Two Welsh chippies have been nominated for takeaway of the Year at The National Fish & Chip Awards 2023. The two, from Maesycwmmer and Trethomas are both in the Caerphilly borough and are included in a 20-strong shortlist compiled by The National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF).
Fish Kitchen 1854 and Ship Deck are two neighbourhood fish shops a mere 15 minutes away from each other, the former is in Maesycwmmer and the latter, Trethomas, and will both be crossing their fishfingers for a place in the finals of The National Fish & Chip Awards, which will take place in February next year.
The Maesycwmmer takeaway is found a stone's throw from the valley's famous landmark, the local viaduct and it's where the shop gets its name. Run by Lee Humphreys and wife, Samatha, Lee is a headteacher by day at Barry’s Pencoedtre High, and serves up fish suppers two nights a week. The shop has already been placed in Fry Magazine's Top 50 takeaways, and Lee told WalesOnline back in April, that the shop is "more than a bog-standard chippy". During the Six Nations specials included frogs legs when France played and 'Scotland in a box' with Scottish mackerel. Read more abut Lee, here.
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Over in Trethomas, Ship Deck has also won a place in the top 20 shortlist for the awards. Opened in 2019, it's run by Ryan - who's been in the industry since he was 15 - and Kimberley Hughes, who also run valleys delivery service, RCT Eats, and shared the 'flipping fantastic news' on Facebook, congratulating Fish Kitchen 1854 and thanking staff and customers. They wrote: "To our awesome team we are super proud of each & every one of you for achieving this & making Ship Deck what it is today."
The two Welsh chip shops will find out whether they will make it into the top 10 chip shops at the next stage of the competition and if they'll then go on to take the crown of UK's best takeaway at The National Fish & Chip Awards on February 28, 2023 in a ceremony at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge. Andrew Crook, President at the NFFF, comments “We received such a high standard of applications this year, for this category in particular, making it a very difficult yet rewarding judging process! The top 20 really demonstrate a strong commitment to the fish and chip industry and to the British public, so we’re thrilled to see so many shortlisted from across the country. Congratulations to everyone involved, this is a massive achievement in itself!”
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