With such a renowned and eclectic food scene here in Manchester, there’s no better place to host a foodie festival, including one dedicated to everything chicken wings. The world’s largest chicken wing festival, Wing Fest is returning to the city once more, but at a new location, to pay homage to one of the top poultry dishes.
Taking place on September 24 and 25 at the Trafford Centre for the very first time, the shopping centre will be transformed into a poultry eating, music thumping, axe throwing, beer and bourbon drinking space of epic proportion. Manchester Wing Fest will showcase a range of restaurants, street food traders and pop-ups, who will display their culinary talents and compete against each other over a whopping 200,000 drums and flats, costing £1.25 per wing, to decide who really makes the best wings in the UK.
The competition will be split into two categories: the best buffalo wing; the battle for who can execute the perfect classic spicy sauce, and the best wild wing; where the traders can let their creativity run wild with flavours and toppings to transform a humble chicken wing into a flavour explosion. The Manchester festival will see an insane amount of wings served by 20 different street food traders, restaurants and BBQ teams.
Popular Manchester traders such as Kong’s Chicken Shop, Wing Dash and Yard and Coop, as well as discovering new wings from all around the UK, including the award-winning Mexican Seoul. All will be competing to win your vote and guarantee their spot in the Hall of Flame.
Wing Fest’s competitions will be held on both days, and it’s set to get seriously heated with a deadly Lava Wing Challenge hosted by Clifton Chilli Club – the UK’s hottest wing challenge and renowned for the carnage it causes. If you’re a true wing aficionado, then it’s time for the Bull’s-Eye Wing Eating competition hosted by the Food Review Club, where ticket holders who are hungry and brave enough, compete against each other to see who can eat the most chicken wings. It’s going to get messy, is all we’re going to say…
Manchester Wing Fest goers can also expect plenty of beer from Meantime Brewery, entertainment including live blues music, brass bands, bourbon masterclasses, axe throwing and BBQ cooking demonstrations, alongside DJs playing summer party vibe tunes into the night -complete with a wing in hand no less.
Tickets are available on the Wing Fest website and start from £17.50 for early birds and £20 thereafter, and kids under 12 go free. Plus, your ticket also includes a signature Wing Fest trucker style hat to immerse you fully in the event, free access to fairground rides and live music, competitions, masterclasses, cooking demonstrations and games.
Also published on Medium.