French’s – NFFF Quality Accreditation Champion 2024

French’s Fish Shop, in the Norfolk seaport of Wells-next-the-Sea, has been serving fish and chips to the community since it opened in 1921 by William French and today, the award-winning chip shop is run by third-generation family member Marcus French. Here he tells us about winning the Quality Accreditation Champion title at the National Fish & Chip Awards 2024 and what it’s meant to the business.

The journey to becoming an ambassador for quality

To be eligible to enter the Quality Accreditation Champion category, fish and chip shops and restaurants first needs to be certified through the National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF) Quality Accreditation scheme, which runs in partnership with vinegar brand Sarson’s.

Its purpose is to improve industry standards and the assessment sets apart those that are flying the flag for quality across the board, with everything set against a robust and very high-quality benchmarks.

French’s was certified with the Quality Accreditation when it launched in 2020, and we attained the certification again in 2024. We are very proud to say we operate in a clean, hygienic and safe environment, we use sustainably sourced fish, and of course our fish and chips is the best quality and tastes great!

The impact the National Fish & Chip Awards has had on the business

I enter French’s for the National Fish & Chip Awards as the judging process helps us to improve what we do, while bringing in publicity for us. The process is painless, and it makes you think about parts of your business with a different view and afterwards we tend to see an increase in customers through our doors and additional press interest.

Since winning the Quality Accreditation Champion award, it has raised our customers’ and visitors’ awareness of our business and has brought more trade to our shop. We get a lot of comments, and mentions, because of the publicity and the following media attention. The win has raised the morale of the staff and given them confidence to spread the name of the place they work and be proud of their achievement. The attention has also boosted our trade and our profile.

The response from customers about the win has seen us getting a lot more positive comments on social media, and success and comments encourage people to believe the hype and come to try our best-selling cod and chips!

Opportunities for learning and growth

In summer 2024, French’s was invited to Norway for a three-day seafood study trip with Seafood from Norway. which sponsored the 2024 awards. The trip was educational and interesting, and I have been using frozen at sea cod and haddock for 40 years and it was amazing to see how it was produced. It was also great to meet the other winners and listen to their journey and hopefully keep in touch.

The main thing I learnt from the visit was the care that is taken to produce the product, the way they access the quantity and size of species of fish and how they work with others to reach a quota for each type of fish. Also, that fish grow to the size due to the amount of food available, and too many fish can be detrimental, as large fish eat the smaller fish. Also to see how our product is caught and the whole process to the end product.

What’s in store next for French’s

Our future plans for the business are that we hope to change the structure of our shop and update the whole building, and my daughter Alanna will get to run the business and own it. For any business looking to enter the National Fish & Chip Awards, my advice would be to give it a go as you never know what doors will be opened!

It is also free advertising, you learn from the experience, and if you only make the runner up, it is a positive experience. I see it as a win-win situation as you get feedback to help your business. French’s will be taking part again as we find it to be educational, rewarding and fulfilling.

www.frenchs.co.uk