Food and Drink Festival Awards shortlist

Beefy Stew says..“ Groan. Boooring.”

Fi says..“ The same old, same old. The MFDF has well and truly run its course in my opinion. Ramsons and Harvey Nicks are there every year in some form, as is anywhere where David Gale or Robert Owen Brown happen to be working at the time. It was carp last year, no direction at all - there are far too many catorgories and far to many nominated in each. This year there's not even a focal point, as in Albert Square. ”

mmmm........ says..“ well done ms seagrave!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Baby says..“ The usual rule-bending too - lost the plot with this 'festival'”

Choice Bar and Restaurant says..“ Shame we didn't get in there but there is always next year! Or we didn't deserve it! Shame Luso missed out too though. I was negative about the festival last year but this year we should try and give it a big effort, no point in losing faith on it as it could be something huge. Let's try and be positive about it. Great news that it has returned to Alberts Square. This is the time of year that every restaurant in Manchester needs to put their thinking cap on and come up with something special. Pity about the Chef Award though as most of them seem to have a brigade behind them - So come on Rob! Power to the little man!”

Bigfeller says..“ Manconfidential, you are wrong. This is boring, boring boring. There will be too many categories, it will be too long. Crass. I know thge Co operative won't go near it again and the Circle deffo won't be. For Gods sake, take it over yourself Confidential, at least Gordo knows the business model of the industry inside out. EDITORIAL COMMENT: We've removed some of this comment. Criticise the choice folks, criticise the Festival if you wish, but let's not get personal about individuals and call them names.”

R Gould says..“ There's nothing wrong with this shortlist at all. It reflects city dining. I would have like to see Lounge Ten in there that's all. But the winner of the Newcomer is wasy: Damsons.”

Independent says..“ Glad to see Silver Apples there. A truly independent bar the way they should be. And the Briton's Protection should win best pub every year as far as I'm concerned. Manchester just lets itself down with the "proper" restaurants.”

Clever says..“ Ning - shortlisted for restaurant of the year? Has whomever is responsible for such nomination eaten there? Dishwater after washing a roasting tin contains more flavour than the Tom Yum soup. The bathrooms, however, are more than adequate, which was a good job as last time I visited 2 members of our party ended up spending a lot more time than they bargained for in the loos..... approx 10 mins after finishing their Beef Rendang. It may just be two separate occasions of bad luck but I fail to see how Ning can be placed in the same catergory as Chaophraya. ”

Long Time Reader - First Time Ranter says..“ Why oh why is Luso not in this list? Ate here recently with my partner and had a great time x (ps no i do not work for them or have any added interest just a happy punter)”

James Butterworth says..“ Independent I don't think you eat out enough. There are several top restaurants people should be proud of in Manchester. Look at Gordo's Harvey Nichols review yesterday or Schofield's Lounge Ten or Ostara reviews recently. I'll trust professional writers before I'm afraid, despite the fact I sort of agree with the Britons.”

Frank the chicken says..“ What's the matter Ed, REMOVED BY EDITORIAL: This is exactly the type of comment we were referring to earlier. Name calling of individuals will be removed. ”

Clever not so clever says..“ 10 mins after finishing they got food poisoning did they??? There is nothing you can eat that does that to you, not even bowel prep for surgery does that. Get real.”

manchester foodie says..“ who came up with this list?? how can macaroon be on here? it hasn't been open long enough to justify this! no disrespect to Allison but i feel a cake shop in Rochdale should not be on the best Newcomer. ”

another foodie says..“ As someone said above, they bend the rules. They did it last year to allow Ithaca to be nominated, and subsequently win, Best Newcomer. The same could be said for Damson and Zouk. It used to be that for Best Newcomer the place had to open for at least a year before the Gala night awards”

mark m says..“ Is all about cronies”

Cas says..“ Can ManCon not do awards, without it affecting the advertising side? A vote? Would help publicise the site as well - you could make little awards up in the shape of Gordo - like oscars but Gordos if you like?!”

Restaurant PR says..“ Clever, Can I just enquire if you complained to the management at Ning about your experience?”

Jes Hadlow says..“ I think Ning is a cracking little restaurant. I love the food and think it's worthy entrant on these lists. Maybe people - these trade insiders probably - have been left of the list. Personally I too would have liked to have seen Lounge Ten included.”

