Fish Frying Labour of Love

His words of wisdom come as he tucks into a plate of steaming hot fish and chips at Angel Lane Chip Shop in Penrith, owned by this year’s National Young Fish Fryer of the Year, Daniel Harding.

Stuart hasn’t just popped in, however. This is an impromptu lunch break from his “day in the life of a fish and chip shop owner”, organised to give him an insight into what happens behind the scenes; what being a fish and chip shop owner entails and the work behind producing, in Daniel’s case, the best fish and chips in Penrith.

As he eats, he takes pride in the fact he has made this splendid fayre himself, two hours of fastidious preparation; de-boning sustainably-sourced cod and haddock, slicing potatoes and being entrusted to make Daniels’ home-made ‘secret recipe’ batter, before even coming face to face with an actual fryer. A labour of love.

 

Although he works closely with the fish and chip sector as part of his role as vice-chairman of the foodservice division of the National Edible Oils Distributors’ Association (NEODA), it’s a far cry from his day job as Commercial Manager for AAK, market leader in the supply of oils and fats to the fast food industry.

“It is a completely different working environment for me but Dan is certainly putting me to work,” Stuart said. “I never envisaged how much hard work goes into producing fish and chips; it’s quite staggering and really interesting.”

Stuart finds himself serving over a Monday lunchtime, not usually an exceptionally busy time for the chip shop, but it seems the news of a new recruit may have spread for the shop is full up. There are fifty people upstairs sitting in the café restaurant, from a couple celebrating fifty four years of marriage to kids on half term, and downstairs is just as bustling.

“A big chunk of Dan’s success comes from the fact he refuses to compromise on quality and will go that bit further to please his customers. For example, he makes his own homemade pies, including steak and ale with meat sourced from a local butcher, and specials you wouldn’t usually associate with a chippie, including chicken and vegetable curry, chilli and lasagne. He also offers student deals, pensioner’s specials and a children’s meal box.

“His attention to detail is also impeccable, which is largely why he won Young Fish Fryer. I actually went along assuming I could put my expertise and knowledge of good oil management and how to increase your food quality and yield through long life oils to good use, but Dan really knew his stuff. He religiously changes his oil on a Monday and Friday every week to ensure a truly good end product.

“I was able, however, to enlighten him on what was going on in the oil markets, informing him that the price of oil was expected to increase further in 2011, particularly vegetable oil, and that businessmen like Dan have to be vigilant as it can be such a high cost to business.”

With 10 years in the edible oils industry under his belt, Stuart’s expertise is a valued commodity itself. Born and brought up in Hull, he started out as an office junior for AAK, when it was still owned by Swedish subsidiary Karlshamm, after leaving college at the age of 18.

When Karlshamns merged with Aarhus, Stuart took the opportunity to become more involved in the development and distribution of edible oils and quickly worked up the ranks to Commercial Manager.

“AAK is renowned for being a solutions provider and part of my role is to work with our technical team, helping to identify and create innovative, tailor made solutions to suit individual customers. We are experts in our field and are not only developing and producing lower saturated products; we were also the first company to bring sustainable Palm Oil into the UK and are a founding member of the RSPO (The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) which we are very proud of here at AAK.

Back at the grindstone, Stuart acknowledges Dan’s willingness to pass on his skills. “He is a very good trainer, very patient and looks after his team,” he said. “One of his staff members, Dean Chapelhow, has also entered this year’s Young Fish Fryer of the Year, which shows what a good job he does. Dan actually started life off as a counter assistant in Angel Lane chip shop but when the opportunity came to buy the premises he couldn’t pass up the chance to put in place the initiatives and knowledge he had picked up himself.

“When he took over, he changed everything, from the fish and batter mix to his potato supplier. When you cut into his fish, you consistently get beautiful, white skin, and his cleanliness is second to none. He uses a distributor branded palm oil which is manufactured by AAK as a core ingredient in his business, which is kept at exactly the right temperature throughout the frying process. It’s how he works and, because of this, he has seen his daily takings soar by more than 250 per cent.

“Daniels approach is so refreshing and we are extremely keen to encourage this new generation of fish fryers, wherever we can, in their bid to bring a fresh approach to Britain’s favourite takeaway food and claim their share of a market worth an estimated £900 million a year,” Stuart commented.

“Today has not just been a fantastic learning curve for me, but also a great experience too. Dan and his team have made me feel so welcome and I can now fully appreciate the dedication and hard work it takes to run a fish and chip shop. I thoroughly enjoyed my day and, even if I do say so myself, think I made a great apprentice!”

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