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JANUARY 2022 THE UK’S NO.1 MAGAZINE TO THE FISH FRYING & FAST FOOD TRADE
www.frymagazine.com
JANUARY 2022 CONTENTS
an exciting year ahead After all the uncertainty of the past two years, we’re hopeful that 2022 will feel the most “normal”. All being well, we’ll see the return of exhibitions, with FRY I.T. kicking off first in Malvern on Sunday 6th March, closely followed by What’s Cooking? in Edinburgh on Sunday 20th March. Then on 12th June, the doors to the Warwickshire Exhibition Centre will open in Leamington Spa as it welcomes the T. Quality Fish Frying & Fast Food Show. We can’t wait to see the aisles bustling as shop owners have the opportunity to come together with suppliers once again. If you can make it along, we’d love to see you as there’s nothing quite like meeting face-to-face and sampling the latest products in person. We’re also pleased to announce that judging for our 2022 Top 50 Takeaways and Top 10 Restaurants continues across the UK and we’ll be bringing you the results in just a fewmonths.
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what’s New
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NEWS
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Big Interview
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Fry Magazine Limited 196 Pettswood Road, Orpington, Kent BR5 1LG
PUBLISHER: Reece Head T: 07917 821 015 E: [email protected] EDITOR: Helen Edmonds T: 07515 691090 E: [email protected]
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shop focus
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2022 trends
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chips & Potatoes
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MANAGING DIRECTOR: Andy Pybus
PRINTED IN THE UK
rising stars
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unsung hero 30 SPOTLIGHT
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Fry Magazine Ltd does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions in the materials contained herein, regardless of whether such error results from negligence, accident or any other cause whatsoever.
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30 MINUTES WITH
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expert eye
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EDITOR’s ARTICLE 44
INSURANCE 43
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FRY MAGAZINE - JANUARY 2022
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INDUSTRY NEWS 01.22
SIMPSONS TO OPEN NEW SHOP IN GLOUCESTER NEXT MONTH
T.QUALITY TO OPEN NEW DEPOT IN PORTSMOUTH Wholesaler T. Quality is to open a new depot in Portsmouth at the end of March/beginning of April. The new site, which will be based just off the M27 in Fareham, Portsmouth, will increase the company’s delivery capacity, enhance customer service levels and free up resources at other depots. The site will also operate a Trade Counter for call/click and collect customers. The new opening is part of T.Quality’s ongoing investment in its delivery network and to cope with increasing demand. It currently operates 10 branches, in Swindon, Bovey Tracey, Darlington, Avonmouth, Swansea, Peterborough, Birmingham, Leeds, Bridlington and Staplehurst. Mike Crees, managing director of T.Quality, said: “We are delighted to be opening our newest depot in Portsmouth. This is a really exciting opportunity for T.Quality, the site will add further capacity to our operation but will also help to enhance customer service levels with increased delivery dates and the opportunity to reach new areas. “Fish and chips is the heart beat of T.Quality and to be able to continue and expand our long tradition of serving the industry is our main aim. “Investment in our depot network will continue to be a major focus this year as we continue to drive the business forward.”
