Meet the winners

Atlantic Fast Food
Coatbridge

The Atlantic Fast Food chippy in Coatbridge, Glasgow, won first place at this year’s National Fish & Chip Shop of the Year competition. Owner Giovanni Fionda, and his mum and dad, Ida and Raphael Fionda, were presented with the coveted trophy, by fellow Italian and TV chef Aldo Zilli, at a ceremony at the Riverbank Park Plaza Hotel in London.

This is the third year running that a Scottish shop has scooped the title of best fish and chip shop in the UK.

Giovanni said: “To win this competition as a first time entrant is a dream come true. It’s the best thing to have happened to us in our professional life and has made all the hard work worth it. We’ve worked in the fish and chips business for many years and it’s always been great fun. Our team are extremely hard working and it’s thanks to them and our loyal customers that we are taking home this trophy.”

Finnegan’s Fish Bar
Porthcawl

Finnegan’s Fish Bar in Porthcawl, South Wales, was named the second best shop in the country. Owners Huw and Sarah Jones were awarded runner-up status after a rigorous judging process which included a customer vote, taste tests, two intense rounds of shop inspections and a presentation to a panel of industry experts.

The Porthcawl shop is as famous for its customers as its renowned fish and chips. Ruth Jones of ‘Gavin and Stacey’ is a regular visitor and the shop has also hosted Hollywood great Michael Sheen.

Huw said: “We are over the moon to win the second spot. There are not many shops in Wales that can say they serve some of the best fish and chips in the UK. I’d like to say a big thank you to my staff and loyal customers who helped us reach this stage of the competition.”

Great British Eatery
Birmingham

Midlands regional winner, The Great British Eatery in Birmingham, came third at this year’s competition.

The quality of the Birmingham shop’s fish and chips is so impressive that the city’s three Michelin starred chefs Glynn Purnell, Luke Tipping and Richard Turner are all regular customers.

Owners Conrad Brunton and Andrew Insley said: “We are very proud to be crowned the third best fish and chip shop in the UK. We’ve learned so much from the judging process about how we can continue to improve our standards and we hope to be back here next year to take the number one position.”

Mark Petrou, Petrou Brothers in Chatteris
Cambridgeshire

Mark Petrou studied business at Greenwich University. His businesses now number four fish and chip shops and two pubs. He was born into the fish and chip trade where his family had several shops.

In January 2007, Petrou Brothers was crowned with the title of national Fish & Chip Shop of the Year and, since then, Mark has been passionately promoting his product, which he describes as a national treasure, revitalizing it into a "traditional product that is fried a modern way."

Mark is now a leading spokesman for the industry with the media and writes a monthly column for “Fish and chips and fast food” magazine. He is now a full time consultant to other friers and has recently published a book celebrating 150 years of fish and chips.

Restaurant: Petrou Brothers – Chatteris, Cambridgeshire

This modern takeaway sells two tonnes of potatoes and 60 stones of fish every week. Mark uses state of the art pan technology that ensures a product with an impressively low fat content of only eight per cent. His fish and chips are so virtuous that they have less than half the fat of a cheese ploughman’s sandwich! Mark also promotes the fact that around 95 per cent of the fish in our fish and chips is responsibly sourced, coming from well-managed stocks which are not contributing to the problems in the North Sea. He believes in promoting new species like pollack and coley and has championed these as part of his product line on Ready Steady Cook and The Alan Titchmarsh Show.

Our Plaice
West Midlands

Gregg Howard was born into the fish and chip industry and bought his own shop with his wife Caroline in 2003. Eighteen months later, his shop in West Hagley was crowned the best in the UK after scooping the top award at the final of the national Fish & Chip Shop of the Year Competition.

Gregg and Caroline are passionate about their trade, and get involved wherever possible to help the Fishermen’s Mission and other charities. Gregg is also a leading member of the National Federation of Fish Fryers (NFFF) which celebrates its centenary in 2013.

The Howards were awarded the coveted title by celebrity chef and fish and chip lover James Martin at an awards ceremony at London’s Tower Thistle Hotel. To win the award they battered off stiff competition from nine other finalists from across the UK.

They immediately found overnight fame as their shop became a haven for fish and chip lovers, and their sales rose by 30% in the years following their award.

Following a rigorous nine month judging process Gregg and Caroline had to impress a panel of 13 industry experts and according to the judges wowed them with the whole package – a top quality product, excellent customer service and their strong involvement with the local community. They were felt to be natural ambassadors for the industry.