Media release 25 September 2013
The Chip Group Ltd
Oceanz Seafood in Silverdale scoops New Zealand’s Best Chip Shop title
Daniel and Richard Billington, owners of Oceanz Seafood in Silverdale, are officially king of the chippies, after it was named New Zealand’s Best Chip Shop. The Hibiscus Coast Highway shop beat five other finalists to scoop the title of Best Chip Shop Competition Champion 2013.
Richard Billington said that the brothers, whose parents also owned a fish and chip shop, were absolutely delighted with the accolade. “It’s taken a while for it to sink in but we’ve all got smiles from ear to ear that we have finally done it,” said Richard. “We’re looking forward to celebrating with all our crew and thanking them for the part they have played in this success.”
The competition, run by The Chip Group every second year, is a chance for chip shops to showcase the quality of their product. Oceanz Seafood Silverdale won the national title in 2009 under previous management, took the regional title in 2011 and again this year under the Billingtons’ ownership and has now scooped the top honours once more.
A key criteria for the competition was to find shops serving the most delicious chips with lower fat content. All entrants’ chips were independently lab tested and finalists and highly-commended shops had all achieved chips with a fat content of below nine per cent.
Judges said that, while all finalists’ chips were superb, Oceanz Seafood had the edge, noting: “The chips just tasted fantastic! The operators obviously used light, clean oil and drained the chips well, so it didn’t dominate the flavour.”
Judges were also impressed that the chips were not salted, with a salt sachet provided instead to provide customers with a choice, and that the 330g portion size was stated on the menu board. Entrants were also judged on chip taste, quality, shop cleanliness and customer service and many customers provided testimonials about the great quality and taste and the friendly efficient staff. Some said that they go the extra distance to buy their fish and chips at the shop.
Cooking great chips is in Daniel and Richard’s genes. They worked in their parents’ fish and chip shop through their teens and pursued other careers before returning to the industry – they took over the Silverdale shop three years ago. Richard said that high quality product and exceptional care of oil were vital to their great product.
“Every chip is different and every batch of chips is different, and you have to be aware of that and adjust your cooking methods accordingly,” he said. “Adhering to The Chip Group industry standards is really important.
Giving a very good shake and bang gives much crisper, dryer chips. When they hear the banging our customers joke that we are panel beating our chips, but it makes all the difference to the end product.” The shop also serves its chips up in cardboard trays, rather than wrapping them, which makes them easier to eat as well as reducing condensation and keeping the chips crisper.
Judith Morley-John, Food Industry Nutritionist for the Heart Foundation, welcomed the fact that all competition participants were required to have undergone and have a current certificate for The Chip Group’s free online industry training.
“The impact of training was reflected in the lower chip fat content for the forty eight Highly Commended shops (7.8%) compared with 9.9% for the 18 regional finalists winners in the previous competition,” said Ms Morley-John.
Food educator and Chip Group Chair Glenda Gourley said that the competition was an excellent way to further raise awareness in the catering industry that, by following the industry standards you can achieve the most delicious chips with the lowest possible fat content.
“The reduction in fat content this time round is awesome,” said Glenda. “Kiwis love hot chips and this gives customers confidence that the operators displaying a current Chip Group certificate really know what they are doing. The skill of the operator has a huge impact on the chip.”
The other five regional finalists were:
• Auckland wide: Greenwoods Fresh Catch, Epsom
• Waikato – Bay of Plenty: Hawkes Bay, Queen Vic Chippy, Cambridge
• Manawatu – Wellington: Fish King Takeaways, Feilding
• Nelson – Christchurch: Victory Square Fish and Chips, Nelson
• Timaru – Southland: The Naked Chip, Waimate
For further details of The Chip Group’s free online training course on how to produce tasty hot chips with a lower fat content please visit www.chipgroup.co.nz.
ENDS
For more information, please contact:
Kate Underwood Training and Education Manager, The Chip Group 022 066 8711 or [email protected] or Dan Walraven Ideas Shop 027 433 6373 or [email protected]
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