For the third year in a row, Monton’s Wandering Palate has been nominated for the Food and Drink Retailer of the Year award.
The Manchester Food and Drink Festival (MFDF) awards 2023 seek to showcase Manchester’s food scene and celebrate the region’s food and drink businesses.
There are 18 categories in total, which have been ‘carefully considered and created with an absolute passion for the city’s industry at their heart’.
Wandering Palate, a Monton retailer offering wines, craft beers, cheese and charcuterie, has been shortlisted for the Food and Drink Retailer of the Year award.
Will Evans, owner of Wandering Palate along with wife Emma, said: “It’s actually our third year in a row being nominated for this award. So yeah, it’s good to be recognised by the wider Manchester food and drink community.”
Nominees are compiled by the MFDF judging panel, consisting of ‘the region’s leading food and drink critics, writers and experts’.
“For them to recognise us three years in a row, it kind of gives us some positive affirmations that we’re doing something right, so it’s really nice just to be just be nominated,” Will added.
Wandering Palate opened in March 2021, and their ambition to be a ‘community hub’ means that their services also include workshops such as life drawing classes, quiz nights, and wine tastings.
Will expressed a particular pride for the shop’s music nights every Friday, during which locals who are passionate about music are invited to curate the evening’s soundtrack.
“We do a little bit of everything for the community of Monton. We always wanted to be more than just a shop.”
Will Evans, Wandering Palate
It is their food and drink, however, for which they have been nominated. Will attributes this to the shop’s ‘premium convenience’ offerings: “I always talk about the fact that we’re not really a specialist in anything in particular, so even though we’ve got a really wide and varied wine selection, it’s not as big as some wine specialists in Manchester.
“Also with the cheeses and charcuterie, even though I think we’ve got a really good selection, we’re not a cheese specialist or a cheese monger.
“But what we do do is premium convenience, so if you’re living in Monton and you want a little treat, you want some nice cheese, or you want some nice charcuterie, or you want a really nice bottle of wine, you can come and get a really good selection.
“You can come and get something that’s a little bit special and just heightens those occasions that you’ve got, either on a night out or something to take to your friend’s house or a little gift for for a loved one.”
Monton itself has also been shortlisted in the category ‘Foodie Neighbourhood of the Year’, alongside other Greater Manchester hotspots such as Altrincham, Prestwich, and Stretford.
“I think the awareness of Monton in Manchester now is much bigger than before we opened. I think we’ve done a little bit towards that but I think people have their eyes on Monton anyway,” Will said.
“It’s a beautiful village, it’s got all the shops and bars on one main strip which leads up to a lot of green space at the top so it looks like a pretty village, and I think people in Manchester have their eye on Monton for potential future sites.
“The more Monton is recognised for awards such as this and the more venues in Monton are recognised for awards such as this, the more people will want to develop and grow and expand into Monton and with that will come more investment in the right people wanting to get involved.”
To vote for Wandering Palate as Food and Drink Retailer of the Year, and for Monton as Foodie Neighbourhood of the Year, visit: https://foodanddrinkfestival.com/awards/
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