Isle of Man Food and Drink Festival

Record attendance at Isle of Man Food & Drink Festival

More than 16,000 people descended upon the Villa Marina Gardens in Douglas for an extra special Isle of Man Food & Drink Festival in 2020.

Record crowds poured through the gates on both days in scenes that were surely the envy of food lovers across the British Isles. Lockdown seemed a distant memory as families roamed the site and devoured delights from more than 60 of the Island's food producers including a new seafood section.

On arrival, your senses were sent into overdrive with sumptuous smells, bustling crowds and live music in bright autumn sunshine. After a summer without - it was a proper festival!

Jim Clucas ate eight whippies and cones, to scoop the ice cream eating competition held by Davison's Ice Cream.
Darren Webb won the Hot Dog Eating Competition sponsored by DDD's Delicious Dogs by eating five hot dogs (in their buns) in five minutes.

Noa Bakehouse was crowned 'Best Stand' competition winners, followed by The Abbey & The Forge and newcomers, Isle of Man Seafoods.

'Whilst we are in the middle of a weird year, this was a weekend to celebrate and indulge whilst meeting the Island's wonderful producers, chefs, baristas and artisans.'

If you ever needed an example of why the island we call home is a UNESCO Biosphere, this is it. More than anything else the festival clearly demonstrated that this Island is a special place to live, work and when the borders reopen, visit! 

For more information about local producers you can visit
www.iomfoodanddrink.com

The event was sponsored by PokerStars and in association with Manx Radio. Sponsorship opportunities are available for the next event taking place on the 18 and 19 September 2021.

Applications forms for producers to attend is now available online or can be downloaded from the downloadable documents section.

Please contact food@gov.im if you have any queries.

Manx queenies have been crowned as the Isle of Man’s new national dish following a public vote

The poll was run over a four month period by the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture, and saw over 2,500 votes cast.  Over 500 people voted for the Queen scallop, which has become synonymous with Manx cuisine.

In second place was chips, cheese and gravy with nearly 400 votes.

Minister for Environment, Food and Agriculture, Geoffrey Boot MHK, welcomed the result:

'This was a hard-fought race that led to some lively public debate.  It’s great to see so many people so passionate about Manx food.  The vote has helped to raise the profile of the variety of Manx produce available as well as cementing the quality of our products in the public consciousness'

Please see recipe for Manx Queenies with garlic and bacon in downloadable section.