Manchester is one of the best market towns in the country. If it isn't the weekly farmer's markets…read moreor the Sunday carboot and flea markets, it's the specialist markets that take place around the calendar. Apart from the now very famous Christmas market, my next favourite annual event has to be the Fine Food Market, usually held between September and October every year in St Ann's Square. This is one event that no epicurean in their right mind would miss. Bringing together some of the biggest talents and producers in the North, expect to be fed by the best restaurants in town and offered some of the best home grown produce in the country. According to the government website, 'speciality meats, smoked foods (fish, cheese, meats and poultry) cheeses, chutneys, pickles, black puddings, ice cream, specialist ales and sloe gin' are just a very few items on sale here.

If you're a fan of hog roasts, paella, wood-fired pizza and vintage-style tea shops, head to the…read moreManchester Markets on St Anne's Square before it disappears again. A mooch around the market is the perfect way to liven up an otherwise dull day at the office (or living room, if you work from home, like me), so as soon as the clock strikes 1pm, get yourself there. You're going to spend, on average, about a fiver for takeaway food from one of the stalls but portions are good - especially at the Hog Roast stall, where they'll ram your baguette so full of pork and apple sauce you won't know where to start. As well as food, you'll find a number of stalls selling art and hand-crafted decor for the home, plus vintage furniture and clothing in the market's main indoor area; The Orangery, where you can also see/hear live music at certain times throughout the day (check the signage outside for more details). I'm really impressed with this little market. It's brought a much-needed injection of 'quaint' to the city centre. I wish it was here all the time!

Before Lidl came to Oxford Road, Worldwide was the place where I did most of my shopping. My…read moreflatmate and I set ourselves a challenge - each time we went to Worldwide we would buy an item of fruit or veg which we had never tried before, bring it home, attempt to prepare it and sample it. This led to some rather funny looks at the counter. One one occasion, on asking our Kenyan friend for cooking information, he explained to us that they probably laughed at us because *no-one* buys just one bhindi. We soon learnt from this school-boy error. As well as fruit and veg I always picked up pitta, naan and other foreign breads here, but it's probably not the place to go for a reasonably priced loaf of Warburton's. They also sell exciting fizzy drinks from all over the world, baklava, mango lassi and every herb, spice, bean or pulse you could think of, all of which I can recommend. Things that I have purchased from here and regretted include tinned palak paneer, a tray of 30 very unethical eggs, weird smelling incense, cheese and DIY henna. As a vegetarian I've never looked at the meat counter. But I know that my Muslim flatmate bought her meat there as it is all Halal and my Chinese flatmates bought their meat there because they sold all the disgusting-sounding parts of animals that they liked to boil up in stews, such as chicken feet. I challenge you to visit Worldwide and not to come away with more than you went in for. Even the fruit and veg is priced so that you end up with 3 cucumbers (£1) rather than the one (50p) you went in for!

Worldwide Foods. Not just a clever name my dears, certainly not. While its location on the Curry…read moreMile might make you think it's an Indian supermarket, well! Remember that it's not only Indian restaurants in Rusholme. Okay, so most of them are curry houses, and that's reflected in the fact that Worldwide Foods is mostly Indian, but you're just as likely to find your Turkish flatbreads or your Jerk seasoning here as you are your Patak's pastes and poppadoms. But you'll find so much more. As I found out far too late on the way out, there's a massive fresh produce fruit and veg stall at the back. There's also a Halal butchers, and tons of stuff you've probably never heard of. We picked up some unusual little treasures like miniature crisp puri breads with cumin seeds, like tiny poppadoms, sweet buns made with sesame seeds and egg, and crumbly shortbread-like biscuits with coconut and topped with chopped pistachio and almonds. In fact, if you're as unfamiliar with ethnic sweets as I am, you may well spend most of your time in the cookie aisle to pick up new treats. As well as this there are additional niche items like rose syrup (for faluda methinks), tropical drinks, every kind of Bombay mix you can think of, canned goods and tons of pulses and rice... just do what I did and explore. It's so much fun. Worldwide Foods is nothing short of a culinary adventure!

