Happy birthday, chips! Nation celebrates 150 years of the chip shop.

Friday 19 February 2010

Hip Hip Hurrah! Why not give your favourite food a special birthday cheer during National Chip Week from 15-21 February 2010 (www.lovechips.co.uk) to celebrate 150 years since the opening of the first chip shop.

Nothing beats the comforting taste of hot, fresh chips - soft and fluffy, with a crunchy, crisp bite.   And even after a century and a half, they are still Britain's most famous dish.  Perfect chips start with perfect potatoes and Maris Piper remains the chippies favourite variety, loved for its creamy flesh and floury texture. 

Social historian, Valerie Mars said: "Chip shops have seen Britain through two world wars; they've preceded the arrival of the car; and even the first public electricity supply! Nothing expresses our national solidarity and multi-cultural diversity as much as the chip shop and a journey through its colourful history shows why chips hold a special place in our hearts."

A History of Chip Shops

Early beginnings

The first chip shops, in Oldham and London, evolved from the separately cooked potato and fried fish shops found in the streets of industrial towns during the mid 1800's.  It was only in the 1860's that they were sold together - and The Oxford English Dictionary records a mention of 'fish and chip shops' in 1876.

There is still a lot of debate about whether the first fish and chip shop opened in London or in Lancashire.

In London, a Jewish immigrant, Joseph Malin, opened his chip shop, Malin's, of Old Ford Road in East London, providing a much needed nutritious meal for the working class.  While locals in Lancashire claim  John Lees invented 'fish and chips' when he sold both together at his Mossley market stall before opening a chip shop in 1863.  

Adopting the British chip

Travellers arriving in Britain fell in love with chips and many sensed the business opportunity a chip shop offered.  Each nationality - in particular, the Italians, Chinese and the Greek Cypriots embraced the chip shop by adopting it as their own, contributing to the unbeaten longevity of this great British institution.  Some have added their own local touches with dishes such as chips and curry sauce or chips and kebabs, but nothing comes close to toppling fish and chips from the top selling spot.

Popularity

Chip shops did a roaring trade in London and in the industrial mill towns of the Pennines. The heaviest concentrations were found around Oldham and Leeds, then Bolton and St Helen's, where there was a fish and chip shop on every other corner.  Most working class families in industrial areas were soon using the fish and chip shop three or four times a week as a source of hot, nutritious meals and expansion continued in Glasgow, Edinburgh and in the coastal towns of the Clyde and in urban Wales.  Horse drawn fish and chip vans ensured that those living outside the towns didn't miss out either.

The pace of development continued and was halted only briefly during the first World War.  By 1927, there were 35,000 fish and chip shops in the UK and by 1931, demand had reached such a high in Bradford, that a local chip shop had to hire a doorman to control queues.

The nutritional benefits of fish and chips were held in such high regard by the Government that the dish was one of the few foods not rationed during the Second World War and it was given to soldiers before they went into battle.

Soon, fish and chips moved up-market and started appearing as a regular on restaurant menus where they remain today (in the likes of The Ivy and The Savoy Grill), with ever more new openings, such as Rick Stein's new fish and chip restaurant and takeaway opening in Falmouth in 2010. 

Popularity in traditional chip shops remains as high as ever - out of every £100 spent on food, £2.60 is spent in a fish and chip shop, and last year chip shops saw an 8.3% rise in profits.

"Our nation's rich history of chip shops is part of our tradition and it's great to see that chips are still as popular as ever," said Mars.

Keeping the chip shop tradition going - chippy stories from across the nation 

Keeping it local in Lancashire
The lure of the local village chip shop proved too much for ex-vehicle dealership manager, Dave Greenwood and four years ago, he jumped at the chance take it over when the previous owners decided to emigrate.  Barnacle Bills is a traditional chip shop located right on Lancashire's Fylde coast. "I've lived in the village all of my life, so when an opportunity came up to take over the chip shop, I jumped at the chance.  I know everyone and everyone knows me," said Dave Greenwood.

Located right on Lancashire's Fylde coast, Barnacle Bills chip shop maintains the traditions of the region, having served the village of Freckleton for 20 years. The chips are fried in dripping, no additives are used, the fish comes from Fleetwood and the potatoes from Lincolnshire.  "Our ethos is to use the best locally sourced ingredients, cooked in the traditional way to create a true fish and chip experience," said Dave.  Local specialities include potato scallops (sliced potatoes deep fried in batter), homemade pea fritters, Snape's Cumberland sausages plus traditional fish and chips.

