One thing you should 'never order' from fish and chip shop according to former worker
There's one thing he's warned us off, and with good reason
Friday night fish and chips is a ritual that many of us aren't giving up, and it's no wonder that it's become one of the weekly takeaways of choice.
Whether you're a fan of cod or haddock or even partial to a saveloy, the menu at most fish and chip shops is largely the same, making it the perfect, reliable comfort food.
There can of course be some variations - and often there's a few token takeaway choices of chicken nuggets, burgers and hot dogs thrown in for good measure. Yet for the most part, it's fish and chips with lashings of vinegar that we'll be choosing.
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Those that work in a fish and chip chop have the inside scoop on what the best thing to order can be, and one former fish flipper has revealed what he absolutely wouldn't be going for.
Jordan Luxford, who is now the owner of A-Star Waste Management in Sussex, worked at several fish and chip shops over the years. He's even served as a cook specialising in the British dish at Wimbledon in 2019.
He told the Express: "Most people wouldn't know that after we cook battered products in our oil we would follow it with a batch of chips.
"The chips help to clean the oil of the smaller batter particles that do not get removed by sieving the oil."
He might no longer work in the restaurant trade, but Jordan has got a bit of insider knowledge, as he shared there's one thing he would never order from a fish and chip shop.
He explained: "I would never order a fried beef burger! If you want a decent burger get it from a shop with a hot plate to cook it on."
Jordan also revealed that if you want something fresh then it's best to go for something that isn't likely to be 'sitting out', as he added: "If you want a freshly cooked item go for something that isn't in the glass top under the lights but we would cook anything fresh if a customer asked anyway."
Now, we all know about the appeal of delicacies like deep fried Mars bars - usually in Scotland - and it turns out they're not just an urban myth.
Jordan revealed: "Fried chocolate bars have always been popular too. We would usually cook them for free alongside an order and as we wouldn't have the chocolate bars in stock, the customer would be asked to bring them with them and we would cook them at the same time as the rest of their order."
And whilst we might think that fish and chips is a speedy food to prepare, there's actually a lot that goes on behind the scenes.
Jordan said: "The amount of preparation time needed to get everything ready before opening was a huge surprise!
"It takes hours to cut a Friday night's fish and even more hours to peel, inspect and cut 20 bags of potatoes. Prep for a Friday night, opening at 5.30pm would start at 10am."
Topics: UK Food, Restaurants and bars
Niamh Spence