Devon fish and chip shop named best in UK

Krispies Fish & Chips from Exmouth, Devon are frying high today as they celebrate netting the enviable title of the UK’s best fish and chip shop at the National Fish & Chip Awards 2019, organised by Seafish.

Owned and operated by husband and wife team Kelly and Tim Barnes, Krispies beat off competition from nine other finalist shops to clinch the title, which has led to previous champions doubling their turnover in the twelve months following the announcement.

Krispies were also successful in the Staff Training and Development Award category. Another Devon based business, Harbourside Fish & Chips, Plymouth, are also celebrating having scooped the Healthy Eating ‘Fish and Chips’ Award.

The National Fish & Chip Awards is a UK-wide competition celebrating true excellence in the fish and chip industry. Hailing from across the country, entrants are judged on far more than just the fish and chips they cook and serve. Sustainability, menu innovation, catering for special dietary requirements, customer service and marketing activity are all part of the package of what makes an award winning fish and chip shop. Krispies consistently excelled in all of these areas throughout an intensive eight month judging period, which included multiple mystery shop visits and a final presentation to a panel of industry experts.

Tim Barnes, owner of Krispies, said: “What a journey this has been and what an incredible way to top it off by being crowned UK’s Fish & Chip Shop of the Year! We love the awards and we’d recommend anyone in the industry to enter. It teaches you so much about your business, not just showing you areas where you could improve but also highlighting how good you already are, something that people find hard to see when they run their own business.

“Krispies has come so far since we opened 20 years ago and we can honestly say it is a dream come true to win this award. But we didn’t do this alone, we are so proud of our team and what they have achieved. We want to thank them from the bottom of our hearts for their hard work and faith in us. We are so excited to be looking after this prestigious award for the next year and we will do everything we can to honour its reputation before passing it on to another worthy winner next year.”  

Captain’s Fish & Chips, Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire scooped second place, with Low’s Traditional Fish and Chips from Aberdeen taking third.

Marcus Coleman, Chief Executive Officer at Seafish, said: “Krispies have beaten the best fish and chip shops in the business to win this prestigious award and we’d like to offer our warmest congratulations to them for what is a truly superb effort. Their final presentation to the judging panel was truly first class, with their passion for fish & chips evident throughout. 

“The National Fish & Chip Awards have been raising the bar in the industry for 31 years and we know how much it means to operators to win what is a notoriously tough competition. Securing the title of best fish and chip shop in the UK will transform Krispies’ business and we hope that they are incredibly excited for what’s in store for them when they take the title back to Devon. Congratulations again, thoroughly deserved.”

For more information about the awards visit: https://www.seafish.org/fish-chip-awards  or follow @fishnchipawards / #fishnchipawards on Twitter.

For more information about fish and chips: www.fishisthedish.co.uk/win/national-fish-chip-awards or follow @fishisthedish.