Award-winning fish and chip business Simpsons is opening its third shop in Gloucestershire next month. Owners James and Bonny Ritchie have bought an existing chippy in Quedgeley on the edge of Gloucester, adding to their sites in Stroud and Cheltenham. The Quedgeley takeaway will open five days a week initially but this may increase if demand dictates. Customers will be able to enjoy all the Simpsons favourites including cod, haddock and tofu as well as a number of new items such a burgers and pies. James will run the site with two friers moving over from Cheltenham plus five new staff members which Simpsons is in the process of recruiting. James comments: “We’re ready for another shop now. Cheltenham is going well, it’s staff-run, and Stroud is at a point where we’ve got a really strong team and they are able to run the shop there, so we’ve been able to step away and think about what we want to do next. “Gloucester sews up the perfect triangle between Stroud and Cheltenham and we’ve had lots of people coming from Gloucester to our other shops that ask when are we coming to Gloucester. We thought we would keep an eye out and see what was there and this shop came up for sale. We thought the location was great, it’s on a really busy crossroads going towards Gloucester town centre, there are lots of offices and houses around, it’s a really nice, busy little area.” The takeaway is undergoing new branding and a clean-up and will be opening in mid February. Simpsons’ 70-seater restaurant and takeaway in Cheltenham won National Fish & Chip Shop the Year in 2016 and a year later it opened its Stroud takeaway. The Cheltenham restaurant has since been hit hard by the Covid pandemic, resulting in its sit- down trade almost entirely replaced by deliveries and takeaways. James adds: “We have got all these challenges at the moment and it does mean that we need that extra income. If we can do that from having another shop, then great.”
LOVE SEAFOOD FILM HIGHLIGHTS SPRING-SUMMER SUCCESS
JUST EAT TAKEAWAY.COM ORDERS TOP ONE MILLION FOR 2021
Love Seafood has put together a short film to share the highlights from its consumer marketing activity that ran from May to September last year. This included a campaign showcasing scampi as an easy family-friendly choice at home and saw fish and chips and seafood promoted in foodservice as part of its summer of ‘feel good food’. The result was 129 articles featured in the press, giving a reach of over 39 million people and a 33% increase in web traffic. Watch the video at Love Seafood’s YouTube page and see what its future plans involve.
Just Eat Takeaway.com processed 1.1 billion orders in 2021 - an increase of 33% compared with 2020 - worth C28.2 billion. The company processed 274 million orders in the fourth quarter of 2021, representing a 14% increase compared with the same period of 2020. Gross Transaction Value (GTV) was C28.2 billion for the full year of 2021, representing an increase of 31% compared with 2020. GTV amounted to C7.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021, up 17% compared with the same period of 2020. The UK and Ireland was the fastest growing segment for both the quarter and the year and the company says it plans to invest heavily in this market, especially in its London network, while improving profitability in 2022.
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FRY MAGAZINE - JANUARY 2022
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BLEND 30 Batter Mix
To celebrate 30 years of trading we have produced this special batter mix Blend 30. We have been passionate about making batter mix for over 50 years and in this Blend 30 we have used all of our expertise and skill to produce a product that is the best of the best. This celebration blend is the ultimate product for crispness, increased holding time and quality.
We hope you love it as much as we do. Leonard & Sylvia Middleton
• A unique blend of flours • Fries extra crispy with a light golden colour • Designed to sit longer in the holding cabinet • Ideal for take-away, restaurant and delivery
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INDUSTRY NEWS 01.22
COLMANS SEES RETURN OF GREAT NORTH RUN FINISH LINE Colmans Seafood Temple in South Shields is celebrating after organisers of this year’s Great North Run announced the race will return to its usual route, finishing just 200 yards from the restaurant entrance. The half marathon, which starts in Newcastle and traditionally finishes in South Shields, was diverted last year due to Covid restrictions and for the first time saw it end back in Newcastle. With over 50,000 runners taking part, the Great North Run is one the Temple’s busiest days of the year. Owner Richard Ord Jnr comments: “It’s excellent to have the Great North Run back home in South Shields. It’s an incredible day and it’s one of the busiest days of the year for us. All people want to do when they finish the race is run down and grab fish and chips and a cold beer. We sell a lot of Peroni on Great North Run day, believe me.” The return to South Shields is not just good news for the Temple, but also the whole town, with Richard adding: “It’s great for all the Shields’ folk, they’ve grown quite proud of being home to the Great North Run finish line. For the town itself, it’s incredible with the coverage on the tele, it’s quite a celebratory day.” It will be all hands on deck when the race gun goes off on Sunday 11th September with Richard planning on pulling in the entire Temple team. “You go from having a lovely quiet morning at 12 o’clock and within an hour you have 50,000 people walking past your doorstep. The takeaway, restaurant, bar, the whole place will be packed, it will be relentless. But it’s good relentless, everyone is in good spirits, nobody is worried about waiting, it’s a great atmosphere and all the local bars have live music outside.” Richard has declined a place in this year’s Great North Run on the grounds that he will be needed in the Temple that day, but did say he would run to work instead!
