Good Friday fish and chips bring queues to takeaways
TOWN CHIP SHOPS IN FULL FLOW
FOR many in North East Lincolnshire, a traditional Good Friday wouldn’t be complete without fish and chips.
We all know there is no better place than Grimsby and Cleethorpes for fish and chips so Good Friday is always a busy day for restaurants and takeaways.
The tradition of having fish and chips on Good Friday stems from Christianity as the church encourages followers to abstain from eating meaty flesh on the anniversary of Christ’s death. They believe Jesus died for our sins, therefore sacrificing his flesh.
As an alternative to eating meat, many opt for fish which is permitted by the church on Good Friday as it is seen as an alternative form of flesh.
But whether you are religious or not, it’s become family tradition for many to have fish on Good Friday.
The chip shops in our area were already gearing up for a busy day at noon with a small queue forming outside the popular Wybers Chippy straight away.
Inside, George and his team were in full flow serving the steady stream of customers, his right hand man Andrea told me with a smile: “We know it’s going to be crazy today, we’ve got no time for chit chat!” George was conducting the show, all the staff working at a fast pace to meet the demand. He said: “It’s always busy, it will be a busy one today but we’re prepared.” Outside Mark Blackwell was heading back to his family with a large bag full of fish and chips in hand. He said: “We do it every year and we always come here too. Best fish and chips around this one, you really can’t beat it.” At Russell’s Traditional Fish and Chips there was a small queue to the front of the shop and a steady stream of customers heading in and out.
Open since 1982, Russell’s has been a consistently popular choice for a fish supper in Grimsby - and has even won a Grimsby Telegraph “Best Chippy Award”.
Outside, Christine was queuing with her two sons, she said: “It has to be fish and chips on Good Friday, we always do it although these two don’t like fish. “They’re both big fans of a chip butty though, Russell’s is the best you can get in the area I think, we always come back here.”
At Ernie Beckett’s there was a queue of people along the front of the shop and around the corner onto the street with many eagerly awaiting their turn to order.
Ernie Beckett’s is one of the oldest fish and chip shops in Cleethorpes, running for 28 years and has been passed down through multiple generations of the same family. Rachel was queuing to order for her motherin-law: “She has to have it every year and it has to be from here.”
Jackie and her friends were visiting the town, she said: “We always do come back here whenever we’re in Cleethorpes, I think it is one of the best that I’ve ever had.”