You can't beat a bag full of chips slathered in salt and vinegar and paired with a slab of battered fish on a visit to the seaside. And it seems one county in Wales has some of the best around as two chippies - located only 12 minutes apart in Caerphilly borough - have made the final shortlist for the Fish and Chip Takeaway of the Year award at the prestigious The National Fish and Chip Awards.
The awards ceremony, which has been running for 30 years, will take place on Tuesday, February 28 in London when the winners of 10 awards, including best newcomer, best takeaway and best restaurant, will be named.
And in the running for Takeaway of the Year are family-run Fish Kitchen 1854 in Maesycwmmer and Shipdeck in Trethomas - the only chippies in Wales to be listed in these awards. Last November, it was revealed that both had made the initial 20-strong takeaway shortlist and, at the time, we tried both of them to see which was best - have a read of what we thought. Now it's been revealed that they are both in the top 10 final shortlist and vying for the UK title.
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Writing on its Facebook page when the news that they been nominated as one of the finalists broke, Shipdeck wrote: "We did it!! TOP 10 We are off to the National Fish and Chip awards in London along with all our wonderful friends in the industry
"We have never been so proud of what we have achieved. Ryan and Kimberly would like to say a MASSIVE WELL DONE! To our awesome team we are super proud of each & every one of you for achieving this & making shipdeck what it is today. Not forgetting a big thank-you to YOU! Our fantastic customers for supporting us week Please share our awesome news!"
Fish Kitchen 1854 wrote: "We cannot believe we are writing this but, today we received the absolutely amazing news, that it’s official; we have been voted in THE TOP 10 Fish & Chip Shops in the whole of the UK!
"This is an amazing achievement for us! We dedicate this to our staff, community and loyal customers! It truly is a privilege to serve you! It’s now off to London, where the UK’s No.1 Fish & Chip Shop will be crowned! So, let’s go represent and do our community and Wales proud! You never know we might even win! Stranger things have happened, so why not! Thank you from all at Fish Kitchen 1854."
Speaking to The Mirror, the president of the NFFF, Andrew Cook, said: "We are really excited for the return of the National Fish and Chip Awards after we became the custodians of this prestigious event.
"With so many challenges currently for these small independent businesses it is fantastic to be able to highlight the great work the industry does, serving great value meals, providing quality employment and minimising the impact on the environment."
He previously added of top ten in the UK who have been shortlisted: "It was a tricky job whittling down the top twenty to the top ten, but the chosen takeaways have demonstrated a clear reason as to why they are deserving of this accolade. All finalists should be extremely proud and our judges are looking forward to getting stuck into the next set of judging!"
Fish Kitchen 1854 can be found at 58 Main Road, Maesycwmmer, Hengoed CF82 7PP while Shipdeck is located on Newport Road, Trethomas, Caerphilly CF83 8BR.
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