AD says..“ wow the barbakkan and unicorn got on the food retailers shortlist twice!”

east lancs says..“ I've just got an email asking me to vote for a friend's fella's bar. I've never been. Hmmm.”

outragedofm1 says..“ Hurrah for a credible best pub shortlist this year with pubs in it people actually go to! Some quality in there and more than a bit of diversity. I'm rooting for the Lass personally!”

TrueB says..“ Glad to see Ning in the list! And Norman for Chef of the year! Great to see places with excellent food, great staff and good prices getting the recognition they deserve.”

Cas says..“ I've been in Ning about 5 times as it's ok and it used to be local-ish. Yes it's good sometimes but I always found it to be very patchy, I remember a review right at the beginnning remark on a broth or soup 'if grey had a taste, this would be it' and they got it spot on for that dish. But good is the word I was use, not bad, not excellent. So that it finds itself up for restaurant of the year astonishes me. The sadly atmosphere-less Ikan does similar food but much much better.”

restaurant owner says..“ I think there should be more nominations within the categories, maybe 10 in each. This would give the public more choice with their votes and therefore reflect their views more acurately.”

Pedro1874 says..“ Great to see Sanminis in Newcomer of the year award - thoroughly deserved. We have been three times since they opened and have had exquisite and different food each time. ”

manchester foodie says..“ how come Aidne Byrne @ Church Green isn't in the Newcomer of the year catergory?? this guy has * background and recently won best newcomer @ the Northern Hospitality awards? also when are you going to review Dining Rooms in Rawtenstall??”

Gordo says..“ @Manchester Foodie, I nearly went to Mr. Byrne's gaff on Sunday, is he doing well? What is the Dining Rooms all about? may give it a go.”

manchester foodie says..“ Gordo, he's doing really well, service has improved vastly and the consistancy is there now. As for the Dining Rooms, its a small privately owned Restaurant run by a chef call Andrew Robinshaw who used to work for Nutter and Ramsey and also done stints in France. Easy 3 Rosette standard, get down and check it out”

cookie says..“ Totally agree with Manchester Foodie - Aidan Byrne's place is definitely worth a mention.”

John Mcr says..“ Brilliant to see Kabana on the list, not sure about the category but I think I'm a casual sort of guy and eat there so why not? Seriously though the food is always great, your always made welcome and it deserves recognition”

PHIL JONES - MFDF says..“ great to see all the debate about MFDF awards nominations. it was very hard for the judges to decide on the nomos. many categories are whittled down from around12-15 ideas to 6 nomos. most of you have some of the criterias wrong .They can be seen on www.foodanddrinkfestival.com as can the key events which are taking place. there is also an archive for previous years nomos for you to check your statements about so and so being "always nominated" MFDF will be doing more events in restuarants and will have 2 hubs Albert and St Anns Squares. if you want to vote go online and do so. if you have ideas that the judges may have missed let us know. We just try and do what we can to help the industry sustain and survive! thanks to all! cheers Phil”

manchester fan says..“ please,Not Grill On The Alley,what garbage poor overpriced dingy establishment poor service from inexperienced flapping waiter gave feedback via 4 phone calls each time told the manager would call to enquire re the problem still waiting just a faceless number read other comments from others before you visit save your hard earned money ”

secret shopper says..“ Yep i agree Grill On the Alley less than average dining experience wouldnt go back if all others were closed poor service seems to be consistent reading others feedback dont expect to enjoy conversation during the visit music was deafening ,service slow white wine warm asked for a replacement, told not an option wine placed in a wine bucket, half an hour later slightly chilled, finished our meal by this time then reluctantly drank the awful wine asked to leave at half eleven as we were last in awful place..”

Fi says..“ Grill on the Alley, San Carlo - crap places, poor food, laughable service. But, for some strange reason, packed to the rafters every nght. Again,this city gets what it deserves...”

manchester admirer says..“ complained re grill on the alley to manager no response +++ ripped off try othes plenty of other good eateries ”

Chick says..“ @Phil Jones ; "most of you have some of the criterias wrong". Would you like to try to be more patronising? ”

rosie says..“ i love gota.never had a bad night/experience there.but then,i get spoilt wherever i go.”

Anonymous says..“ Well done to Gabriel's Kitchen on making a well deserved appearance on the 'newcomer' nomination. Location-wise is it really Longsight, or is it Victoria Park, Chorlton-on-Medlock or even Ardwick? Who knows.”

