Happy Fish and Chip Day!

Voted one of the Nation’s most loved dishes and with 22% of us Brits visiting the chippy at least once a week, it would be a crime to let National Fish and Chip Day pass by without some sort of celebration! 

In true British fashion, we all seem to have our own ways of enjoying a good chippy tea. Which sides are you adding? Any condiments? Do you use those little wooden forks or just dig in with your hands? My perfect order would have to include a scoop of mushy peas, a (big) drizzle of curry sauce and a dollop of ketchup. Not forgetting the main attraction - lashings of vinegar on my chips, absolute heaven! They MUST be eaten at the seaside (I’m picturing the lovely coast at Filey, North Yorkshire!) with greasy fingers and washed down Yorkshire style with a refreshing dandelion and burdock. Is anyone hungry or is it just me?

As it happens, what you add to your fish supper might actually depend on which part of the UK you live in. If you’re from Hull, you’ll be partial to a bit of chip spice. I think I speak for the rest of the country when I say I have no idea what that is… but I’m sure it’s yummy!

There’s definitely a north south divide when it comes to our favourite add ons. Tomato ketchup and mayonnaise are favoured by the south whereas curry sauce and mushy peas are a proper northern delicacy, with the exception of Devon and Cornwall, who almost put us northerners to shame with their dedication to curry sauce and mushy peas! 

Although loved by all regions at the end of a night out, gravy is favoured by northerners slightly more, and cheese is one of the go-to toppings in the south. 

Outside of England, the Welsh go crazy for curry sauce and gravy (not together I hope?) and the Scottish dare to be different with ‘chippy sauce’ - a concoction of brown sauce and vinegar. Each to their own, I guess!

• We love our seaside snack so much, we spend a mahoosive £1.2 billion every year on the meal that powered our working class labourers through World War II (yes really!). Apparently, British soldiers would identify each other by shouting ‘fish’ and waiting for their fellow troops to respond ‘chips’. I challenge you to try and find me a more typically British fact than that!

• Up until 2016, the oldest fish and chip shop still in operation was based right here in West Yorkshire! Trading, quite literally, as 'The Oldest Fish & Chip Shop in the World', the legendary, 151 year old business in Yeadon near Leeds closed its doors in 2016. Since then, chippy owners from all corners of the UK have put themselves forward in the hopes of taking the crown. Fingers crossed it’s another win for West Yorkshire! 

• The largest serving of fish and chips weighs in at a whopping 54.99 kg (121 lb 3oz) and was made by Resorts World in Birmingham. Do you reckon that’s enough? Shall we add another bag of chips just in case? 

• The fastest time to wrap five portions of chips is 44.43 sec and was achieved by Stephanie Celik in Rotherham. Wow! Talk about fast food! 

Go on, head along to your local chippy tonight and try something new! I’m most definitely trying out Hull’s version. Not so sure about Scotland’s!