BUSINESSES REMINDED TO DECLARE COVID-19 GRANTS ON TAX RETURNS HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reminding businesses that Covid-19 support grants or payments are taxable and should be declared on their company tax returns. It states that any fish and chip shop that received taxable Covid-19 support grants or payments must record it as income when calculating taxable profits. Taxable grants include: • Test and trace or self-isolation payments in England, Scotland and Wales • Coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate • Coronavirus Business Support Grants (also known as local authority grants or business rate grants) If a company received a Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) grant or an Eat Out to Help Out payment, they will need to do both of the following on their tax return: • Include it as income when calculating their taxable profits in line with the relevant accounting standards • Report it separately on their Company Tax Return using the CJRS and Eat Out to Help Out boxes Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s director general for customer service, said: “We want to make sure companies are getting their tax returns right, first time, including any COVID-19 support payment declarations. Support and guidance is available on GOV.UK, just search ‘file my company tax return’.” Information on which support payments need to be reported to HMRC and any that do not is available on GOV.UK. The deadline for Self Assessment customers to complete their 2020/21 tax return and pay any tax owed is 31st January 2022. However, HMRC announced they would waive penalties for one month for late filing of tax returns and late payments. Interest will still be charged.
JJ FOODSERVICE INVESTS IN IMPROVING CUSTOMER SERVICE
JJ Foodservice is investing in new online features as well as staff training in a bid to ramp up its customer service levels. JJ customers will soon be able to ‘Live Chat’ directly with customer services from the JJ website or app. New roles focusing on digital customer care will support the new Live Chat feature. Meanwhile, payments are about to get easier with the introduction of Apple and Google Pay. Baris Kacar, chief sales officer for JJ, comments: “We’re obsessed with finding new ways to improve the customer experience. From how we communicate to how quickly shoppers can check-out.” Recognising that great technology needs the best people behind it, JJ is also investing in staff training, with Baris adding: “We already have a fantastic team. Now we’re on track to kick off the new year with our best service yet.”
WAGAMAMA LAUNCHES VEGAN FISH AND CHIPS
High street chain Wagamama has added a Japanese inspired take on fish and chips to its menu to mark Veganuary. Tempura F-ish + Bang Bang Yaki-imo is made from a mix of soy, rice and pea protein to give the taste and flaky texture of fish and coated in light tempura batter. It is served alongside Wagamama’s equivalent of chips - roast sweet potato chunks and red onion, coated in its signature firecracker sauce. Smashed minty edamame beans replace mushy peas while katsu curry sauce and waga tartare with Japanese pickles, chillies and a wedge of lemon finish the dish. The fish alternative is served on mocked up newspaper and costs £12.95. It is available in restaurant, on Deliveroo and through click and collect for just one month only at all UK restaurants, excluding Northern Ireland. Wagamama reports an increasing number of people giving vegan dishes a go each year and estimates just under 20% of its guests choose to go plant-based.