Sweet Sensations brings up that nostalgia in me that makes me long for the days when I would buy a…read more20p bag of sweets in a small paper bag on my way home from school. Honestly, those days did once exist. And they were brilliant, let me tell you. We're talking bon bons, liquorice, chocolate buttons and far more besides. I love all of those things. They also sell a range of drinks, crisps and chocolates that are more like the regular confectionary you find nowadays. Sweet Sensations is located in the bustling food hall in the Arndale Centre.

There are plenty of arguments for and against the social impact of segregated communities in…read moreManchester. One of the overwhelming advantages of such communities however, which I'm sure will gain universal approval is their complete immunity from being threatened by giant retail food chains. You know the ones I'm talking about, the ones that've been driving out small independents outta business across across the country. I LOVE the fact that the communities remain militantly loyal to local foodstores like Madina. Upon close inspection, turns out the reason is a little more complex than just cultural affiliation. One of the main one reasons? This place is AWESOME!! There's literally a library of spices to buy (at BARGAIN prices) and experiment at home with. Any foodie/charlie out there who's sick of the monotonous nature of the shopping experience, will find this to be their culinary/chocolate factory. True, London probably bigger volume of such establishments, but they probably cant beat us for sheer quality. So next time you're stuck in traffic driving to town on Stockport road (through Levenshulme) have a break, and instead of having a kitkat, park up and have a cheeky gander.

Despite having a deceptively small storefront, once inside Madina Superstore turns out to be…read moreanother Desi supermarket easily on a par with branches of Worldwide Foods or Manchester Superstore. With the UK 'hungry gap' upon us, I bagged a box of lychees plus sundry Desi vegetable and fresh herbs. Freshness of the produce was very good, although a bit of banter with a Desi customer revealed that he was passing up on the tinda as being too big - although this is no doubt an out-of-season issue. For the mobile cosmopolitan foodie such as myself, the aim is to know where all the ethnic food stores are so that ethnic food shopping can be done with a minimum of detour from other city business and pleasure. Although there is nothing really oustanding about Madina Superstore to make you travel beyond your nearest Desi superstore, it is nice to have a proper Desi supermarket in Levenshulme to save Levy locals a trip up Stockport Road to Longsight. And visitors such as myself can combine a visit to Madina Superstore with a trip to the monthly Levy Market, or else the permanent Trove café bakery or POD deli.

Meat, meat, lovely meat. Meat to eat, meat meat meat…read more I adore meat. Love it. Can't get enough of it. And I respect it too. That means that I am loath to rely on the anaemic slabs of water-pumped, antibiotic-addicted chicken that line the fridges of Messrs Tesco and Saino. Yeah, I'll use them if they're going to be smothered and pulverised in a slow-cooked stew or curry. But if I'm braising a lamb shank or searing a fillet steak, I want quality. Axons, my friends, is quality. There's no denying it. Back when I lived in ye olde Didsy-B, I would scrape my pennies and every now and then I'd pop to Axons and treat myself to a particularly plump breast of corn-fed chicken, or a devastatingly juicy sirloin. The venison on offer here (seasonably, obvio) is truly incredible. Dense, dark and just that right amount of dank pungency. I honestly haven't had venison that good since I ate at a weird hunting lodge in teh Czech Republic. I am actually salivating right now, imagining that meat. The meat here is obviously more expensive than at the supermarket, but not prohibitively so. Expect to pay about a quid more for your workaday meats such as mince, but seeing as their mince has less fat and crap in it, you're getting about twice as much real meat. When it comes to meat, you get what you pay for, so please pay for the good stuff. Your tummy will thank you (even if Bambi doesn't...)

Though ladled with the unenviable title of 'award winning sausage maker' Axons Butchers have got no…read morebeef with anybody. Excuse the hammy jokes but this place really is making mince meat out of the competition at the minute. Whilst there is definitely something a little Sweeney Todd about the old style shop front, there really is no need to be chicken, the staff are extremely friendly and all too keen to help you plan out what you'll need or a dinner party or special meal.

