Frankie’s Fish & Chips in Brae, Shetland, Scotland, is officially the best fish and chip shop in the UK after frying out on top at the 2015 National Fish & Chip Awards, organised by Seafish.
The shop was crowned the Independent Takeaway Fish and Chip Shop of the Year by awards host and voice of food and drink reason on BBC Radio 2, Nigel Barden, during a prestigious ceremony at the Lancaster London Hotel in London.
Dragon’s Den style pitch
To earn their spot at the top, Frankie’s Fish & Chips went through a rigorous, multi-stage judging process during the last few months. Culminating in a presentation to a panel of industry judges by the top ten finalists representing respective parts of the UK – all competing against each other in a Dragon’s Den style pitch as they fought to win.
Valerie Johnson, owner of Frankie’s Fish & Chips, said: “We now get to go home to Shetland and say that our fish and chips are the best in Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales – without exception. How amazing is that. This is the highlight of my working life. I can’t thank Seafish and my brilliant team enough. You’re a credit to the seafood industry. 2015 is Frankie’s year.”
The final 10 places were shortlisted during earlier judging rounds which included unannounced shop visits from industry judges. They were assessed on a wide variety of judging criteria including product quality, sustainable sourcing policies, marketing initiatives and customer service.
Sustainable Seafood Award
In addition to wining the top prize, Frankie’s cleaned up by taking home the Good Catch – The Sustainable Seafood Award. Sponsored by MSC and MCS, this category recognises fish and chip businesses that are leading the way in the sourcing and promotion of sustainable fish and shellfish, working to protect supplies so they are available for future generations to enjoy.
Co-sponsor George Clark, UK Commercial Manager of MSC, said: “With entries growing stronger every year this award has never been so competitive, making our role as judges even more challenging. It’s always interesting to discover the different approaches that businesses adopt to promote their sourcing of sustainable seafood and educating customers.”
Now in their 27th year, The National Fish & Chip Awards are recognised as one of the most prominent and respected seafood industry events in the UK. They celebrate the great British tradition of fish and chips, recognising the best talent, quality and choice offered by fish and chip businesses across the UK. The Independent Takeaway Fish and Chip Shop of the Year Award is one of the highest honours to receive as a fish and chip business. Previous winners have gone on to great success and reported sales increases of up to 100%.
National AwardWinners
Below are details of National Award winning businesses in all the categories of the 2015 National Fish & Chip Awards, who were presentedwith their awards at the Lancaster London Hotel on 20 January 2015.
Independent Takeaway Fish and Chip Shop of the Year Award
National Winner: Frankie’s Fish & Chips Brae
Shetland ZE2 9QJ
2nd Place National: Simpsons Fish & Chips
73-75 PriorsRoad Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL525AL
3rd Place National: Papa’s Barn
497 London Road Ditton
Kent
ME206DB
Regional Winning Shops
Region: Scotland
Frankie’s Fish & Chips Brae
Shetland
ZE2 9QJ
Region:Wales
Penaluna’s Famous Fish & Chips 36 High Street
Hirwaun Aberdare
Rhondda CynonTaf
CF449SW
Region: Northern Ireland
FishCity
69b Belfast Road Ballynahinch
Down
BT248EB
Region: North East England
Mister C’s
61-63 Micklegate Selby
North Yorkshire
YO84EA
Region: North West England
Papa’s Fish &Chips 68 School Brow Warrington Cheshire
WA1 2TA
Region: Midlands
Simpsons Fish & Chips 73-75 Priors Road Cheltenham Gloucestershire
GL525AL
Region: Eastern England
Burton Road Chippy 169 Burton Road Lincoln
Lincolnshire
LN1 3LW
Region: London & South East England
Papa’sBarn
497 London Road Ditton
Kent
ME206DB
Region: Central & South England
Broughton Fish & Chips 81 Tanfield Lane Broughton
Milton Keynes Buckinghamshire
MK109NJ
Region: South & West England
Harbourside Fish & Chips 35 Southside Street Plymouth