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INDUSTRY NEWS 01.22 FIFE CHIPPY ADDS AMERICAN-STYLE DINER TO BOOST QUIET DAYS
“CHIPS FOR CHIPS” SCHEME PROVIDES FREE MEALS FOR HULL’S HOMELESS
The Fish Hoose in Thornton, Fife, has added a 20-seater American-style diner to its fish and chip takeaway. Open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4pm to 8pm, the diner is kitted out with 1950s black and white booth seating, stainless steel tables and vinyl records on the wall while the menu serves up American classics such as loaded fries, milkshakes and burgers. Owner Colin Cromar, comments: “We’re still very much your traditional fish tea - fish and chips, bread and butter, mushy peas and a pot of tea, but we’ve introduced things like loaded fries, hot dogs, burgers and milkshakes to try and attract a wider audience. After the first lockdown in 2020, the space was used as a fresh fishmongers with Colin serving an array of species including haddock, lemon sole, dressed crab and oysters. But as restrictions eased, demand began to drop. “It wasn’t doing enough,” explains Colin. “We had the space and I wanted to try something else. I was on the way back from the KFE Dinner Dance and we pulled into an American diner on the M1 and I thought this is quite a good idea, so that’s why I tried it.” The diner runs alongside the chippy Tuesdays to Thursdays but closes to make way for the busy fish and chips takeaway at the end of the week. Colin explains: “The idea with the diner is to try and push those quieter days. We are closed Sundays and Mondays, and Fridays and Saturdays take care of themselves with online orders, collections and walk-ups. We knew if we had people sitting in on those days too it would just get messy, so to try and keep a level of service everyone is happy with we just operate the diner Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. “My wife Trish cooks all the homemade items and does the table service but, apart from that, we haven’t had to take on any extra staff. It’s working really because it’s a little bit extra profit for no more staffing costs. “And it’s nice to have that dine-in option. I’ve always had table service at previous shops and we were always being asked here, when are you going to do table service? Now we can with something a little bit different.”
A Hull fish and chip shop is giving away up to 15 free meals a day to local homeless people after launching a ‘chips for chips’ scheme. Goldenfry in Savile Street initially had 50 golden “chips” 3D printed for customers to buy for £2, securing a meal and a hot drink for somebody in need. But the initiative has proved so successful that the shop has since had a further 500 chips produced. Customers can either hand the tokens directly to a homeless person or leave them on the counter. The chippy operates a traffic light system in the window which when green indicates there are tokens available at the till. John Rennison, who has run the restaurant and takeaway with his wife Michelle for the last three years, said: “Where we are situated in the city centre we get to see a lot of homeless people sat congregating on the benches. During these colder months, we’ve seen the numbers get bigger and bigger. I’ve always gone and given out leftover food at the end of the evening but I wanted to do more. A friend suggested a pay it forward scheme and I’d seen something similar at a chip shop in Bristol so thought let’s do it.” It’s taken the chippy almost a year to get the scheme into the public domain but thanks to recent coverage online, John says it’s now proving very popular. “We are doing anywhere between five and 15 meals a day now. I’ve got a poster up in the shop telling customers about the scheme so some will read that and buy a token, but then we also have our regular customers that buy five tokens a week. “The astonishing thing now is I’m opening letters up and people are sending me money to buy chips who live in Cumbria, Kent and Sussex.” John hopes to make the scheme a permanent feature and is looking into possible funding to do more. He comments: “I’ve had enquiries from different organisations that are trying to organise funding for me so I’m hoping it will progress into something bigger and we can supply sleeping bags or starter packs for when these people do finally get housing.”
OUTDOOR MARQUEES ALLOWED PERMANENTLY
Fish and chip shops no longer need planning permission to put up marquees on their land, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has announced. The changes to permitted development rights, first introduced last year as a temporary measure to boost high streets and small businesses during national restrictions, are being made permanent following a public consultation. The move, which applies to moveable structures, is designed to help hospitality businesses better make use of their outside space all year round. These measures are separate to changes to pavement licenses introduced last year. Pavement licenses allow hospitality businesses to place furniture, such as tables and chairs, on the pavement outside their premises.
