Good Food
The traditional taste of SUMMER-ON-SEA
Knotted hankies on heads and a bag of chips in hand – the perfect combination for a summer’s day by the sea. Dawn Kingsford dips into the facts behind Britain’s passion for fish and chips…
I
t’s the bread and buter of the British diet, whose supply became an issue of national
security during both world wars. What am I? We’re talking about ‘proper’ fish and chips – something 80% of us tuck into every year, 22% every week, spending £1.2 billion on this salt-and-vinegar seasoned sensation. To understand how our appetite for the dish developed, we need to cast our mind back to 1860 when Joseph Malin opened the first chippie – in London – selling “fish fried in the Jewish fashion”. Quickly it was realised that as well as its irresistible aroma, fish and chips - fried over a coal- heated cauldron - provided a balanced, nutritious meal of protein, carbohydrate, fibre, iron and a third of the recommended daily allowance of vitamins for men, and nearly half for women. Vinegar to sweeten fish had been introduced
in 1845 - recommended by Victorian cook, Eliza Acton – and was quickly adopted as the condiment of choice.
Improvements in trawl fishing and the rail network (allowing fish to be rapidly transported) fed this growing popularity for fish and chips among the working classes and by 1910 there were more than 25,000 fish and chip shops across the UK. By the 1930s that had reached more than 35,000.
Celebrity status
• As a boy Alfred Hitchcock lived above a fish and chip shop in London, which was the family business
• Prime Minister Winston Churchill referred to the combination of fish and chips as “the good companions”
• Beatle John Lennon enjoyed his fish and chips smothered in ketchup
“War-time decree: Fish and chips are not on ration”
Indeed, such was our passion, that the government made safeguarding supplies of fish and chips during World War I a priority, with recognition from the press reading: “Te Cabinet knew it was vital to keep families on the home-front in good heart, unlike the German regime that failed to keep its people well-fed”.
Deep fried facts
• 56% of people buy fish and chips to eat at home
• Fish and chips contain less fat and calories than the average pizza, Big Mac or Whopper meal with fries
• A thick-cut potato absorbs less oil than thin, so chunkier chips are healthier
30 Mid Kent Living
Award-winning chippies in the county
Te National Federation of Fish Friers’ Fish & Chip Quality Award goes to shops meeting tough standards on quality, hygiene and presentation … and there’s a taste test too.
Across the UK, 225 shops have the NFFF Quality Award, and in Kent they are:
Marino’s Fish Bars, 159 Wincheap, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 3SE
and
Newington Fish Bar, 55 Newington Road, Ramsgate, Kent, CT12 6EW
Nigel Derret (58) has been running Newington Fish Bar in Ramsgate with brother Ken for 38 years.
Te family business was this year’s Best in Kent champion in the National Fish and Chip Awards 2018 and runner- up in the South East and London.
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