This is the one place I don't mind seeing festive decor during the month before December…read more Supermarkets, sod off with your Slade on repeat. Department stores, forgive me if I look suicidal at the sound of Chris De Burgh murdering that painful Jerusalem song. But our Christmas Markets here in pretty Manchester... *sigh* Every Scroogey, Grinchy bone in my body crumbles to pixie dust and I immediately find myself feeling the Yuletide glow. Oh for five and a half stars. If possible I'd give the Christmas Markets another half star every year as they seem to get better and better each time. I trundled along to this Brazennose Street site a few times as, well, you don't want to attempt the giant European ones of a Saturday night. Heck, you don't really want to attempt any of the Christmas Markets on a Saturday night, but because Brazennose Street is a little more tucked away, despite the crowds it was far easier to navigate than any of the others. These are the World Markets, which means you're likely to find food from any of the continents. On this occasion for us it was Turkish; grilled spicy chicken or falafel on flatbread with salad and a yoghurt sauce. There were continental waffles next door with all kinds of tasty toppings (bookmarked for next time), plenty of places to grab the usual Gluhwein and if you can bear to drag yourself away from the food, there's artisan jewellery, knitted clothing and a bunch of accessories and gifts, perfect for any hard-to-buy-for type. You can get the trademark gluhwein here, which I did when I was here with two of my best friends, one of whom I grabbed a beer for. Oh it was a glorious day/night. I implore you to visit all the Christmas Market sites this year, and make sure you don't forget about this one. It's very pretty, well laid out and all round festive loveliness. A few stops along this route and you'll feel, Titanic style, like king of the woooooorld! Well, World Markets.

I've only really done a whistle-stop tour of the Markets this year, so I'll keep this pretty short…read more The Market on Brazenose Street is one of the ones that you are most likely to overlook, but in my opinion has some of the most original and unique gift options on it. Whilst the bigger market, literally just up the street has the same thing, year in, year out, this seems to me to have something new every year. This year, in addition to the semi standard food stalls, there's some great cheese (Snowdonian no less), some amazing art, great crafts and fuzzy felt! If you've made the effort to go to Albert Square, make sure that you take the side trip. You never know, you might find something that will make the perfect pressie for that special someone who's always soooooo difficult to buy for!

Customer since first opened. Incredibly helpful whenever I've made a trip from France for essential…read moresupplies. Thank goodness you do delivery, you can't get cassia in France for love nor money.

Another jam packed corner shop. This food store struggles to offer you enough crap as you enter…read more Ravi food store arch nemesis to wazi food store (in my mind at least) is again run by the same folk day in day out. I can imagine coming back here in 30 years time and just picking up what I want and leaving my change on top of the coffin behind the counter. Narr but seriously ravi is a choice corner store with everything you could want to get your mitts on, sweets, cans of soup and fresh fruit galore.

Look...... I'm getting a bit bored of this..."oh its so expensive malarky". People need to get…read moretheir heads around the fact that in society there is always gonna be a disposable income gap. Now I understood that when I was a student for example. I never bothered going into Harvey Nichols or any other shop for that matter where I knew it was too expensive for me. There was no point!!!!! So DONT bother going in if its too expensive and whinging about the price!!!!!!! Harvey Nick's Second Floor Restaurant, Bar and Brasserie is actually great, especially with Head Chef Stuart Thomson's award-winning menu. I feel like a kid in a sweet shop everytime I am there, they stock stuff you just can't buy in most other places. Get some food fro the deli and sit and watch the exchange square world go by....ahhhh bliss!!! Right next door is a massive wine colleciton for you should you decide to sample some while you're there. Apparently it's one of the most extensive wine lists in Manchester. So if you do have a disposable income and don't mind spending a few extra pennies on some pistachios from brazil or something, check it....innit!!!

Can anyone spare a few pounds? I wouldn't usually ask but there's no way I can stretch to buying a…read moreloaf of sourdough, a block of Lancashire cheese, a handful of vine tomatoes and a bottle of champagne from Harvey Nichols otherwise! Located on the second floor of the posh department store, the Foodmarket is packed floor to ceiling with thousands of the company's own products packaged in their iconic silver tins and bottles with slick black and white photos. There's everything you could want from whole hampers to tea, coffee, shortbread, pickles and chutneys. At the back of the store, there's a small deli counter that stocks fresh cheese, parma ham, pasta and other delicacies, a luxury wine and champagne counter, a tiny bakery section with freshly baked bread and a wee grocery section selling organic fruit and veg. If they extended these sections I'd probably visit more but as it is, the Foodmarket is too limited and too damn eXpensive.