The 10 up-and-coming young friers shortlisted are: Kat Deuchars of John Dorys, Belfast; Lisa Lishman and Andrew Hillier of Harbourside Fish & Chips, Plymouth, Devon; Ryan Hughes of The Crispy Cod Fish Bar, Tonyrefail, South Wales; Murray Watson of Carron Chip Shop, Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire; Amy Grimwood of Mister C’s, Selby, North Yorkshire; Rachel Tweedale of The Elite Fish & Chip Company, Sleaford, Lincolnshire; Amanpal Dhesi of Brockfield Fisheries, Huntington, North Yorkshire; James Hulston of Our Plaice, Stourbridge, West Midlands and Jonathan Leech of Garstang Fish & Chips, Garstang, Lancashire.
To get to this stage in the competition the contestants took part in a gruelling judging process where they underwent intense telephone interviews and answered difficult questionnaires. The top 10 candidates will attend a rigorous testing day at the National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF) Training School in Leeds, Yorkshire, where they will undergo a skills based assessment and a personal interview.
The Drywite Young Fish Frier of the Year Award celebrates the best young fish friers across the country. It also encourages young friers to nurture their individual skills and talent to become positive role models for the industry.
Briar Wilkinson, Sales Director at Drywite Ltd, said: “The Drywite Young Fish Frier of the Year Award was originally founded in 1995 by the directors of Drywite Limited, myself and Kelvin Lee, in memory of our late father who always had a passion for encouraging young people to succeed.
“He would be so proud of the high-standards that have been set due to this award and the aspiring young individuals who consistently strive to achieve greatness. This year’s candidates have been no exception and we wish them all the best in the competition.”
The next stage of the competition will whittle down the candidates to the top six finalists, who will then receive a mystery judging shop visit at their respective workplace. The final six friers will then battle it out at the awards ceremony set to be held at the Lancaster London hotel on 20 January 2015.
Paul Williams, Chief Executive of Seafish, said: “This award category recognises and rewards the future talent of the fish frying industry.
“Being shortlisted is a great honour for these individuals. It confirms that they have started their career on the right track with the essential skills required to be one of the top fish friers in the UK. I congratulate them all on their success so far and wish them the best of luck for the next stage of the competition.”
The National Fish & Chip Awards recognise the quality, value and choice offered by fish and chip businesses across the UK. With a variety of award categories, the awards reward talented individuals from all aspects of the fish frying industry.
For further information on The National Fish & Chip Awards please visit www.fishandchipawards.com. Follow @FishnChipAwards on Twitter for all the awards news and information.
