"7 THINGS I absolutely LOVE about fish and chips!"

This weeks "7 THINGS!"

“7 THINGS I absolutely LOVE about fish and chips!”

Fish and chips! I bloody love it! Anywhere in the world, any restaurant, any time of day or night – I can always gobble a portion of fish and chips!  Now, I am aware that there are more sophisticated dishes with which to tempt my palate, subtle flavourings, delectable cuisines and unique ingredients the world over that might make my tongue tingle and my heart soar with joy! But I am, as I might have mentioned before, a creature of habit and if it’s there on any menu, my finger, as if guided by a force greater than my will to try new things, falls upon the joy bringing words “Catch of the day”. And it doesn’t have to be fancy pants, and on a plate, I’m just as happy with the dish at The Delaunay where they wrap half a lemon in muslin to catch any stray pipage that might fall onto my chips, as I am with a grease-soaked bag of the stuff eaten on a bench on the pier at Weston-super-Mare.

Here are my “7 THINGS” this week.

“7 THINGS I absolutely love about fish and chips!”

1.     Fish and chip memories. Where to begin… my childhood I guess, when any holiday I recall is dotted with memories of fish and chips eaten on the beach. Or of sharing large portions on an inadequate table, squished next to my brothers onto a banquette seat in a caravan while the rain lashed the roof and we fought over the ketchup. Happy happy times. And not just holidays, day trips were, and still are, nearly always to the seaside. Clacton and Southend when we lived in London. Robin Hood’s Bay and Filey when we lived in North Yorkshire and for the last couple of decades, we head off to my beloved Ilfracombe in Devon. Any jaunt around the harbour, scrabble on the beach or rock-pooling adventure is always topped with the feel of hot cod in my fingers, and fat chips doused in salt and vinegar. Lovely. There’s something about the sea air that makes my favourite dish sing! I can picture those I have loved and lost, grandparents, tucking into their supper, laughing at a day well spent, while their skin, still rosy from a day in the sun, made plans for the following days adventure…

2.     The taste. THE TASTE! The crunch of bubbly, golden batter, hot chips that are crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle. Flakes of cod nestling on my tongue and all with the sharp, salty, sweet tang of salt and vinegar that makes my mouth water. And it doesn’t have to be cod! I eat any sustainable fish and have recently enjoyed basa & tilapia more than cod and I have never been able to resist a fat sardine. YUMMY!

3.     The unifying chippy eating experience. I love the universal appeal of fish and chips. The glorious dish that is gobbled up by the old and young, the rich and the poor. It used to be a cheap supper, not anymore! But I find the topic to be a great ice-breaker. Everyone wants to tell you about the best fish and chips they’ve eaten and the worst. Asking where the chippy is or where to find the best dish has, for me, led to many a great conversation in seaside towns and cities up and down the country where I was a stranger.

4.     Queuing at the chippy.  You may laugh, but I love nothing more than on a Friday night, gathering in the chippy queue for our food. There is something quintessentially British about that cluster. In rain or shine, all of us in a long or short line, waiting for our supper. The lightness to shoulders and spirit at the fact that, for some, it’s the end of the working week, is apparent. Kids holding adults’ hands, dancing on the spot, excited at the prospect of their treat of a meal. Working men and women with ravenous bellies, wanting to hurry up and fill the hungry void with the good, hot fare. It’s magic. To see people, scurry away with their bag or box, hot to the touch, keen to get home or to the car as quickly as possible to preserve the heat. Driving home or diving straight into the stuff you have envisaged while queueing… and who hasn’t enjoyed a late-night chippy run, while the inebriated or late-night shift finishers, stand with a weary or faltering stance. Hot chips for them either sustenance or one last hurrah for the night passed.

5.     Traditions.  New home new chippy – having enjoyed a rather nomadic childhood and then marrying a solider, I am no stranger to moving home and having to start over in a strange place. Some, in my situation might seek out a church or the pub but for me, the first place I look for is the chippy. Actually, no, the BEST chippy, would be more accurate. And that you can only really discover through word of mouth. I love the regional variations of chip shops, the small things that are the norm whether north, south, east or west. I have in my time had to get my head around, the local vernacular, listening to people ask for, ‘A bag of nerks.’ ‘A bag of scraps.’ ‘One of each.’ ‘Half and half.’ ‘Curry sauce.’ ‘Gravy.’ ‘A fish supper.’ ‘A single.’ I could go on…

6.     History.  Did you know that there are over 10,500 fish and chip shops in the UK – and that Brits eat a whopping 167 million fish and chips meals a year! The first chippy was opened by Joseph Malin in 1860 in Bow, east London, and as a food stuff was credited for keeping the “poor from starvation”, for me a Stepney born girl, (although a few years later!) this is not without significance. Malin was a Jewish immigrant who brought the delicacy to England. My own family, also Jewish immigrants and living in this area, loved the stuff. My grandad who worked in the docks man and boy, told tales of cycling to the chippy after work and devouring his supper, eaten with his fingers straight out of newspaper. He swore nothing ever tasted as good. Then as a soldier during the war, he would, when possible, get fish and chips and said the taste reminded him of home and all that was good about life – something to focus on while chaos was all around. My husband and son are both soldiers and can attest that after a long, cold watch, a bag of chips to ward off the finger chills not only warms their tums, but their souls too.

7.     Our first date. For me it’s no coincidence that I fell in love with someone who knew that for a first dinner date, there was no point taking me to a fancy pants restaurant and that any cordon bleu experience would be lost on me. Instead, we went to Margate, we ordered a portion of fish and chips, rolled the windows down a little and shared them in the car. For the love of God, he even had a bottle of ketchup in the glove box!!!! We giggled and ate with our fingers and my heart soared. This was my kinda man. A fish and chip lover. Just like me…

So come on, what’s the best fish and chips you’ve ever eaten?

For more Amanda or to buy her books head to www.amandaprowse.com and follow her on all socials @mrsamandaprowse. X