Trevor James says..“ Some odd comments there about Grill on the Alley which is one of the more consistent performers in Manchester and true asset to the city. Given the three anti comments are all written in the same style and contain the same mistakes, they're obviously from the one person.”

Cas says..“ Trevor, you are spot on - perhaps ManCon should remove them as they're obviously fake.”

manchester foodie says..“ does anybody know whats happening with the yang sing hotel?? there is a notice on the door saying it has a license to serve alcohol from August?? any ideas?”

SUE LL says..“ No Luso.....why?.......a great place .... perhaps lacks the arrogance and pretention of certain nominated establishments....”

Baby says..“ ”

Anonymous says..“ Grill on the Alley but no Luso? Hahahaha hahahahaha hahahaha.”

Danny Boy says..“ Oh Danny Boy, you're back I see”

smitty says..“ I'm quite surprised to read about Grill on the Alley. Haven't been for a while, but I've always found it fantastic. All those comments have done is make me want to go back to see if standards really have slipped! Plus, if I was given a warm bottle of white wine I just wouldn't accept that it was "not an option" to have it replaced. It's at that point you politely, but firmly, get the manager and I think anyone would do that, no matter how much of a wall flower they may be. So I agree, that tale sounds a bit fishy... And Fi, if you loathe Manchester so much, why stay? Plenty of other cities in the world. This is the greatest city in the world, let down only by people (who have usually moved here from down south) who say things like "typical Manchester". Poo to you. ”

Becks says..“ Trevor, -really? I havent been back to Grill on the Alley for about 8 months now after having not one, but two really poor meals there (i gave it the benefit of the doubt after the first crap meal). It has really gone down in my estimation so much so that I wouldnt bother going back, which is a shame as it started off so promising. On a different note, visited Napa in Bramhall last night and had a bloody lovely meal (and no, I dont work there)! ”

mmmmm........ says..“ manchester foodie - have you been to macaroon? you can't possibly have, if you refer to it as a cake shop. don't judge if you've not tried.”

Donald Pesto says..“ Kabana the Indian in the Northern Quarter deserves an award - its simple tasty and cheap only open during the day.”

manchester foodie says..“ mmmmm, yes i have, i live in bamford so i go nearly every weekend! how would you describe it then?! ”

Anonymous says..“ If you go every weekend, you obviously like it, so why are you being obtuse, just be happy that Alisons hard work is being recognised. And I agree with mmmm. Patisserie is more like it. ”

manchester foodie says..“ i never said i wasnt happy and didnt like it, just feel a 'Patisserie' should not be in the best newcomers . i go most weekends for my gran! have you ever been mmmmm and anonymous? ”

lilybrown says..“ Come on folks, calm down! Whether it's a cake shop or a patisserie doesn't matter. The point is that the place has been nominated. There are lots of nominations that I don't agree with, but places shouldn't be excluded just because you think they are "a cake-shop" or "up there every year". Neither of these reasons should detract from whether they should be nominated. I'm just pleased that Ithaca isn't up there, but disappointed about Luso and Mr Byrne being over-looked.”

Cheetham Hill says..“ Bawadi on Cheetham Hill Rd surely one of the city's restuarant gems.Lebanese or Arabic food is not well represented in the city but putting modest man Hash on stage might help!”

mark m says..“ Since when was a patisserie not a cake shop?”

Cas says..“ Lilybrown - I'm totally disagree with your viewpoint. I think it really does matter what people think of the nominations and category. These awards always seem to be a bit for the chosen few establishments and restaurants that push themselves forward. I think that the food a premises provides is much more important than a pushy pr department. And the fact that people are invited to vote, you get emails fromr estaurants you've visited once asking you to vote - and some people will without a second thought. Then there's friends and relatives and friends of relatives and it seems the restaurants/other establishments with the most organised campaigns come out on top. The problem with this is people stop thinking they're relevant and couldn't care less who wins. It's not that people have to agree with the places chosen, but that there has to be some kind of structure and thought. Take the case of Macaroon, it may be there totally on merit but most don't believe that as there's always these 'arese kiss noms' thrown in. Like Ostara it only opened in June - how on Earth can the 'panel' have eaten there over a period to deem it worthy? They've been open barely a month (I do understand the concept of 'newcomer')! I agree with Chick's reply to Phil at MFDF, Phil stop being so bloody arrogant about the whole thing and take on board that there may be a few tweaks needed to make the awards more respectable. And I can't find that archive but that'll be my fault won't it?! Finally (sorry for going on) I think the proff in the pudding is that when the winners are announced, it won't BIG local news, it won't create debate about the winners (rather than the structure), it'll just be a bit of a damp squib to anyone outside the inner circle.”

