MSC certified fish and chip shops had a great result at this year’s National Fish and Chip awards, winning in seven categories and taking the top prize for the third year running.
Frankie’s Fish and Chips in Brae, who came second in the top award last year, are naturally delighted with their double win; the UK’s number one Independent Takeaway of the Year Award and Good Catch - The Sustainable Seafood Award.
John Gould, Manager of Frankie’s is proud of their business ethos and dedication to offering the best using MSC certified seafood, “We are delighted to say that you can buy a fish supper at Frankie’s without worrying that it causes harm to the haddock stock in the seas off Shetland or the environment. The same applies to the brown crab dishes that we have brought onto our menu. This complements our MSC certified mussels and scallops. The provenance of our seafood is of great importance to us.”
George Clark of the Marine Stewardship Council, was delighted with the results and the growing recognition of MSC certification within the fish and chip sector.
“The finalists’ results this year are a good measure of the direction the industry is moving in. With Frankie’s winning the Independent Takeaway Award, offering such a great diversity of certified sustainable seafood, and 7 of the remaining regional finalists all having MSC certification it is clear that the industry is shooting for the stars on sustainability, as well as quality. I think it shows how MSC certification goes hand in hand with the way the best fish and chip shops are running their businesses. The success of these industry leading shops further underlines the value in the MSC programme, safeguarding fish stocks for future generations and providing customers with a clear choice for sustainable fish and chips.”
MSC certified chippies and restaurants triumphed in seven of the night’s other awards, including:
- Field to Frier Award
- Simpson’s Fish and Chips, Cheltenham
- Independent Fish and Chip restaurant of the Year
- Burton Road Chippy, Lincoln
- Staff training and development award
- Burton Road Chippy, Lincoln
- Community Contribution Award
- Rockfish, Devon
- Best multiple operator
- Rockfish, Devon
- NFFF Fish and Chip Quality Award ‘Champion’ Award
- Kingfisher Fish and Chips, Plympton, Plymouth
Good Catch success
As well as winning Independent Takeaway of the Year, Frankie’s also won Good Catch: The Sustainable Seafood Award, the second time that the award has also been given to the overall winner. The Good Catch Award is also becoming more popular amongst chip shop owners, as George Clark explained. “Entries are growing stronger every year and this award has never been so competitive, making our role as judges even more challenging. It’s always interesting to discover the different approaches that businesses adopt to promote their sourcing of sustainable seafood and educating customers. Their creative and unique approaches help to enhance their business offering while also teaching their customers about seafood sustainability and its importance.”
“Frankie’s is a credit to the industry and are paving the way to a sustainable future. Their work is inspiring and I hope it encourages more fish and chip shops across the UK to embrace this philosophy. It gave us great pleasure in awarding them ‘Good Catch’ The Sustainable Seafood Award for 2015.”
A history of success
Two years ago, (as with Frankie’s this year), The Bay Fish and Chips also won both the best national independent takeaway and the Good Catch award in this highly competitive event. It’s clear then, as now, that the judges felt the criteria for both awards should reflect the importance, for the industry and related businesses, of sourcing certified sustainable fish. This resulted in The Bay becoming something of an ambassador for MSC certification and showing how serving sustainable fish has been easy to implement and successful for the business.
Calum Richardson from The Bay, was very proud to have received both awards; “If you want to win the award for the best fish and chip shop in the UK you need to be in the Good Catch award. It's a major tick in the box. We're delighted to win this award - everyone should be embracing sustainability. For us it's not just about saying you do something, it's about proving you do it. The MSC‘s Chain of Custody and ecolabel are a great way to demonstrate and assure everyone of our sustainable practice."
Last year’s winner of the Independent Take-away of the Year, Quayside in Whitby, are clear about the part sustainable seafood plays in their successful business. Adrian Fusco, owner of Quayside explains: “Our business has grown from strength to strength in the past year, and that’s down to a number of reasons, one being our Fish and Chip Shop of the Year Award, and another being our MSC certification..."
"…by displaying our MSC Ecolabel, we’re educating and raising awareness for sustainable fishing. It means that people are more inclined to come back to us again and again, in the safe knowledge of exactly where and how our fish is sourced.”
Increasing numbers of MSC certified suppliers abide by, support and champion the MSC programme, offering a wider selection of certified sustainable and traceable seafood. Suppliers such as T Quality are firmly behind the MSC’s certified chain of custody and offer a good range of MSC certified fish. “The important aspect for us as a business is that the MSC certification formally demonstrates this higher commitment to sustainability. Our customers are demanding a product with the MSC brand to pass on to their customers seeking the trust mark of a sustainably sourced product.”
Recently certified suppliers Dennis Crooks are also keen to offer more certified sustainable seafood; Sales Manager William Crooks explains why it’s so important to the industry. “Becoming MSC certified means a great deal to us…and we’ve invested time in re-jigging the way we operate to incorporate MSC product within our factory. Being MSC certified reassures our customers that we are not just thinking about today, we are thinking about the future for us as a family business and for the future of the entire fishing industry.”
With the MSC expected to launch their new standard for Chain of Custody certification soon, making the certification process more straightforward and accessible for fish and chip shops, there is no better time to serve fully certified sustainable and labelled MSC seafood and promote it to your customers.
It’s clear from the commitment of these leading businesses and award winners that there is great value in joining the MSC programme, a growing movement towards safeguarding fish stocks for future generations and providing customers with a choice for high quality, traceable and fully sustainable fish and chips.
There are also new routes to certification available through the RoC Group (for single sites it is now £350) and a discount of £100 is available if you are an NFFF Quality Award holder, which means a cost of just £250 for a year. Getting MSC certified is a top priority for some of the best chippies in the country and is now accessible to all fish & chip shop owners!
For information about the NFFF’s membership and Quality Award scheme visit www.qualityfishandchips.co.uk.