Ah, the chippy. A Friday night treat, a place of joy, a national institution.
There’s few things Brits love more than some really good fish and chips. People feel very strongly about their favourite chippy and are willing to debate why it is the best of them all.
If you truly believe you go to the best chip shop in the world, now’s the time to put it to the test, because entries for the National Federation of Fish Friers’ (yes, a completely real organisation) National Fish and Chip Awards (NFCA) 2025 are officially open.
The NFCAs are like the Oscars but way better because there’s a lot more fish and chips. It awards winners in 13 categories including the coveted ‘Takeaway of the Year’. You can read more about the 2024 winners on Time Out here – as well as read about how none of the winning chippies were in London.
So what do you have to do to enter? Well first, be a chippy of some sort. The NFCAs welcome entries from sit-in restaurants and takeouts alike, so as long as you’re serving up battered fish you’re in the clear.
According to Dan Lafford, who owns Malt and Anchor in Cirencester, which has made the shortlist a few years running, it’s a ‘great way to showcase your practices locally and nationally’.
If you win, aside from bragging rights, you get a free holiday to Norway. You do have to go fishing on said holiday, but hey, you own a chippy. Maybe you’re into that sort of thing.
The shortlist will be announced later this year, so get applying. You can find more information on the National Federation of Fish Friers website here.
Good luck, friers! We can’t wait to see who comes out on top next year so we can start planning our 2025 long weekends accordingly.
Fish and chips with Time Out
As may be obvious, here at Time Out we love a good chippy too. Check out our picks for the best UK chip shops, or have a read of Time Out’s specific guides to the fish and chip scenes in London and Brighton.
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