The North-West’s top six fish and chip shops – including one from Pendle – are in the race to be crowned regional Independent Takeaway Fish and Chip Shop of the Year at the 2014 National Fish and Chip Awards.
They are organised by Seafish, the authority on seafood. And the six include Holts Fish and Chips in Scotland Road, Nelson, plus others from Fleetwood; Garstang; Wilmslow, Cheshire; Warrington and Liverpool.
The six shortlisted shops will now compete against each other to become the regional winner, which will put them in contention to bag the ultimate title.
The overall winner will be announced at the prestigious awards ceremony to be held at the Lancaster London Hotel on the January 22nd, hosted by Michelin-starred chef and TV personality Jean Christophe Novelli.
To reach this stage of the competition the businesses have had to fry at the top of their game to secure their place in the next stage of the competition. They have now been judged on their initial entries by industry experts and subjected to mystery shop visits to secretly rate their businesses, including food quality and customer service.
These shops will now be further appraised to establish a UK Top 20 that will compete for prestigious regional titles. In October, Seafish will announce the top shop in each of the 10 UK regions for the flagship award. Paul Williams, CEO of Seafish, said: “Every year we see the standard of shops getting higher and higher and this year will be no exception.”