Top chippy BATTERS the opposition!
OWNERS PUT SHOP’S SUCCESS DOWN TO THEIR CHUNKY CHIPS!
CHUNKY chips are the reason this Coventry chippy has been dubbed one of the best in the country.
One whiff of Coopers Fish and Chips is enough to set your hunger pangs off and judges of a top 50 list were impressed too.
Bali Basra, who’s owned the Gulson Road takeaway for nearly 22 years, is a chip off the old block as her dad Mukhtiar had chip shops in Coventry when she was growing up in the 80s.
The delighted mum-of-two said: “Our chips are golden and crispy on the outside and fluffy, and being here 22 years I still haven’t got bored of eating them.” Shop regular and student Phil Nunn ordered some brain food of sausage and chips before his last ever exam today.
The 22-year-old said: “Don’t tell my mum but I’m here probably about three times a week, twice if I’m trying to diet.
“I’ve been here a year and I do consider them friends, some- times I just come in for a chat even if I’m too full for chips.” When 44-year-old Bali took over the business she had just had her first baby. She said: “I’ve always said this shop is like my baby.” And it goes the extra mile by delivering to the housebound or people with young children. The top 50, which was compiled by industry specialists Fry Magazine, features just one chip shop in the city and Warwickshire. Shops that made the cut were chosen after four months of mystery dining, where assessors from an independent company assessed various aspects including staff friendliness, cleanliness and product knowledge. There were also points of offer for quality of the food – testing everything from the crispness of the batter, to the texture of chips and the flakiness of the fish.
Reece Head, competition organiser, said: “We would like to congratulate all those shops that made our Top 50 Fish & Chip Takeaways 2017.
“The pass mark was once again set very high at 95% and to achieve that takes a lot of dedication and hard work from everyone involved, from the owner to the manager, to the frier and the counter staff. “It really is a team effort. “Running a fish and chip shop gets harder every year with so much going on behind the scenes, so to serve up excellent quality food with a matching level of service and atmosphere day-in day-out deserves to be recognised.”