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FRY MAGAZINE - JANUARY 2022
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BIG INTERVIEW
With commodity prices increasing andmargins squeezed, 2022 is looking like a bumpy year. We speak to AndrewCrook, president of The NFFF, to find out what the industry can expect
What shape is the fish and chip industry in going into 2022? I think we’re in a strong position because we’ve adapted well since the first lockdown. There are businesses out there that never considered click and collect and deliveries but that embraced them because they had to and, now, I don’t think they would ever go back. There’s certainly a demographic of people out there that, as an industry, we weren’t reaching before so I think for many Covid has revolutionised their business and got fish and chips out there in front of those people. What do you see as the biggest challenges this year? The biggest long term problem is staffing, it’s so difficult to recruit people because it’s not the most attractive job and there are easier ones where you can earn the same wage. I think government definitely missed an opportunity in the budget to address this and, hopefully, they’ll revisit it because hospitality can be a good foundation to rebuild the economy on. Also, I think it’s fair to say we may not be the most professional when it comes to recruiting, we tend to give someone a trial and then take them on. If we can improve upon that, manage people’s expectations, see if they want to develop and provide recognised
courses for them to take, then we’ll always have people wanting to come into fish and chips because it could be a good route into other hospitality businesses. You said the government missed a trick, what would you like to see happen at a Parliamentary level? VAT needs addressing because the way it’s currently levied on businesses is not right. We’re over-taxed at source and the reduction we’ve had these past few months has shown that leaving a little bit more money in the business enables people to invest, whether it’s paying staff more or buying new frying equipment, for example. We’ve never had a long-range view of VAT, there’s always been a change here and a change there. If we can get the government to hold VAT at a lower rate for the next five years then we can hopefully show them at the end of it that they will yield more tax receipts from the industry because people will be paid better, so it will be picked up in the taxation system, as it will when a business buys new equipment. Do you feel like you’re making headway getting heard at government level? Yes, we’re working very closely with Ibrahim Dogus, founder of the British Kebab Awards.
He has contacts with Paul Scully, Minister for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, as well as many other MPs, so we have got an ear there now. We’ve also met with Defra to discuss current issues within the food supply chain, in particular shortages. However, government needs to work with us on a much greater level, to engage with us and talk to us about the issues that affect takeaways. I know it set the Hospitality Council up but there’s nobody on that committee that understands this sector. Nisha Katona, owner of Indian restaurant chain Mowgli, doesn’t understand my business and neither does Burger King so we will continue to push for more representation. Wages are going up in April, what impact can you see that having on our industry? It’s going to have a massive impact but it’s right that we should pay our employees well, it’s a tough job, it’s hard work. We’ve just got to make sure that we’re in a position that we can cover that increase and get our prices up. I still think fish and chips is way too cheap. I looked at the price of cod versus steak in the supermarket the other day and, per kilo, cod was a penny more. Shops need to reflect this in their pricing.
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JANUARY 2022 - FRY MAGAZINE
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BIG INTERVIEW
What about those shops that struggle to put up their prices because of shops around them being so cheap? As an industry, we need to ask the question how can those businesses be so cheap? The only way is by not doing something right, whether they are not paying their employees right or not paying all their taxes, or by cutting corners somewhere. The government needs to tighten up on those businesses - and this is already happening with card and online payments. But also as an industry we mustn’t turn a blind eye. We need to have conversations about things that go on like split invoices
industry is hitting at the same time so it is a big worry. That’s why it’s so important that shops look to protect their margins by putting their prices up. The NFFF is doing its best to mitigate price increases by getting messages out there in the media and we’ve produced a poster to help explain the price increases for those shops who are worried about putting prices up. But, as I’ve already said, the days of cheap fish and chips are gone. On a positive note, what opportunities are there that fish and chip shops can capitalise on? I think there’s room for some shops, depending on their location, to diversify and add things like chicken to their menus or homemade items that hit that higher price point. Also, other species of fish such as pollock and Cornish hake could be a great addition for some shops. We’re seeing some good sites coming available so anyone that wants to expand, there’s an opportunity there as well. The other area that I think is key in driving shops forward is how they use their >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48
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