The MFDF Awards celebrate the best bars, restaurants, chefs and independent food businesses across Greater Manchester, with public voting closing on 11 January 2027.
The MFDF Awards are coming to City Hall on Medlock Square on Monday 25 January 2027, after a few months of voting and judging. It's the big night for Greater Manchester's hospitality scene, celebrating the talent, creativity and diversity that make the region a world-class food and drink destination.
There are 17 categories in total, covering the best bars, restaurants, chefs and independent food businesses. You'll find a broad spread here: Affordable Eats and Neighbourhood Venue sit alongside Independent Food Producer and Independent Drink Producer, so it reaches across the whole spectrum from the local spot you pop into for lunch to the producers working behind the scenes. The shortlists are chosen by a judging panel of the region's leading food and drink critics, writers and industry experts, who work from nominations put forward by the hospitality industry and the public. They also carry out a mystery shopping period, visiting the shortlisted venues themselves, and those scores are combined with the public vote to decide the winners.
Two awards run on a separate track. The Community Food and Drink Project of the Year goes to an initiative championing genuine social impact and long-term benefit to local communities. Then there's the Howard and Ruth Award for Outstanding Achievement, which recognises an outstanding contribution to the industry and doesn't have a public shortlist. Therme Manchester sponsors the awards.
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If you've got a favourite you want to see on the podium, you've got until midnight on 11 January 2027 to get your vote in. The ceremony itself follows on Monday 25 January at City Hall, Medlock Square.
