Wing Fest - the annual celebration of chicken wings was held at the Trafford Centre for the first time ever this weekend. Across Saturday and Sunday (September 24 and 25) thousands of wing aficionados descended upon the Orient car park to sample food from 15 stalls.
Each trader put forward a Buffalo wing and a 'wild' wing, to be voted on by judges. Birmingham-based Greidy's Wings and Strips won in the Buffalo category, while London vendor Mexican Seoul won in the wild category with their Gochu-Gang wing. Greidy's also performed well with their inventive Gravy Baby wild wing - which came second in the judges' vote.
Manchester favourite Yard and Coop offered up wings with charred corn, lime, and feta drizzle in the wild section, with a pipette of tequila also supplied to drizzle over the chicken. Chelmsford restaurant Shwings went for a smoky honey jalapeño effort, complete with fried onions and a blackberry.
Check out our gallery from Wing Fest Manchester 2022 below
Along with the food, there was entertainment such as a live brass band, cookery demonstrations, and a mini fairground, along with games, including axe throwing. On both of the days, there were also wing eating challenges on the main stage.
A number of ticketholders complained of long queues, with some saying they were waiting more than two hours for one stall on Saturday. Meanwhile, Manchester Evening News queued 46 minutes for one trader at around 1.30pm on Sunday. M.E.N has contacted the event organisers for comment.
The results of the judges' vote were
Buffalo category
- Greidy's Wings and Strips
- Eat The Bird
- Poor Boys
Wild category
- Mexican Seoul
Greidy's Wings and Strips
Shwings
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