Harbourside Fish & Chips up for top award

Andrew Hillier and Lisa Lishman of Harbourside Fish & Chips, Plymouth have been named as two of the UK’s top 10 fish friers after they were both shortlisted for the Drywite Young Fish Frier of the Year Award as part of the 2016 National Fish & Chip Awards, organised by Seafish.

Andrew and Lisa will now have to compete at the highest level as they go up against the nine other contenders ‘fishing’ for the top prize.

To get to this stage and secure a place in the coveted shortlist, the friers have undergone a gruelling judging process involving the undertaking of telephone interviews and completion of exam questionnaires. 

In the coming weeks, they will be subject to further judging as they undergo a skills based assessment and personal interview at a rigorous testing day at the National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF) Training School in Leeds, Yorkshire. This next stage of the competition will whittle down the shortlist, establishing the five finalists who will compete to be crowned this year’s champion at the London awards ceremony.

Celebrating the best young fish friers across the country, The Drywite Young Fish Frier of the Year Award encourages the younger generation in the industry to nurture their individual skills and talent to become positive role models for other young people working in the fish and chip sector.

Briar Wilkinson, Sales Director at Drywite Ltd, commented: “We’ve been running this competition for 20 years now and this year the standard of entries has again been exceptionally high.

“The competition was conceived in 1995 by myself and Kelvin Lee in memory of our late father who had been associated with fish frying for over sixty years and always had a passion for encouraging young people to succeed.

“Our goal for the competition was to demonstrate how worthwhile a career in fish frying could be for talented young people in the industry – I’m sure my father would’ve been so proud of the high-standards that have been set due to this award and how it has also inspired the formation of the Young Friers Group.”

Paul Williams, Chief Executive of Seafish, said: “The aim of the National Fish & Chip Awards has always been to showcase the very best fish and chip businesses in the UK while setting incredibly high standards for the industry to aspire to.

“It’s so important that we recognise upcoming talent and applaud our young people for investing in our industry. This award is such an aspiration and to be shortlisted is a great achievement in itself – it confirms that they have started their careers on the right track and are well on their way to becoming the UK’s next top friers.”

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. They celebrate the great British tradition of fish and chips, recognising the best talent, quality and choice offered by fish and chip businesses.

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.

For further information on the Young Friers Group please visit www.youngfriers.com