind Room’s cuisine is simple yet effective: reinventing traditional British dishes into sparkling new Michelin-esque pieces of creative magnificence. It isn’t an easy feat but one that Room accomplishes brilliantly. Taking old (and often, mundane) cuisines such as ‘Lancashire Hot Pot’ and transforming the haggard dishes into plates of artistic and sensory pleasure, something quite unlike the original concept.
We were warmly greeted by the very helpful and attentive staff, performing serving etiquette you only find at The Ritz; pouring wine as only wine should be poured, with style, grace and an inch of anticipation. The wine list was meticulously crafted – well chosen tipples to match the traditional dishes flawlessly. Prices start from £25 a bottle but there’s always a choice to purchase a ‘cheeky’ wine for as much as £100, or if you’re really pushing the boat out there’s always Louis Roederer Cristal for £230.
Picking from the exciting menu wasn’t easy as dishes were accompanied by completely contrasting descriptions: ‘Paté on Toast’ became ‘Parfait, Mango, Gingerbread’ and Niçoise Salad, ‘Rare Tuna, Japanese Radish, Quail Egg’. It was quite clear from the get-go that this was no pub-grub but rather cuisines of the highest quality and culinary genius.
Their take on old meals compliments the long-standing English history of the building. With a retro touch, both the decor and the food make a marvel out of their kitsch origins, making this restaurant anything but ordinary.
Starting with ‘Carpaccio’ (Seared Lamb, Feta Cheese, Pine Nuts; £6.50) I was pleasantly surprised. Adorned on a giant white plate were three small pieces of rare lamb chunks and a feta cheese salad. Though the pieces were rather miniscule á la Michelin, they were just right as part of a three-course meal. Still, the meat was beautiful succulent, contrasting perfectly against the salty fried feta and sharp parmesan shavings. My boyfriend’s Pea Soup (Sweet shallots, Mint, Ricotta; £4.50) was deliciously sweet and delectably creamy complimented by the caramelised shallots.
My main, ‘Surf & Turf’ (£17.50) was an innovative take on the usual scampi and steak recipe. The ‘hand dived scallops and crisp pork belly’ was an exciting combination of tender, melt-in-the-mouth meat and slippery smooth scallops. This unique interpretation of Surf & Turf worked wonders as the salty sharp scallops and crackling bacon pork made a surprisingly excellent marriage of flavours. My boyfriend’s ‘8oz Sirloin Steak with Fries and Peppercorn Sauce’ was dutifully juicy and tender, the quality of Room’s aged local meat shining through.
Dining at Room is most exciting when ordering dessert and this is not an experience to skip. The puddings that ‘mum used to make’ were completely revamped, bringing them freshly into the 21st Century. The difference between name and product was so distinct that choosing your dish is like playing Russian roulette; you never know what you’re going to get.
Choosing ‘Peanut Butter and Jam Sandwich’ (£5.50) for example, is nothing like the soggy white bread sandwich we remember eating as children. Instead, delicious moist bread and butter pudding is met with sharp raspberry sorbet that bursts with flavour. Full rich velvety cream panna cotta melts seductively in your mouth. A large peanut brittle is positioned delicately on top of the artistic arrangement of puddings adding crunchy texture to this creamy dessert, perfectly rounding off this ‘sandwich’. It exuded just the right balance between a warm winter pud and fresh summer fruits, the sharp sorbet cutting through the buttery moist dessert.
After being warned that the ‘Mango Lassi’ (Lemon and passion fruit tart; £5.50) wasn’t up to its usual standard due to a faulty oven, we were still blown away with the soft tart emboldened by the robust tangy zest of lemon.
Room’s thrilling and tantalising renovation of cuisines works successfully by confusing the palate so that it soaks in each aroma and flavour as though it had never experienced it before; reinvigorating the essence of these traditional flavours to create a virginal experience of tastes.
Every detail at Room has been carefully crafted to create vintage coolness. Though the food really serves its style delicately on a plate, it is also the overall ambiance that establishes its individuality. The extensive bar offering exclusive champagne cocktails, the mahogany rows of diners and the DJ spinning up-tempo jazz / soul tracks all befit its trendy clientele.
Room manages to combine antiquity with tasteful contemporary design, offering guests an exhilarating rush of dining innovation, amalgamating retro chic with Victorian class, etiquette and, evidently, ambition.
