Urban Food Fest

A sadder thing I have never seen in Manchester. It’s so obvious from the outset that it’s being managed by people not familiar with Manchester or it’s weather. When I went along on Saturday myself and the two friends I went with were the ONLY punters. Not a single other person was there except for the vendors themselves.
There is beer available thanks to a vendor from Offbeat Brewery in Crewe; selling a selection of bottles and 2 casks, but without a full bar; any entertainment like live music, or any cover people are inclined to stick around.
Sadly the vendors are suffering, and for no discernable reason. If more consideration was given to the outfitting the location correctly (a prime location on Deansgate just past the Castlefield arches) then this would never have happened. a decent set of awnings, some sort of temporary walling would buffer the weather a bit but also make the space feel more welcoming and contained. At the moment it’s just a car park with some food vans in it.
I don’t think Urban Food Fest will last many more weeks. They’ve not learnt the lessons other events like this in the city already have down pat like Friday Food Fights and Guerilla Eats, adapting interesting varied and pre-​existing spaces around the city but also taking into consideration our changeable weather.

After visiting the nearby Knott Bar, I was walking passed and decided to check it out as I was hungry. Its a small street food place when compared to other street food «festivals» about — located in a small car park opposite the Hilton hotel.
Nothing really took my fancy but I was hungry so went for a burger. I do like a burger but like steak, its possible to have a really good one or a really bad one. Also, there is plenty of choice if you want a burger in Manchester.
So I am not sure why I ended up going for a burger. I blame hunger. The burger was not particular good at all. :(
There was some live music playing and when he finished his set, he handed out some CDs. Its a shame that they was a lack of people about (there was maybe 5 people) and the cold, wet weather.
Maybe when they weather gets warmer and get more people going, it will improve things? The Urban Food Fest guys also have a festival in London which looks popular.

Me and my friends came here on Saturday night and we really wanted to like this festival. There were food stalls that we recognised from Altrincham, Festwich etc. but there seemed to be too many hotdog stalls with pulled bbq pork being a must for any festival.
Had too much to drink to remember where I ate. We had some fish and chicken satay at Nasi Lemak and watched as punters held onto the gazebo whilst waiting for their food. They looked dark and ominous when I arrived when their lights weren’t on. Then we tried hotdogs from bFranks in Liverpool whilst a mate tried a veggie hotdog from a nearby stall. We were too stuffed to try cakes and the mini dutch pancakes hit the spot.
Opening night is bound to have teething issues as we saw. I just hope they have enough insurance. As a large sign flew out of the carpark and onto a car and then one gust set the gazebo cover and bins flying in the air hitting my friend. Sandbags or cable ties are definitely needed!
The downside to this is the wind. The location is a wind trap. The seating area is also under darkness which kinda spoils things as you cannot see what you are eating or your friends if you are sat in the wrong place. The weather didn’t help, but there was a member of staff going round drying the seats.
On the plus side, everyone was keen to make this work and everyone chatted to the people on the stalls. There were pockets of people having fun around the live music and ShinDigger before the wind almost wiped us all out.
We hope that this festival is a success but we felt sorry for the stall holders who have booked a spot for the next twelve weeks when they could be indoors at Food Fight.
Wrap up warm and maybe take a headtorch along.

I’m afraid I’m being generous with this rating, but that’s more for the plucky vendors who had to endure very difficult conditions on the first night — and I’m not just talking about the weather.
I happened to be passing the site late afternoon and considering it was less than an hour until their opening time, the place didn’t look particularly ready, nor did it look all that inviting if I’m honest.
There were two UFF sandwich boards on the pavement and an occasional advert on the large plasma screen facing Deansgate, but personally I think it was too little, too late — there had been no announcements from the Fest on their website or social media about who would be there, nor had the vendors been allowed to message their followers in the run up, which we thought was a mindboggling marketing strategy.
Anyway, there were a small number of street food sellers I recognised (Bangers & Bacon, Ginger’s Comfort Emporium and Nasi Lemak), the rest were new to me and it was encouraging that the organisers had filled it with north western businesses, though there were two selling hotdogs and two selling BBQ. 15 traders was far too many for a site of this size.
Beers were on offer from ShinDigger (£3.50 a pint) and Fever-​Tree were selling cocktails (£6.50 for a G&T).
Covered seating was provided, that is, until the wind lifted one large gazebo up into the air, landing on top of another. After an evacuation, they were all taken down and we were left with slightly soggy tables and chairs fully exposed to the elements.
Obviously they’re at the mercy of the weather, they can’t do anything about that, but there was just very little atmosphere on what should have been a busy Saturday night (it was pay day weekend after all). Kudos to the solo singer on his guitar trying his hardest to overcome the traffic noise and howling wind. They need to install decent speakers and more lighting.
One amusing note on the abandoned car in the middle of the site — if the owner had come back for it there was no way he/​she was moving. Wonder how big their fine will be…
So UFF didn’t exactly burst on to the Manchester street food scene, #FridayFoodFight is much better (and drier) for now IMO, but with word that they’ll be here every Saturday until October, they have time to get things right. I hope they do very soon, as they should know we rely so much on Unilocal,Twitter and Facebook for our info these days.