TOWNGATE Fisheries in Idle has kept its place as one of Britain’s top fish and chip shops by once again scooping the prestigious national quality award.

The popular High Street chippy has been the proud holder of the National Federation of Fish Friers Fish and Chip Quality Award for ten years and can boast that it is the first shop in West Yorkshire to have kept the title for so long.

The scheme is a way of rewarding and promoting shops that provide good products and high standards of hygiene, as well as friers who show a high level of competence.

To qualify, each shop has to go through an inspection by an NFFF Approved Assessor who assesses the shop’s presentation, hygiene and cleanliness, staff training, equipment, frying and sales skills and most importantly the quality of the cooked product.

Towngate Fisheries owner, Mark Drummond said: “The whole team at Towngate Fisheries are delighted to have retained the Fish & Chip Quality Award for a 10th successive year, as it shows our customers we consistently keep up the high standards we always seek to achieve.”

The Quality Award comes on the back of Towngate Fisheries being crowned winner of the Healthy Eating Fish and Chip Award at the National Fish and Chip Awards held at the Lancaster Hotel, in London in January.

NFFF Training and Accreditation manager Richard Wardell explained: “The NFFF Fish & Chip Quality Award assessment is extremely comprehensive. Food safety is a key area that we examine, together with other key aspects of the business including the preparation and cooking equipment, the management of paperwork and the traceability of fish.”