I’m a big fan of food festivals, and the schedule for this year’s Manchester Food and Drink Festival doesn’t disappoint. What I cannot wait for, is the first in Manchester Food and Drink Festival’s ‘Hidden Banquet’ series; “Innovation by Aiden Byrne”. It is taking place at London Road Fire Station on Friday 30th September and tickets are on sale now.

 

If you’re a Manchester-ophile then this will be right up your street. The Hidden Banquets series programmed in partnership with Allied London will allow festival-goers the pretty awesome opportunity to explore some of the city’s secret, undiscovered and down right jaw dropping spaces, in association with the nation’s most talented and exciting chefs, all in the context of Manchester’s cultural identity and heritage.

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The banquets are the ultimate celebration of Manchester, its culinary talent, its history and its ever-transforming landscape.

The banquet series is produced in partnership with Allied London whose vision and ability to reimagine urban spaces is nationally renowned. Each banquet in the series will take in a different, remarkable location, feature a different exceptional chef, and will be themed around the most iconic aspects of Manchester’s heritage, identity and contribution to the world. The much-anticipated first banquet in the series is now available for sale… but what’s the big deal about?

“INNOVATION” by Aiden Byrne will be a banquet for 220 people on Friday 30th September at the city’s most extraordinary re-discovered space – London Road Fire Station.

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Aiden, of the acclaimed Manchester House, has created a very special menu for the occasion, all designed around the theme of ‘innovation’ – that special spirit that Manchester is famous for and which brought the world the first computer, the first inter-city railway link and… Factory Records. The 7-course banquet will kept under wraps until the event itself but the diners lucky enough to get one of the coveted 200 tickets will be in for a totally unique, one-off experience at the old engine room of the London Road Fire Station – a space that hasn’t been open to the public for nearly 30 years.

This is a truly innovative gastro experience as befits our ground-breaking city.

A contribution from ticket sales will be given to The Christie and Manchester Children’s Hospital in the name of Living Ventures visionary Tim Bacon who passed away in April.

There are 200 regular tickets for the 7-course banquet, priced at £125. A further 20 “Chefs Table” tickets will be available at £200.

Tickets are available at: http://manchesterfoodanddrinkfestival.nutickets.com/HiddenInnovation

– and when they’re gone they’re gone!