WARRINGTON’S Papa’s Fish & Chips has been voted the top fish and chip shop in Merseyside, Greater Manchester and Cheshire as part of the 2016
National Fish & Chip Awards – and now is in the running to be crowned the best in the North West!
Competing to be crowned Independent Takeaway Fish and Chip Shop of the Year, Papa’s Fish & Chips and Hodgson’s Chippy in Lancaster will now ‘fry’ for glory against each other in the race to become North West England’s best fish and chip shop.
To get to this stage and secure a place in the coveted shortlist, shops have been appraised across a variety of judging criteria including shop appearance, responsible sourcing policies, customer service and staff training policies.
They also received mystery shopping assessments by industry experts to ascertain the quality of the fish and chips and the levels of customer service provided by staff.
Over the coming weeks, the shops will be subjected to further mystery judging evaluations and in-depth judging audits. This next stage of the competition will determine the regional winner for North West England who will then complete against nine other regional winners for the top accolade at the 2016 awards ceremony.
Paul Williams, Chief Executive of competition organisers Seafish, said: “The aim of the National Fish & Chip Awards has always been to showcase the very best fish and chip businesses and individuals in the UK while setting incredibly high standards for the industry to aspire to.
“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. Many of our past winners and finalists have gone on to reap substantial benefits, including international fame through industry trips overseas, increased shop footfall and turnover and even launching their own products.
“It’s great to see so many excellent shops through to this stage of the competition. I’d like to offer up my congratulations and wish them the best as they prepare to continue their quest towards winning a regional title, but also thank them for consistently helping us to reinforce the UK’s reputation as the home of the world’s best fish and chips.”
Culminating in an awards ceremony at The Lancaster London Hotel on 20 January 2016, The National Fish & Chip Awards are recognised as one of the most prominent and respected seafood industry events in the UK. Widely considered as the ‘Oscars’ of the fish frying industry, they celebrate the great British tradition of fish and chips, recognising the best talent, quality and choice offered by fish and chip businesses.
In October, Seafish will announce the top 10 regional winners competing for the flagship award. These shops will then be invited on an all-expense paid study trip to Ålesund, Norway, organised by award sponsor the Norwegian Seafood Council, to witness first-hand why the country is regarded as one of the world’s most sustainable fishing nations.
Joint award sponsor Louise Marshall, Marketing Director of Friars Pride, said: “We are proud to support the National Fish & Chip Awards, a ceremony which celebrates the high level of talent within our industry both within the UK and further afield.
“The awards continue to inspire fish frying enthusiasts to attain high levels of expertise in the preparation and serving of fish and chips.”
For further information on The National Fish & Chip Awards please visit www.fishandchipawards.com. Follow @FishnChipAwards on Twitter for all the awards news and information.
Staff at Warrington’s Papa’s Fish & Chips celebrate
