On Wednesday, the winners of the Seafish Fish & Chip Awards will be announced to a fanfare and amidst much rejoicing. The overall winner will become an overnight celebrity and see turnover double, as visitors flock to their “chippy” to see what makes their fish and chips the best in the land.
Seafish has been running the awards for 26 years now, and they have grown in breadth and popularity. Originally set up to reward individual shops and generate publicity for the sector, they now include fourteen different categories for which businesses are appraised on sustainable sourcing practices, customer service, hygiene and staff training and —most importantly — the quality of their fish and chips!
The British have long had a love affair with fish and chips, which is somewhat ironic, given that a great deal of the population claim never to eat fish. In fact, they spend more than GBP 580 million (USD 961 million, EUR 708 million) each year on “fish suppers” and fried fish accounts for 33 percent of the overall foodservice sector.
The U.K. has around 11,000 fish and chip shops, and their product outsells Indian restaurants by four to one. Overall, the industry employs more than 61,000 people.
Cod remains the most popular fish sold in chip shops, accounting for 60 percent of sales, with haddock second at 25 percent, and the remainder made up mostly of hake, halibut, plaice, pollock and sole.
The majority of fish & chip shops in the U.K. depend on frozen-at-sea (FAS) fillets for at least part of the year and around 95 percent use FAS fillets exclusively for all the cod and haddock they sell.
John Rutherford, director of the Frozen at Sea Fillets Association (FASFA) explained that FAS fish provides fish and chip shop customers and owners with two important securities.
“The first is that the fish comes from abundant, sustainable stocks caught in the Barents Sea and North Atlantic, where good stock management has been the norm for many years. The second is the excellent quality of frozen cod and haddock fillets, which is guaranteed by the fact that it is processed and frozen within four hours of leaving the water. This locks in the very best taste experience possible,” said Rutherford.
“FASFA promotes these two messages to the media and to businesses, and also helps them to pass on the information to customers, because there remains a high level of consumer ignorance about where seafood comes from and the manner in which it is caught and delivered,” he added.
A loyal band of friers prefer to use fresh fish, and their number is growing, especially since celebrity chefs got in on the act and began to make fish and chips more upmarket. In the past these tended to be close to ports, but as the fresh supply chain has improved, so has the reach of fresh fish. Trade body Seafood Scotland is working throughout the supply chain to help strengthen these links and to enable more businesses to take advantage of a freshly landed product.
“Around 60 percent of all whitefish landed into the U.K. comes from Scotland, especially the northeast corner. Here, the industry is founded on tradition, with a fit for purpose fishing fleet, sustainable stocks, — many with Marine Stewardship Council accreditation — a skilled primary processing sector and excellent transport logistics. This makes us proud to promote top quality fresh, wild and delicious whitefish from Scotland to fish and chip shops,” said Graham Young, head of Seafood Scotland, which is sponsoring the Best Newcomer category in this year’s awards.
Whatever the source of the fish, it is always good to know where the best chippies are located, and to help customers in this task, the National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF) has set up iFish4Chips. The smartphone app, which also allows customers to leave feedback, has been well received by fish and chip shops and consumers, and resulted in many shops receiving multiple recommendations from loyal customers.
NFFF President and former Fish and Chip Shop of the Year Winner Gregg Howard believes that iFish4Chips is the most ground breaking thing to happen to the fish and chip industry for a long time. “With smartphones becoming one of the most popular forms of communication, a listing on the app is a fantastic way of showcasing your business,” he said.
