UK's top ten chippies announced
The ten best fish and chip shops in the UK have been announced in the national Fish & Chip Shop of the Year competition, organised by Seafish, the authority on seafood.
The finalists will now compete for the coveted title of national Fish & Chip Shop of the Year 2008 – a special year for the competition as it celebrates its 21st birthday.
The successful fish and chip shops are:
• Anstruther Fish Bar & Restaurant in Anstruther, Scotland
• Finnegan’s in Porthcawl, Wales
• The Fish and Chicken Inn in Ballymena, Northern Ireland
• Colman’s of South Shields in Tyne & Wear
• Thornton Fisheries in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire
• Merchant Fish Bar in Bewdley, Worcestershire
• Petrou Brothers in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire
• Scooby Snax in Colchester, Essex
• The Plaice in Winchester, Hampshire
• Daniels Fish and Chips in Weymouth, Dorset
Now facing the ultimate challenge, the ten shops must present to a panel of industry experts to make their bid for the national crown. The shops provide the panel with information about their business and then answer questions from the panel of leading industry figures on a wide variety of business and industry-related topics including sustainable sourcing, health and safety and maintaining product quality.
Andy Gray, competition judge at Seafish, said: “The standard of entrants in this year’s competition has been incredibly high and it is encouraging to see fish and chips shops paying attention to sustainable sourcing as well as offering quality, value and choice. This industry has come a long way in the last 21 years and competition is going to be fierce for this year’s national title.”
The winner will be presented with the champion’s crown by TV chef, Simon Rimmer, at a ceremony on 22 January at the Park Plaza Riverbank in London.
This announcement follows the release of NPD Crest statistics which revealed that fish and chip shops throughout the UK have seen an increase in customers and sales for the first time in five years. The number of people going to fast-food restaurants rose by 3.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2008 compared to the previous year.
With nearly 276 million meals sold each year from over 10,500 shops, fish and chips remains the nation’s favourite takeaway. Devotees can also tuck into their fish and chips knowing they contain 36 per cent less calories than a chicken korma and pilau rice, and 42 per cent less fat than a doner kebab with pitta and salad. Recent studies also showed that fish and chips had the lowest salt content of all the takeaways tested.
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Notes to editors
• Photography of Simon Rimmer and last year’s winners is available upon request.
• Interviews with the competition judges or previous winners can be arranged
• A press kit containing background information, celebrity fish and chip fans, fun and quirky stats and a roll of honour of previous winners is available.
• Seafish, the authority on seafood, was founded in 1981 by an act of parliament and supports the seafood industry for a sustainable, profitable future. Our services range from research and development, economic consulting, market research and training and accreditation through to account management and legislative advice for the seafood industry. www.seafish.org
• Sponsors of the Fish & Chip Shop of the Year 2008 are Blakemans, Dinaclass, Drywhite, Duncrue Food Processors Ltd, Friars Pride, FASFA Ocean Wild FAS fish fillets, Heinz SqeezMe!, Goldensheaf, Henry Colbeck, Henry Jones, Neoda, Middletons Food Products, Nortech Foods ltd, NEFF, Preston & Thomas, Seafood Scotland, npower business, V A Whitley, T. Quality, Wrights
Issued by
Sarah Ormerod / Phil Addicott
3x1 Public Relations
0141 221 0707
Last Update : 24 November 2008