Newington Fish Bar in Ramsgate has been revealed today (Tuesday 5 September) as one of London and South East England’s top two fish and chip shops as part of the 30th anniversary National Fish & Chip Awards, organised by Seafish.
Following rigorous judging, Newington Fish Bar will now ‘fry’ for glory against Henley’s of Wivenhoe in Wivenhoe, Colchester in the race to become London and South East England’s best chip shop in the Fish and Chip Shop of the Year Award. It is competing in one of 15 categories in the 2018 National Fish & Chip Awards – aptly known as the ‘Oscars’ of the fish and chip industry.
Representing the best takeaway fish and chip shops, the finalists will now compete for their place in the final and a chance to claim the ultimate honour of being crowned number one in the UK.
The shops have had their frying skills put to the test as well as being assessed against a variety of judging criteria, including menu development and innovation, sustainable sourcing policies, staff training processes and marketing activity.
Over the coming week, the top 20 will be subjected to further assessment with judges making unannounced visits to undertake full business audits and additional appraisal of the fish and chips on offer. This next judging stage will determine a top 10 list of shops who will progress to the final stage of the competition to be held in London in January 2018.
Newington Fish Bar
The Newington Fish Bar chippy/restaurant in Newington Road was opened by brothers Ken and Nigel Derrett (pictured) almost 40 years ago.
The pair were both working in separate busy restaurants and both had young families.
They decided to use their skills to set up a business in their hometown of Ramsgate and the rest is history.
Since then they have scooped numerous chippy awards – including being named the best in the country by The Independent in 2005 and, in 2009, In 2009, being the first shop in Kent to receive the prestigious Five Star Fish Fryers Quality Award, by Seafish, Now run by the National Federation of Fish Fryers.
Newington Fish Bar doesn’t just feed the community – it also gets involved with projects for the RNLI and local football clubs and schools
The pair are supported by a loyal team of staff.
Nigel says the secret to their success is “Quality products and service and looking after our customers.”
And if you are not a fan of fish, don’t worry, the shop does everything from pancake rolls to burgers and the famous steakwich is back!
‘Head-to-head’
Marcus Coleman, Chief Executive at Seafish, said: “As London and South East England’s top shops go head-to-head to secure their place in the final, I’ll look forward to seeing who fry’s out on top.”
The winner of the Fish and Chip Shop of the Year Award will be announced at The National Fish & Chip Awards’ 30th anniversary ceremony in London on 25 January 2018.
For more information or to view the full shortlist visit www.fishandchipawards.com or follow @FishnChipAwards #FishnChipAwards