Return of ‘fish and chip Friday’ as Britain enjoys an old favourite

THE familiar sight and smell of Friday fish suppers is returning once again to the high street.

Increasing numbers of fish and chip shops are reopening with some selling record numbers of takeaway meals.

The National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF) estimates that nearly 80 per cent of the country’s 10,500 fish-andchip shops have begun trading again as they embrace new technology and social distancing guidelines.

While cashless click-and-collect mobile phone apps stagger collection times to prevent queues, a new kerbside car delivery technique means that even the most vulnerable people can enjoy crispy cod and chips.

“For those shielding or self-isolating they can simply drive up to the fish and chip shop safely in their car, pop open their boot and we place the fish supper inside, close the boot and off home they drive,” said Andrew Crook, president of NFFF and owner of Skippers of Euxton in Lancashire. Meanwhile, in Knutsford, Cheshire, fryers at Hooked on the Heath have become accustomed to placing bags of fish and chips in the bonnet of sports cars owned by footballers for nearby Premier League teams.

“With supercars they have to pop the bonnet at the front,” said Craig Buckley, the shop owner. “Recently, there was a Lamborghini Urus, two Porsches and a Land Rover in a line waiting for our fish and chips.”

The industry has worked with the Government to establish new guidelines. Staff in the kitchens have to pass one another “back to back”, shops often have plastic shields and customers are only allowed inside one at a time, if at all. Cash is also out with touchless credit cards and online apps with digital payments the new norm.

Fish-and-chip Friday is back as people collect their meals at The Vintage Fish in Wimbledon, south-west London, as stores start to open in the aftermath of the first phase of the coronavirus lockdown