A Suffolk chippy is up for a prestigious national award for its signature fish and chips.

East Anglian Daily Times: The Spa Pavilion at Felixstowe Picture: ARCHANT ARCHIVEThe Spa Pavilion at Felixstowe Picture: ARCHANT ARCHIVE (Image: Archant)

The takeaway outlet at Felixstowe’s Spa Pavilion theatre is one of 10 semi-finalists in the Best Newcomer Award, one of 14 prizes to be awarded at the 2019 National Fish & Chip Awards.

The chip shop, which opened in June 2017, sells a wide range of food, including a catch of the day which can be simply cooked or fried with Cajun or Spanish-style toppings.

Ray Anderson, Spa director: said: “Soon after we opened many of our customers began asking for takeaway food, and especially fish and chips as we’re right next to the sea.

“Therefore whilst fully refurbishing our main kitchen we installed a fish and chip shop quality set of fryers, and all the equipment needed to produce our own fresh chips from locally-farmed potatoes, determined that if we’re making fish and chips, it will be the best.

“Alongside our fabulous home-made chips, we only sell fresh fish, also sourced locally in town from both a specialist fishmonger and local fishermen, and cooked in our head chef’s secret batter, which is what makes it so good.”

Each start-up has been judged on a variety of criteria including the level of innovation, knowledge and understanding of sustainability and responsible sourcing of products, customer service levels and the quality of fish and chips they serve.

For the next stage, judges will make unannounced mystery dining visits where they will carefully examine each of the businesses, to determine the top three newcomers.

Marcus Coleman, chief executive at Seafish, who run the awards, said: “The Best Newcomer category shows that it is possible to excel as a fish and chip shop, even in the very early years of operating. Hard work, determination and commitment to quality in all areas will be repaid with results and this is what has led each of these shops to the semi-final of this award.

“These 10 shops are off to a flying start on their fish and chip journey and should be congratulated for making their business such a success in a short period of time. Good luck to all in the next round.”

The National Fish & Chip Awards are now recognised as one of the most prominent and respected seafood industry events in the UK.