National Fish and Chip Awards celebrate Yorkshire venues

Yorkshire-based venues are celebrating success at the National Fish and Chip Awards run by Seafresh - which are dubbed the Oscars of the industry and are now in their 28th year.

Mister C’s, of Selby in North Yorkshire, had a particularly memorable time. They were named as regional winners in the North East England category, which comprised of Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear and Yorkshire.

Nationwide, they were also one of the three finalists in the Staff Training and Development Award category - and Amy Horsley, of Mister C’s, was one of five people shortlisted in the Drywite Young Fish Frier of the Year competition. That is open to applicants who were aged 25 and under.

“It’s amazing,” said Mark Corbally, owner of Mister C’s, before explaining some of the secrets behind their success. “We only select the best fish, mainly from Iceland. It is fresh frozen. We invest in our people too and pride ourselves on our staff training, which is hopefully refleced in the customer service.”

A full list of the winners can be seen at fishandchipawards.com - and involves teams of experts trawling the country to discover the best. The prizes were announced at the Lancaster London Hotel by BBC Radio 2’s Nigel Barden, a leading food and drink expert on the Simon Mayo. The overall winner was Simpsons of Cheltenham.

Mister C’s were delighted to be in contention for the main prize. They first opened in 1981 on Barlby road before moving to their present location on Micklegate in 1986. The family-run business still use the same batter recipe they used on their opening day.

They use MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) certified cod and haddock - which reflect sustainable fishing pratices. The fish is served alongside some of the finest potatoes Yorkshire and Lincolnshire has to offer.

Another venue in our region, which impressed, was Papa’s Fish and Chips of Willbery in East Yorkshire. George Papadamou of Papa’s was on the shortlist for the Drywite Young Fish Frier of the Year - and the venue was also one of the five finalists in the Restaurant of the Year category.

That restaurant category shortlist, eventually won by The Scallop Shell of Bath, also included Trenchers of Whitby, North Yorkshire. In the Best Mobile Fish and Chip Operator award, one of the three finalists were Dodson’s Fresh Catch of Wakefield. In the NFFF Fish and Chip Quality Award ‘Champion’ Award, Towngate Fisheries of Bradford were among the three finalists.