A Nottinghamshire chippy will be flying the flag for one of Britain's best-loved takeaways at a pop-up event in Japan. Iconic British fashion, designs and food and drink will be on sale in Kobe, a city in central Japan on Osaka Bay.
The award-winning Cod's Scallops, which has branches in Wollaton, Carrington and West Bridgford, will be showcasing cod, chips, mushy peas and tartare sauce at the week-long event from April 12 to 19. The invitation came on the back of the chip shop being crowned the best in the UK in 2020 but the trip was delayed due to Covid.
The British Fair will be staged at the Hankyu department store. An annual event since 1970, it is a chance for British companies to shine and for Japanese shoppers to immerse themselves in British culture.
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Cod's Scallops owner John Molnar and area manager Chris Reeve will be flying thousands of miles for the popular event, which usually attracts half a million visitors. Previously exhibitors have included Harrods and designers MinaLima, who are responsible for the graphic design and illustration in the Harry Potter films.
John said: "I think there's someone from the Ritz doing scones with clotted cream and there's a whisky company from Kent. They have hinted at doing about 800 to 1,000 portions a day so it's going to be full-on. They love the fish, they love everything British, I hope they like mushy peas.
"They want their picture taken with you, it's all very rock 'n' roll. I'm very excited. It's a massive thing to say the little Cod's Scallops in Nottingham is going to be in Japan for a week. I think it will be an amazing experience. I've spoken to a couple of guys who have done it previously and they said it's unbelievable."
Following the pop-up the duo will be catching a bullet train to the capital Tokyo to research the best techniques for making sushi. John said: "The idea long-term is to do sushi at West Bridgford. We also want to increase the pie offer at Mansfield Road, alongside the main menu, so that might have another three or four speciality pies - maybe ox cheek and kidney or a suet pudding."
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