A former fish and chip shop worker who plied his trade in the industry for five years has revealed the one item he would never order.
Jordan Luxford, current owner of A-Star Waste Management in Sussex, has worked in several fish and chip shops on the south coast and even served as a specialist cook for the British dish at the Wimbledon tennis championships in 2019.
While fish and chips is considered the national dish of choice for millions of Britons across the UK, Mr Luxford explained that foods are often all fried in the same batch of vegetable oil, from fish, chips and sausages to Mars bars.
He said: ‘Most people don’t know that after cooking breaded products in our oil, we accompany them with a batch of French fries.
A former fishmonger who plied his trade in the industry for five years has revealed the one item he would never order from a fishmonger (file image)
‘The chips help clean the oil from the smallest dough particles that are not removed by sifting the oil,’ in an interview with The express.
Since so many foods are cooked in the same batch of oil, Jordan said he would avoid ordering a beef burger at his local chip shop.
The former chip shop worker commented: “I would never order a deep-fried beef burger! If you want a decent burger, get it from a shop that has a hotplate to cook it on.”
‘If you want a freshly cooked product, choose something that’s not on the glass surface under the lights, but we would cook anything fresh if a customer asked for it anyway.
‘Fried chocolate bars have also always been very popular. We would usually cook them for free with the order and, as we didn’t have chocolate bars in stock, we would ask the customer to bring them and we would cook them at the same time as the rest of the order.’
Jordan also pointed out another aspect of the fish and chip trade that might surprise many people: the amount of preparation required for a busy day of service.
He added: “TThe amount of preparation time it took to get everything ready before opening was a big surprise!
‘It takes hours to cut the fish on a Friday night and even more hours to peel, inspect and cut 20 bags of potatoes. Preparations for a Friday night, with a 5:30 p.m. opening, would begin at 10 a.m.’
This comes after new figures revealed that a typical portion of fish and chips has risen to almost £10 after the cost of the classic British dish soared by 50%.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the dramatic rise in costs at some of the country’s most popular takeaway restaurants.
Data has shown alarming price increases for one of the country’s favourite takeaway options.
Whether you enjoy it wrapped in newspaper overlooking the sea on a sunny summer afternoon or at home on a cold winter’s night, the average price of a tea and chips has soared to more than £10, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The ONS said the estimated average price for a takeaway portion of fish and chips was £9.88 in July this year, up 52% from £6.48 in July 2019.
This means the cost of a fish dinner has risen in percentage terms more than other options preferred by Britons, including a takeaway pizza, alongside an Indian or Chinese main dish.
