Frankie's, in the village of Brae in Shetland's north mainland, has been named as the best fish and chip shop in the UK for 2015.
The team at Frankie's won the title at the annual National Fish & Chip Awards in London. The most northerly chippy in the country also scooped the Good Catch Award, which rewards fish and chip shops that use sustainably caught and harvested stocks of seafood. These accolades follow a string of other awards: late last year, Frankie's was named best in Scotland for the second year running and emerged as best eatery in the Highlands & Islands of Scotland.
“We're thrilled to have been selected as the top shop in the UK,” said Frankie's manager John Gold, who was presented with the award along with owner Valerie Johnson and shift manager Carlyn Kearney in front of 650 guests at an event hosted by the BBC food and drink presenter Nigel Barden at the Lancaster London Hotel. “It's great recognition for all the hard work our staff put in to make sure our customers get top-quality fish and chips every time they come in. And it's fabulous for Shetland, where fishing has been a way of life for centuries and which has some of the finest seafood in the world.”
Frankie's biggest selling product is traditional haddock and chips, but they also offer crab, mussels and scallops harvested from the cold, clear waters around Shetland. All of the seafood sold by Frankie's is accredited as sustainably caught or harvested by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).
The firm employs seven full-time and 15 part-time staff and opened just over six years ago. Frankie's staff visit schools in Shetland to run the Frankie's Fish Course, a fun but educational programme aimed at primary school children, helping them to understand the importance of sustainability and learning about different types of fish.
The National Fish & Chip Awards are organised by Seafish and the judges assess product quality, sustainable sourcing policies, marketing initiatives and customer service. Frankie's have produced a short video retrospective on their work in 2014 and you can watch it online.