In cod we trust ... the chippy's still favourite after 150 years

Although both battered fried fish and fried potatoes have been sold and eaten in this country for centuries, research carried out by the National Federation of Fish Friers pinpoints 1860 as the year in which the two were first put together and sold commercially.

However, according to Yorkshire food historian Peter Brears there is fierce debate about where the first "chippy" was opened.

According to the National Federation of Fish Friers the evidence points to the Malin family in London as being the first to open a fish and chip business.

Joseph Malin would have been just 13 in 1860 when his rug-weaving parents began frying chips in their home. Enterprising young Joseph then married these up with battered fried fish from a fish warehouse and sold the combination on the streets. Later he established a business that fried and sold hot fish and chips.

But Mr Brears says there are a number of competing claims. One is from a family in Rochdale where there is evidence of the Nuttal family making fish frying ranges from the 1880s.

"There is evidence that fish and chips were sold together in Bradford before the 1880s," says Mr Brears.

"There was a lady called Granny Duce who had two or three greengrocers and fish and chip shops in Bradford possibly as early as 1864. She moved to Watford in the 1880s and set up a chain of fish and chip shops which she ran until she died in 1933."

In Leeds the first fish and chip shop was opened in Marsh Lane in 1880 by Edward Lewis.

Now there are around 10,500 fish and chip shops across the UK employing about 60,000 people and selling nearly 276 million fish and chip meals each year. Fish and chips remains the nation's favourite takeaway.

The meal is not just more popular but also healthier than many fast foods. A typical portion of fish and chips contains 36 per cent less calories than a chicken korma and pilau rice and 42 per cent less fat than a doner kebab with pitta and salad. Recent studies also showed that fish and chips had the lowest salt content.

The very best of British fish and chips will be celebrated in London on January 21 when the ten fish and chip shops that have made it through to the final of the national Fish & Chip Shop of the Year 2009 competition will find out which has won the coveted trophy.

Among the ten finalists is Royal Fisheries in Whitby. The shops will go head to head in front of a panel of industry experts, providing the judges with information about their businesses, before answering questions from the panel of leading industry figures on topics including sustainability, health and safety and maintaining product quality.

National Chip Week takes place from February 15-21.

Visit www.lovechips.co.uk for a list of participating fish and chip shops, more information about what's going on during the week itself, perfect chip recipes, and fun chip facts and figures.

BATTER BY DESIGN

1860: There is still a lot of debate about whether the first fish and chip shop opened in London or the North.

1920: The mechanical potato peeler was invented, From 1920 onwards fish and chip shops were called "Fried Fish Shops" and, as can be seen at the Black Country Museum's replica chippie from Willenhall, they were often converted from the front room of a house.

1927 – There were 35,000 fish and chip shops across the UK. Today we can enjoy chips in many other ways, including ready-prepared, oven and even microwaveable chips.

1931 – Demand for fish and chips reached a high and a chippie in Bradford had to hire a doorman to control the queue outside the shop at peak times.

1930s – The balance of protein, carbohydrate and vitamins found in fish and chips kept the Territorial Army well fed as they prepared for battle in training camps.

1940 – Fish and chips was one of the few foods not rationed during the Second World War.

1960s – Today's most popular potato variety, the Maris Piper, was first commercially grown and housewives celebrated the first frozen chips.

1970 – The last time you could enjoy eating fish and chips in newspaper.

1980 – Oven chips were launched.

1989 – Chips got even faster with microwaveable chips.

2005 – Food scientists developed an oven chip with just three per cent fat – and scored "green" on all four counts of the traffic light labelling scheme.