<b>The Manchester Food and Drink Festival Has Arrived!</b>

These are our first choices boys and girls. The luscious Faye Pulley has put these forward, Gordo has commented before each.

Some events are so good, they last the full fortnight!

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Harvey Nichols: Gordo’s Pitch

The second floor restaurant and brassiere is a lot friendlier and down to earth than you may think, we have had some fabulous meals there over the past six months, including a ‘quick’ lunch with Ekta Malhotra which was worth a 14.5/20 score, and a dinner which blew Gordo’s mind, easily a 16/20 (bearing in mind that Paul Heathcoat’s Michelin Starred restaurant, and Juniper score 17/20 each).

Harvey Nichols: Faye’s Pitch:

The bustling Brassiere at Harvey Nichols is the perfect place for supper in the week with friends or for a pre-show bite to eat. Second Floor is offering customers a chance to try their great value Tempted! Menu, two courses for £9.50, three courses for £13.50. Tel 0161 828 8898 email secondfloor.reservations@harveynichols.com 21 New Cathedral St, Manchester

Pink Dinners

Pink is one of the hottest colours on the catwalk this year, and to celebrate The Second Floor Restaurant at Harvey Nichols Manchester has put together a special Pink Dinners menu that will bring an irresistible flush of romance to all diners. Head Chef Robert Craggs has created a series of inspired dishes, all featuring a delicate rosy hue. Choose from Summer chilled soup of rhubarb and tomato; Confit duck leg with beetroot risotto, Raspberry rice pudding or Vanilla panacotta and pink peppercorn roasted strawberries. The HN wine list offers the widest choice of Rosés and pink champagnes in the city. Best of all, the stunning HN Pink Champagne is on offer for just £19.50 a bottle. £29.50 for three courses. Anyone wearing pink when they come in gets a free glass of HN pink champagne.

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Livebait: Gordo’s Pitch

Manchester is infested with restaurants that are owned and run, badly, from London. They are given no marketing budgets and treated like poor second cousins. They are nearly always blown out of the water by true Northern operators. Livebait isn’t one of them, great service from Mark Wilding, who took over as Manager a year ago (well done son, a good job as always from you!) along with Ellen O’Donnel and Mark Stewart. They seem to have solved the North/South problem simply by treating the place as their own business. Very rare.

Livebait: Faye’s Pitch:

Autumnal Crustacea. Set Menu Special: 2 course Crustacea set menu for £25. Fabulous. Call now to book your table: (0161) 817 4110

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Kro Bars: See Tim the Editor's take: Click here

Kro Bars: Gordo Says.. Blimey Tim, I know we are irreverent, but I am surprised Mark Ruby hasn’t shot you! These are some of Manchester’s best bar/restaurants in their category and more often than not box well above their weight. Idiosyncratic, sometimes chaotic, always a buzz. Go.

Kro Bars: Faye Says.. A hefty favourite of mine, get a load of their two courses off the Early Doors Menu for £6.50, while you are there! Click here to register for a voucher AND throughout the Festival all of the Kro establishments (KroBar, Kro2, Café Muse, The Old Abbey Inn) will be offering daily Danish specials on their menu and a continental beer will be promoted at a discounted price each day.

Dates for the Diary:

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Saturday, 2nd October 2004

Harvey Nichols

11.30am Harvey Nichols’ Head Chef Robert Craggs will give a cookery demonstration with a difference. Using whatever is available on the day, he will raid the shelves of Harvey Nichols’ world renowned Food market, with its delicatessen, fresh fruit and veg section and gourmet grocery area to produce something delicious. Ready Steady Cook Harvey Nichols style! Free to all.

Telephone 0161 828 8898 or email secondfloor.reservations@harveynichols.com 21 New Cathedral St, Manchester

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Sunday, 3rd October

Malmaison: Gordo’s take

Top three hotel, top five restaurant. Manager Scott Harper is proving he can run a hotel as well as he can drink claret. Outstanding.

Faye’s Take:Easy like Sunday morning…..” chill out with all your favourite dishes including Malmaison eggs benedict, salmon fishcakes and roast of the day. For bookings please contact Angela Harthen on aharthen@malmaison.com or call 0161 278 1005Waxy O’Conner’s, stuff yourself with Oysters!

Waxy's, Gordo’s Take: A theme bar (Irish, how did you guess) which works well. Forget the plastic four leaf clovers of Princess street; get in here for the Craic. It looks cheesy. It ain’t.

Waxy's Faye’s Take: A whole day of oyster eating orgyism. Guinness and Oysters! Get stuck in!

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Monday, 4th OctoberLadies Luncheon, Malmaison (Faye's comment: I am currently in the process of twisting Gordo's arm clean off to get to this one!A four course lunch Mal style to promote regional and local food produce, with an opportunity to win a day of pampering in the hotel’s le petit spa...a fine way to spend the day indeed!

From 12.30pm - £25 (Price inclusive of vat, cocktail reception and wine with the meal)

For bookings please contact Angela Harthen on aharthen@malmaison.com or call 0161 278 1005

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Tuesday, 5th OctoberLove Saves the Day - Exclusive Wine Tasting, at the new premises on Oldham Street, 7pm To get your tickets click here

LStD Gordo’s Take: Chris Joyce, Manchester’s Terence Conrad on acid, plots and schemes his delicatessen/café/wine shop empire with a touch of weirdness that makes for what we Mancs want. Something different with quality riveted on.

LStD Faye’s Take: Are you kidding me? A chance to sample over 50 wines for a mere 10 squids!? Nuff said!

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Thursday, 7th OctoberLove Saves the Day - North West Cheeseboard Challenge, Tib Street 6.30pm

LStD Faye says: This is the regional competition to discover the best cheese produced in the North West of England, as determined by a panel of professional judges including Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Tickets £6 wine club member and £7 non-wine club member. For more information or to book tickets call (0161) 832 0777 Bring on the blue!

LStD Gordo says: You best have some red wine left you lot, to swill down the tasters!

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Tiger Tiger (7.30pm) A Festival is Not EnoughTT Faye says: Sucker for a free cocktail? Get yourself to a stylish bash in the Raffles bar & casino in the VIP lounge, whilst listening to the soulful tunes of Jenny Sawdon and there's free food to boot!

TT Gordo says: Did someone say free food? Where's my coat!

To reserve your places, (single groups of a maximum of ten people will be welcomed), please contact Leanne Johnston on 0161 385 8080 or info@tigertiger-manch.co.uk(NB: As this is a complimentary event and places are limited, please reserve your places as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.)

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Friday, 8th October

Malmaison's Champagne Dinner

A four course dinner Mal style served with great champagne by Veuve Clicquot. Fresh rock oysters and champagne start the evening off and from there the bubbly just keeps flowing…. Great food, great wine (and of course champagne tonight!) and great company, that’s the Malmaison way!

7.30pm - £45 (price inclusive of vat, champagne and wine with the meal)

For bookings please contact Angela Harthen on aharthen@malmaison.com or call (0161) 278 1005

Malmaison: Faye says: Mmmmm, yes please! As it's a Friday, I'll be able to stay in bed all day as champagne hangovers are a beast....

Malmaison: Gordo says:*Silence* (one suspects Gordo hasn't crawled out of his pit yet, we all know he went out last night....)