GALLERY: MFDF 2014 Awards

THE Great Hall of Manchester Town Hall played host to the city's most highly anticipated food and drink event, the Manchester Food and Drink (MFDF) Gala Dinner and Awards, on Monday 29 September.

Adam Reid, Head Chef at The French, beat Manchester House's Aiden Byrne to take home the Chef of the Year gong while Steve Pilling's Dockyard pub in MediaCityUk won Pub of the Year.

The ceremony draws to a close two weeks of MFDF activity in the city, which welcomed nearly 100,000 to its Albert Square foodie neighbourhood, poured tens of thousands of ales and had ex-Manchester United and England footballer, Gary Neville, cooking sausage rolls and pot noodles.

The major winner of the evening was Manchester House, which returned to Spinningfields Tower 12 with three of the night's biggest awards (a MFDF record), alongside an Outstanding Achievement award for owner and Living Ventures CEO, Tim Bacon.

Living Ventures CEO Tim Bacon with Noddy Holder

Adam Reid, Head Chef at The French, beat Manchester House's Aiden Byrne to take home the Chef of the Year gong while Steve Pilling's Dockyard pub in MediaCityUk won Pub of the Year.

Surprise results of the evening saw Arndale Markets Vietnamese street food traders, Viet Shack, beat off big-swingers Almost Famous, Luck, Lust, Liquor and Burn and Tampopo to win the Cheap Eats category, while Richmond Tea Rooms in The Village saw off favourites from the Northern Quarter to scoop Coffee Bar or Tea Shop of the Year.

See all the 2014 winners here.

Here's all the best photos from the night...

Chefs Aiden Byrne (Manchester House) and Simon Rogan (The French)

Noddy Holder and Mike Joyce with guests

The Great Hall

Viet Shack with Mark Garner

Manchester House chef Aiden Byrne collects award

Photo Credits Carl Sukonik (www.thevain.co.uk)