Devon
PL12LE
Best Newcomer Award
National Winner
Shap Chippy Main Street Shap Penrith Cumbria
CA103JS
Other Finalists
Old Time Fisheries 183 Devonshire Street Keighley
West Yorkshire
BD212NH
Pelican Jacks
292 Birchington Avenue Whale Hill Middlesbrough Cleveland
TS68BL
‘Good Catch’ – The Sustainable Seafood Award
National Winner
Frankie’s Fish & Chips Brae
Shetland
ZE2 9QJ
Other Finalists
Kingfisher Fish &Chips Chaddlewood Shopping Centre Glen Road
Plympton Plymouth Devon
PL72XS
Olley’s Fish Experience 69 Norwood Road Herne Hill
London
SE249AA
Healthy Eating ‘Fish and Chips’ Award
National Winner
Towngate Fisheries 56 High Street
Idle Bradford
West Yorkshire
BD108NN
Other Finalists
Fish City
69b Belfast Road Ballynahinch County Down Northern Ireland
BT248EB
Harbourside Fish &Chips 35 Southside Street Barbican
Plymouth Devon
PL12LE
From Field To Frier Award
National Winner
Simpsons Fish & Chips 73-75 Priors Road Cheltenham Gloucestershire
GL525AL
Other Finalists
Kingfisher Fish & Chips
Chaddlewood Shopping Centre, 6 Glen Road Plympton
Plymouth Devon
PL72XS
Moore’s Fish & Chips 254 King Street Castle Douglas Dumfries & Galloway
DG71HA
Marketing Innovation Award
National Winner
Poppies Fish and Chips Restaurant & Takeaway 6 Hanbury Street
Spitalfields London
E16QR
Other Finalists
Frankie’s Fish & Chips Brae
Shetland
ZE2 9QJ
Hennighan’s Top Shop 123 Heol Maengwyn Machynlleth
Powys Mid Wales
SY208EF
Independent Fish and Chip Restaurant of the Year Award
National Winner
Burton Road Chippy 169 Burton Road Lincoln
Lincolnshire
LN1 3LW
Other Finalists
Cromars
1-3 UnionStreet St. Andrews Fife
KY169PQ
Fylde FishBar 117 Fylde Road Marshside Southport Merseyside
PR99XP
Papa’s Barn
497 London Road Ditton
Kent
ME206DB
Simpsons Fish & Chips 73-75 Priors Road Cheltenham Gloucestershire
GL525AL
Staff Training and Development Award
National winner
Burton Road Chippy 169 Burton Road Lincoln
Lincolnshire
LN1 3LW
Other Finalists
The Frying Squad 9 Balloo Road Bangor
County Down NorthernIreland
BT197PG
Top Gun Fish & Chip Shop 33 Merthyr Road Whitchurch
Cardiff
CF141DB
Best Seasonal Fish and Chip Operator Award
National Winner
Dodson’s Fresh Catch Stanley
Wakefield
WestYorkshire
Other Finalists
Star Chip Enterprise Evesham
Warwickshire
The Jolly Fryer Denmead
Hampshire
The Great ‘Fish & Chip’ School Lunch Award
National Winner
Holy Trinity Primary School Saville ParkRoad
Halifax
West Yorkshire HX11ES
Other Finalists
Cambridge Regional College Kings Hedges Road Cambridge
Cambridgeshire CB42QT
Venerable Edward MorganSchool Caernarvon Close
Shotton Deeside Flintshire CH51AR
Community Contribution Award
National Winner
Rock Fish
8 SouthEmbankment Dartmouth
Devon
TQ69BH
Other Finalists
Alf’s Fish andChips 2 Lynch Road Weymouth
Dorset DT4 0SJ
Chesters
151 SheffieldRoad Chesterfield Derbyshire
S417JH
Best Multiple Foodservice Operator Award
National Winner
Greene King with Flame Grill
Other Finalists
Garfunkels Restaurants
Wm MorrisonsPLC
Best Multiple Operator Award
National Winner
Rockfish
Devon
Other Finalists
John Dory’s Traditional Fish & Chips
Northern Ireland
The Good Catch Fish & Chips
Merseyside/GreaterManchester
NFFF Fish and Chip Quality Award ‘Champion’ Award
National Winner
Kingfisher Fish & Chips Chaddlewood Shopping Centre 6 Glen Road
Plympton Plymouth Devon
PL72XS
Other Finalists
The Chippy
15 Railway Street Antrim
County Antrim
BT414AE
Burton Road Chippy 169 Burton Road Lincoln
Lincolnshire
LN1 3LW
Drywite Young Fish Frier of the Year Competition
Rachel Tweedale
The Elite Fish & ChipCompany Unit 1, Grantham Road Sleaford
Lincolnshire
NG347NB
Kat Deuchars
John Dory’s Traditional Fish and Chips 278 Upper Newtownard sRoad Ballyhackamore
Belfast
BT543EU
Amy Grimwood MisterC’s
61-63 Micklegate Selby
North Yorkshire
YO84EA
Ryan Hughes
The Crispy Cod Fish Bar 12 High Street Tonyrefail
Porth
Mid Glamorgan
CF398PG
James Hulston Our Plaice
131 WorcesterRoad Hagley
Stourbridge West Midlands
DY90NW
Jonathan Leech Garstang Fish & Chips Unit 2, Stoops Weind Garstang
Lancashire PR31EA
The National Fish & Chip Awards 2015 Seafish
18 LogieMill Logie Green Road Edinburgh
EH74HS
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