The brightest new stars of the UK fish and chip industry have been revealed today with the announcement of the Best Newcomer finalists for the 2020 National Fish & Chip Awards. Organised by Seafish, the public body that supports the £10bn UK seafood industry, the awards showcase excellence in fish and chip businesses across the country.

The Best Newcomer Award shortlist reveals the Top 10 fish and chip businesses making an impact in their first year in the industry. Shortlisted businesses have gone above and beyond to secure their place in this stage of the competition. In alphabetical order, the finalists are:

• Bertie’s Restaurant and Bar, City of Edinburgh, Edinburgh
• Fish Kitchen 1854, Hengoed, Caerphilly
• Lewis’s Fish and Grill, Maidstone, Kent
• Redcloak Fish Bar, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire
• Rowlies Fish and Chip Shop, Leigh, Greater Manchester
• Southend Pier Fish and Chips, Southend-On-Sea, Essex
• Tates of Rawcliffe, Goole, East Yorkshire
• The Chippy at Broken Cross, Stockport, Greater Manchester
• Toll Bar Chippy, Hope Valley, South Yorkshire
• WA14 Fish and Chips, Altrincham, Cheshire

The award recognises business owners and operators with less than one year’s experience in the industry and those who have switched career from other business sectors. It provides a great entry point for new businesses to get involved with the National Fish & Chip Awards and competition participation and feedback can help businesses as part of their successful growth and development. Performing well in this award category can be a sign of great things to come for a business. The 2019 Best Newcomer Award winner, Fish and Chips at Weston Grove from Chester, Cheshire have successfully gone on to secure a place in the 2020 Top 20 finalists for the flagship award category – UK Fish and Chip Shop of the Year.

Marcus Coleman, Chief Executive at Seafish, said: “The UK is the home of traditional fish and chip takeaways, so it’s fantastic to see new businesses challenging the norm by providing innovative business ideas and bringing in transferable skills from a diverse range of industries. We have 10 exceptional new business owners represented in this Best Newcomer shortlist and we wish all the shortlisted businesses the best of luck in the final round of judging.”

Andrew Marriott, UK Brand and Marketing Manager for award sponsor Frymax said: “The future of our industry relies on top-quality, highly-motivated fish and chip businesses, like the 10 featured on the shortlist for the Best Newcomer Award. We’re always looking for unique approaches to fish and chips, so it’s really rewarding to be a sponsor of this award category which celebrates the new, talented businesses that are passionately driven and producing great tasting fish and chips for their customers."

The 10 finalists will now compete for the chance to take home the coveted title of the UK’s Best Newcomer as judges make a final round of visits to each of the shortlisted businesses to undertake mystery dining assessments and full inspections of all aspects of the respective shops. This will determine a Top 3 shortlist and the overall national champion will be announced at the National Fish & Chip Awards ceremony held in London on 23 January 2020.

For further information visit: www.seafish.org/article/finalists-and-winners