If your chippy order is cod and chips with salt and vinegar and tomato ketchup, you're not alone as it's the North East's favourite supper, according to research carried out for National Fish and Chip day today, June 2.
A new study by Buzz Bingo asked 1,000 people in 15 UK cities for their fish and chip shop preferences for main, sides, sauces, extras, and even drinks, to decide what makes the perfect chippy tea in each region.
According to the study, the nation's ideal meal is battered cod (40%), salt and vinegar chips (50%), tomato ketchup (36%), mushy peas (33%), no scraps/bits (49%) and a Coca Cola (24%) to wash it down. And our region was right on average, with North East chippy fans shunning baked beans, gravy and vegan offerings in favour of traditional cod, chips and mushy peas.
Read more: Chronicle Live readers pick their favourite North East fish and chip shop with one clear winner
Whilst this may sound pretty average, the study also revealed some more unique choices from across the nation, including one in ten Brits choosing a pickled egg as a side, and a further one in ten selecting mayonnaise as their sauce of choice. The pickled egg was most popular in London with 16% choosing it, and even more surprisingly, the side was the most popular with 18-24 year olds at almost a quarter (23%).
In Newcastle, 48% of people chose cod as their main dish, with almost three fifths (56%) of the city preferring their chips with salt and vinegar, like the majority of the UK. Two fifths (39%) chose ketchup as their favourite sauce, compared to just under a fifth (19%) who chose gravy.
Scraps or bits were not so popular in Newcastle, with nearly half (46%) not ordering them with their meal, however, we were only one of two cities where people knew what they were. Two fifths (40%) chose mushy peas as their favourite side, whilst a quarter prefer bread (25%). Despite Coca Cola being the drink preferred by the majority (25%), beer was chosen more in Newcastle than any other city, at one in ten (12%).
Steven Dhillon, manager of the Fisherman's Bay in Whitley Bay, said that his shop, on the seafront, could sell as many as 300 portions of cod and chips on a sunny Friday, but Irn-Bru was the drink of choice for his customers to enjoy by the seaside. "Cod is definitely the most popular fish, but we also sell a lot of Whitby scampi and find that battered prawns are growing in popularity," he said.
Steve, 33, who grew up in his family's fish and chip business, said that mushy peas were popular in Dhillon's four shops, but customers could not get enough of the family's special recipe curry sauce, with the Fisherman's Bay alone getting through around 30 litres every Friday. "Although most of our customers stick to traditional chip shop favourites, I would recommend one of our home-made pea fritters with a carton of curry sauce to dip it in - then you get the best of both worlds!" he said.
Cod is the fish of choice just about everywhere in the UK, apart from Scotland, where 44% of people chose haddock, with 38% choosing no side at all and 27% choosing Irn-Bru to drink north of the border.
Perhaps the most unusual order was in Northern Ireland, where chippy teas consisted of cod, chips, baked beans, salt and vinegar and gravy, with coffee to drink.
Despite the gravy-loving stereotype, almost a third of northerners overall (31%) chose ketchup as their most popular sauce, whilst just less than a fifth (18%) chose gravy. Controversially, one in 10 Brits (14%) chose mayonnaise as their favourite sauce, with the condiment proving most popular in London, at almost a quarter (24%) choosing it as their favourite. Mayonnaise actually proved more popular than tartar sauce with the nation, with only 12% choosing the tangy accompaniment with their meal.
What's your favourite chippy tea? Join in the conversation below
Although ‘vish’, a vegan alternative to fish proved to be low in popularity with only one in 50 choosing it (three per cent), the dish proved popular in Cardiff, with one in 10 choosing it as their preferred main (10%).
Mushy peas reigned supreme as the classic and most popular British side, with just a third (33%) selecting it as their favourite. Bread was the second most popular option at a quarter.
Now read:
- Every food hygiene rating for restaurants and takeaways across Whitley Bay from five to two
- Hairy Biker Si King drops in on Newcastle bakery that does 'best stotties ever'
- UK's favourite takeaway revealed - and it's surprisingly not fish and chips
- The 'hidden gem' Northumberland micropub voted the number one North East pub on Tripadvisor
- Top Newcastle chef shares his favourite place to eat Sunday lunch in the city
