An old-fashioned chippy has unveiled a modern look after a £150,000 makeover. What was Phil's Plaice in Gedling is now simply The Plaice.
But it's not just new surroundings that customers can expect at the fish and chip shop in Westdale Lane East. The 20-year-old fryer has been replaced with state-of-the-art equipment that will cook even better tasting chips.
Owner Matt Elliott, whose dad Phil originally set up the business, opened the doors on Wednesday (September 7), to show off the changes after closing for a three-week revamp. He hopes the sparkling new interior will help to boost business.
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Matt said: "People like to go to nice places. We've got a brand new fryer - this is the best you can get. We've always had a good reputation anyway but I'm hoping that's going to be even better now because the quality of the food should be better and the consistency as well."
From now on chips will be twice-cooked so they're fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside, producing a better product all-round. First they will be blanched for six minutes in hot oil to soften the potato before being put into a second pan for around two-and-a-half minutes at a higher temperature.
Phil said: "Before we just chucked them in one pan. That's the great thing about this because the chips are timed they should always be the same, they should never be any different. It's digitally controlled whereas the other one was analogue and there was always a bit of fluctuation in the temperature. It was always a bugbear because you had to set them manually.
"This is really quite accurate. We had training last week. All the workmen had chip cobs and everyone said how nice the chips were."
As well as cooking better quality chips, the high-efficiency fryer should also save him a third on his gas bill, which has never been more important given the rocketing cost of energy bills. A built-in filtration system cleans the vegetable oil at the end of each shift so it's better for cooking and lasts longer - another essential consideration with the high price of oil.
The shop has been in the Elliott family for 27 years and is the oldest chippy in Gedling and possibly Nottingham, said Phil, who discovered when buying the freehold to secure its future, that it dates back to the 1960s. The interior has been gutted to build a new counter and install new cooking equipment. The flooring, tiled walls, lighting and updated frontage all add to the new contemporary style.
One thing that hasn't altered is the menu except it's now displayed digitally rather than on blackboards. There's still the same choice of small, medium and large fish while chips are served in a cone, small or large portions. The price of fish remains the same as before the makeover, but in line with rising costs of supplies, the price of chips have gone up 10-20p. The prices of kebabs have also gone up slightly.
Phil said: "We were quite cheap anyway. We were £7 for a large fish. A lot of places now are £8. A lot do a large fish and chips as a fixed price but we've not done that. Not everyone wants a large fish with a lot of chips. A lot of people just have a cone-sized chips. We do a mini fish with chips and peas for £5.20."
Of course, Phil's beef stew is there as one of the specials. First created by Matt's dad all those years ago it's still popular to this day. He said: "I have changed the name to The Plaice but my dad was famous for that so I've kept Phil's beef stew as it is."
With workmen going in and out, some passers-by had a sneak peek while the refurbishment was on-going and, Matt said: "Everybody has said it looks really, really nice. We're looking forward to getting going and seeing everyone's reactions. In your head you can visualise it to be nice but it's just so nice. Almost a bit too posh if you know what I mean."
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