The UK’s best fish and chip shops are ready to ‘batter’ it out to gain the acclaimed ‘Takeaway of the Year’, with one Greater Manchester chippy up for the award. Forty fish and chip shops from across the country have made the category shortlist for the National Fish & Chip Awards 2025, but who will get first ‘plaice’?
Organised by the National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF), the awards provide an opportunity for fish and chip outlets across the UK to show the industry exactly what they are made of. Fish and chip shops will have to complete a meticulous set of tasks, challenges and interviews covering industry awareness, product knowledge, environmental and sustainability best practice, employer responsibilities, customer service, and more.
Of those shortlisted for the ‘Takeaway of the Year’ category at the National Fish & Chip Awards 2025 is Stockport chippy, Taylor’s. Located in Woodley, Taylor’s has been going since the year the England men’s football team last won the World Cup, 1966, and continues to keep the traditional British dish alive.
Others shortlisted for the award include Lancashire fish and chip shops Farington Chippy in Leyland and Westend Fish and Chips in Oswaldtwistle. Taylor’s in Stockport has also been nominated for ‘The Field to Frier’ award too, which authenticates the great skill and precision in the selection of potatoes and the preparation and cooking to produce the best chips.
President of the NFFF, Andrew Crook, says the category has seen many fantastic submissions. “Fish and chips is such an iconic British staple and it takes huge amounts of skill and hard work to not only perfect the dish and other menu offerings but to also overcome challenges and sustain the business while keeping employees motivated and fulfilled. There’s a lot to it and each awards season we see greater depths of talent, expertise and business acumen and this trend has continued this year, too.
“Takeaway of the Year is the big one, so it goes without saying that the journey it takes contenders on is very intense. At each stage learnings and recommendations are provided to encourage the hopefuls to keep pushing forward and that’s why the National Fish & Chip Awards is seen as the competition for chip shop owners that want the additional steer to become better than they were before. We’re off to a brilliant start and we’re excited for the next rounds and to honour these deserving people.”
The next round will see the official board of judges chopping the list down to 20 chippies and then to the final 10. The National Fish & Chip Awards ceremony on February 26, 2025 will take place at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, London, where the new winner will be announced and will take the baton from current champion, Caerphilly-based Ship Deck.
For more information and bits on the National Fish & Chip Awards head here.