Cas says..“ Apologies for the awful typos!”

lilybrown says..“ Sorry Cas, perhaps I wasn't being clear. I simply meant that being a "cake-shop" or "up there every year" are not valid reasons why an establishement SHOULDN'T be nominated. Does that make more sense?”

Cas says..“ Yes it does, it started out in response to your post and then just went on and on!”

lilybrown says..“ No problem Cas!”

Clever says..“ Although there was no mention of food poisoning in my rant. I simply intimated (quite delicately I thought?) that two of our party had to run to the bathroom with the sh*ts shortly after finishing the Beef Rendang...could've been completely coincidental but I doubt it. So what part of medicine do you practice that makes you an authority on the wildsh*tes????”

Anonymous says..“ Do you normally share the toilet experiences of your fellow diners when it isn't in relation to the food? ”

Chick says..“ Blimey, I'm glad I re-read this. I missed the Ostara nomination first time round. How can this restaurant be nominated as Best Newcomer when, as Cas points out, it opened in June and the nominations were announced in July? I haven't eaten there yet, I'm sure it's good, but this just undermines the whole award criteria. I sighed last year when Ithaca was nominated after only opening in May. Phil Jones may think we're all a bit daft and don't understand the criteria but last year he openly admitted on this site that the panel had changed the rules in order to nominate Ithaca (Best Newcomer) and Michael Cains at Abode (Best Restaurant) - no prizes for guessing who won. Whilst some great things happen during the festival, special menus, wine tastings, theme nights, demos etc., the awards continue to be held-up as the crowning glory of the festival, but in reality they have lost all credibility. Don't even get me started on the 'Gala' dinner - last year was an utter disgrace, I didn't think it could have been worse than the previous year, but they surpassed themselves. The burger van at Glastonbury serves up more palatable fare than the food dished up here - notwithstanding the brigade are cooking for a few hundred Manchester foodies, chefs, restaurateurs and critics - £100 per head (plus VAT!) for total crap. Rant over.”

Blacksmith says..“ Clever, it's pretty simple, for food poisoning the bacteria have to start multiplying, then travel through the gut finishing up with the sh*ts several hours later. It simply can't get there (the arsehole) in ten minutes. Now, if they had simply thrown up, there may have been something that the stomach thought it needed to be rid of pretty darn fast. But they didn't. For you to mention this was, I think, being a bit tricky for some reason.”

Chick says..“ Food poisoning can take anything between 8 and 48 hours to manifest itself, depending on what type of food is involved. Ten minutes after eating means; a) your friends were reacting to an earlier dining experience, maybe two days prior; b)they simply did not like the taste of the food and chucked it up or; c)you're stretching the truth a little. BTW, if you/they are sure it was food poisoning, did they do the obvious and report it to the restaurant? Thought not. ”

Clever not so clever says..“ I have been involved with general surgery for about 15 years, Clever...”

AD says..“ Does anyone else think clever probably cooked them lunch that day?”

Anonymous says..“ Indeed, Blacksmith is right. It's more likely they ate a rubbish lunch. It's just not possible for food to race through you at that fast rate. If your body had to get it out that fast the food would go up, not down.”

teds says..“ Grill on the alley comments entirely justified above. I made a booking for 8 people 2 weeks ago for a birthday and then rang on the day again to confirm to be told that they didn't have my booking. Evenetually after 2 calls for a manger ventually agreed to accomodate us at 6.30 pm. Interstingly there was a table for 8 laid close by that eventually wa a no show. perhaps they simply can't write down names ? service was laughable - an 11yr old asked for an iced tea to drink and was served a long island iced tea cocktail. usually had to ask for evrything 3 times, 2 was a result. Food OK but small portions and a bit overpriced. I knew it wa not going to go well as soon as we were greeted with " Hi Guys" by our waiter - TGI Fridays has a lot to answer for.”