Millers Fish and Chips of Haxby, North Yorkshire, has scooped the coveted Independent Takeaway Fish and Chip Shop of the Year award at the 2018 Annual National Fish & Chip Awards in London.
Millers’ owners – father and son Nick and David Miller – entered the competition for the first time last year and reached the final, but went all the way in this year’s 30th anniversary awards.
To take top prize, the business had to progress through a multi-stage judging process over a seven-month period, encompassing mystery shopping assessments and audits by industry experts who reviewed everything from responsible sourcing policies to menu diversification. Customer service levels and the quality of fish and chips being served were also closely scrutinized.
“At Millers, we wholeheartedly believe in making fish and chips accessible for everyone. We operate a separate frying area to cater for allergen-free diets, and offer a range of gluten-free, halal and vegetarian products, all cooked using only use the finest, locally sourced, sustainable ingredients,” Nick Miller said “As a fourth-generation family business with a 77-year history, we bring the tradition associated with great British fish and chips together with a new, innovative approach. This really does mean everything to us, and we’re so proud of our ourselves, our staff, and our business.”
Organized by Seafish, the awards were initiated in 1988 to raise standards across the industry and to reward individual “chippies” judged to be going that extra bit further.
Participation in the competition is also good for trade. According to the seafood authority, some previous winners have gone on to report sales increases of up to 100 percent.
Today there are approximately 10,500 takeaway fish and chip shops in the United Kingdom, collectively serving around 380 million meals yearly and generating annual sales of more than GBP 1 billion (USD 1.4 billion, EUR 1.1 billion).