The overall ambiance of excellent service, exquisite food and legendary quarters made for a really special night; a good choice for a cocktail evening with work mates, or perfect for the complete wining and dining extravaganza .
That is, if you enjoy feeling spoiled as part of Manchester’s young, trendy and of course, glamorous, elite.
81 King Street, Manchester
Words Natasha Al-Atassi
GAUCHO GETS A GRILLING
“You must love me, you must love me!” The words sung by one of Argentina’s most famous exports, Eva Peron could not have rung more true when it comes to another iconic export, the Gaucho restaurants famed for their first-rate steaks.
As we stepped into the cavernous space occupied by Manchester’s Gaucho restaurant (an old Methodist church by all accounts), our carnivorous cravings were put aside for a brief moment as we took in the splendor of our surroundings. If AGENT2 was to take our style and taste and open a restaurant, this is pretty close to how we would expect it to look. From the inviting reception area, bar and sexy black leather padded walls which open up into a seating area with modern leather white couches and sleek low sofas, the entire restaurant epitomized great, contemporary style.
Gaucho has managed to retain the grandeur that you would expect when entering a former ‘home of god’ and its central area is accented with just enough cow skin to pay homage to its Argentinean roots without leaving you feeling like you are being overcome with an acute case of ‘Mad Cow’s Disease’. The organ creates a sense of theatre within the dining space and reminds you to watch your ‘p’s and q’s’ as you ponder the building’s former uses while the flashes of fiery red throughout the venue are enough of a nod to the hot, South American temperament.
As day wound its way into the evening and we took our seats for an early dinner, a calm hum was audible over the beats of the modern, Latin American music. The mix of diners in every corner of the 180 seated restaurant was as diverse as the different cuts of meat that were winging their way to diners’ tables to select their meaty treat beforehand. Vegetarians beware!
Last comment aside, there are vegetarian options (and pretty good ones at that) available on the menu at Gaucho but the cornerstone of their menu are the fantastic, organic, Argentinean steaks. Gaucho Restaurants serve only Argentine Aberdeen Angus beef. These cattle are reputed to be top-class thanks to the mild climate, rich soil and vast terrain on which they graze. More recently, the addition of ‘cerviches’, somewhat reminiscent of sushi but with a spin specific to the region has added a more diverse flavor to the menu for those who crave more than meat.
Cuts of meat come in a variety of weights from 225g to 400g – larger sizes can be ordered on request should you have a Tyrannosaurus Rex in your dining party. All steaks are cooked to your taste and the highly trained and helpful staff can recommend the optimum cooking choice for each cut of meat.
At Gaucho restaurants the steaks are all cooked in the traditional Argentine way. By only turning the steak once, there is a greater caremelisation of the crust sealing the meat and enhancing the flavour, as the juices cannot escape. We would highly recommend he Churrasco cut, a spiral cut piece of meat marinated for 24 hours in a mixture of garlic, herbs and corn oil. Served with arguably the tastiest chips we’ve eaten and a side order of sweet peas and bacon we were left with only one option, loosen one belt notch before we tackled our dessert of pancakes and cheesecake with a topping of heavenly dulce de leche.
Gaucho’s vast wine list includes the Terruno, their own label which represents the Latin grape varieties. Many other Argentinian wines are also available, in particular the Vida Chenin, a delicate and clean cut wine. Its subtle tinges of honey make it an ideal accompianment to the tender meat. There’s also an impressive array of fine and rare wines but prices are steep with a bottle of 2000 Malbec setting you back over £110. The cocktail focus shifts to the Americas which provides Latin spirit if you’re in the mood for a party.
Gaucho successfully provides a clear indication of Argentina’s mixed heritage, with its Spanish chorizo dishes, its Italian risotto, French oysters and Latin American passion. This unique mix of culture is both exemplified and complimented in Gaucho’s design, menu and atmosphere. The variety of food and wine is unbeatable whilst still creating top class local dishes with rich exported ingredients making your culinary trip from Patagonia through to Buenos Aires a rather inexpensive affair. Its contemporary clean cut finish does not detract from its authenticity and it succeeds in remaining genuine to Argentina with its excellent food and quality ingredients.
Gaucho is a reputable showcase of fine Argentinian produce but more importantly, with its Latin American spirit it is most definitely a memorable night out.
Words Graham Gartside-Bernier