Home from home chip shop dates back to 1928
Many early fish and chip shops were set up in people's front room and the Angel Lane Fish Chop in Cumbria may look like a house, but behind the front door lies a stunning bit of history.  This is Penrith's longest established fish and chip shop, run by father and son partnership Dan and Dave Harding.  Dan first took an interest in the business when he was working in the chip shop part-time during his student days and when the building went up for sale, he persuaded his dad to join forces to help him buy it.  The inside of the building is steeped in history and although the downstairs counter has been refurbished, upstairs lies a neat little café which was probably the original owner's bedroom!

From carrying buckets of chips for a penny to Newquay entrepreneur
Rowland Martin is a third generation chippie who runs the Cod End, in Newquay.  His grandparents came from Sheffield but moved to sunny Cornwall because of his grandfather's ill-health. They built their own chip shop in Indian Queens and the warmer climate and diet of fresh fish and chips has certainly rubbed off on his grandmother who lived until she was 103!  His parents owned three chip shops throughout the region - Bideford, Truro and Launceston, so Rowland was brought up in fish and chip shops.

"My dad used to give me a penny for carrying the buckets of chips but now I own my own shop - the Cod End, along with two other businesses." Fish and chips has certainly paid off for Rowland.

Drive thru' chips at The Empire
Fast food takes on a whole new meaning in Yorkshire, the home of a 1920's chip shop originally part of The Empire cinema.

Sheila Cooper and her recently deceased husband had run fish and chip shops throughout West Yorkshire before they fell in love with this chip shop which became the first drive through chip shop in 1995.  They took over the business in 2001 and have built it into a thriving chip shop, with a 100-seater cinema themed restaurant, takeaway and drive-thru.

From chippie to chippy, Hamsworth
Belfast carpenter, Sean Bloomfield got the chip shop bug from his Cypriot father in law, Harry Angeleides, who arrived in the UK in 1959 and set up a fish and chip shop with his brother, in Hamsworth.  The brothers worked hard and soon expanded the business to seven or eight chip shops, which Harry, now semi-retired in his '60's, still runs.

Father of six, Sean, wanted to find a job that would support his large family and took inspiration from his father in law to set up his own chip shop in Hamsworth in 2003 - the Atlantic Fish Bar.  The premises had previously been a Chinese takeaway and Sean wanted to preserve some of its character, so did a deal with the owners, asking them to share their secret Chinese curry sauce recipe which remains on the menu with chips today.  With the help of his wife, Elena, the chip shop business flourished and they opened a second Atlantic Fish Bar on the other side of the village in Kingsway.

"We pride ourselves on cooking everything fresh - you have to cook like you are cooking for your mother," said Sean.

Even the potatoes are treated with kid gloves and are kept in a specially temperature controlled room so that the cold doesn't spoil them. And this certainly pays off, as customers are said to travel miles for a taste of the Irishman's chips - they even have a regular customer who travels from Plymouth to enjoy the gluten free alternatives on offer .

Italian/Scots fish and chip tradition lives on in .....Essex
Natalie Brown who owns The Wakering Fish Bar in Southend has four generations of fish and chip know-how behind her and is mentoring her two and half year old grandson, who is taking an early interest in cooking.

Her great grandparents, the Italian Marcella family, first set up a chip shop in Aberdeen and the tradition was passed down the family. Her dad was a captain in the navy, so it was her mum who ran the chip shop. Natalie Brown, owner of The Wakering Fish Bar said: "I was brought up in a chip shop and my sister and I spent a lot of our childhood sitting out back, colouring in and playing, whilst mum served customers out front." Her parents sold up shop when her dad got posted to Dubai, so the tradition was almost lost to the family until Natalie realised that despite training in IT, the lure of the chip shop was stronger. Two and half years ago, she gave in to her dreams and opened her first fish and chip shop which she runs with her husband, a local man from Essex.  The Scottish tradition still lives on through the varied menu which includes chips served with regional specialities such as mock chop (spicy meaty sausage shaped like a chop and fried in batter), chip Stick (sirloin steak kind of burger in batter), haggis pudding, Scotch Pie and deep fried Mars Bars too.

-Ends-

We would love to help you with any chip features you are planning, so please get in touch for further information, recipes and images:

Cat Cambridge         
Ceres                                                             
Tel: 0118 947 5956                                        
E: cat.cambridge@ceres-pr.co.uk    

Editor's Notes

• Chip Shops all over the country will be taking part in National Chip Week 15-21 February 2010
• Britain's top chip places will be named during National Chip Week when the winners of the Perfect Portion Awards will be announced
• Visit www.lovechips.co.uk for a list of list of participating fish and chip shops, more information about what's going on during the week itself, perfect chip recipes and fun chip facts and figures.
• National Chip Week is run by Potato Council.  Potato Council supports the British potato industry, and is funded by potato growers and potato trade purchasers and is a division of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (www.ahdb.org.uk)