Cromars, St Andrews has won Scottish Chip Shop of the Year 2018 in the National Fish and Chip Awards, and is one of ten regional winners going forward to the national final in London on 26th January next year. Cromars was shortlisted last week as one of the Top 20 finalists, being one of only two Scottish shops to have gone through. With the Top 10 announced today, Cromars is now the only Scottish representative and as such wins the Regionals title for Scotland. Cromars last won the Regional title in 2016.
The National Fish & Chip Shop Awards are now in their 30th year and are organised and staged each year by Seafish.
Cromars will now be subject to a round of secret shopping by the Seafish appointed auditor who will conduct a detailed and in-depth judging audit.
Cromars has been in business for just over four years, but in this time has already won a number of other accolades including Takeaway of the Year in the Scottish Food Awards, and Best Fife Business in the Independent Retail Business Awards.
“We are absolutely delighted today with our Scottish win, just two years from when we won this for the very first time,” said Wendy Frame of Cromars. “It’s great to be through to the grand final, our team have worked so hard and it’s a huge boost for everyone. We would love to secure a Top three finish come January.”
As part of the awards process, Cromars will now be invited to join an expense-paid study trip to Alesund in Norway, organised by the Norwegian Seafood Council.
“It’s going to be fantastic to be a part of this,” said Wendy. ”We will discover and learn all about the catching, processing and supply of frozen at sea fish from Norway to the UK, although at Cromars our policy is always to use fresh fish as we believe that it has a far superior taste and texture for our customers, and ultimately delivers a better end product. We use MSC certified fish at Cromars and are keen to support sustainable fishing.”
Aims of the National Fish and Chip Awards are to recognise and reward businesses producing the very best fish and chips across the UK; to support the wider fish frying trade in their efforts to maintain a share of the takeaway fast food market, and to produce a benchmark for businesses to aspire to.
Fish and chip businesses like Cromars can choose from a variety of different awards categories to enter and are appraised on criteria ranging from sustainable sourcing practices, customer service, hygiene and staff training, and most importantly, the standard of the fish and chips they serve.
Said Wendy: “We are putting together a special presentation on the business for the London judges. We have completed this in previous years and it’s a great test for us to clarify just where the business is at the moment.”
For further details on Cromars check out www.cromars.co.uk For further details on the National Fish and Chip Awards 2018 check out the web at www.fishandchipawards.com.
