Each of the named shops are now official semi-finalists in the awards category, which recognises the best new fish and chips businesses, with the top ten eventually whittled down to three, and then one, to be crowned overall Best Newcomer.
The Best Newcomer Award is part of the wider National Fish & Chip Awards, and is available to independent fish and chip shops that have been operating since no earlier than 1 October 2014.
The final winner will be unveiled at the overall awards ceremony on 26 January 2017, along with the winners of the other 12 categories, including the overall Best Fish & Chip Shop.
These ten shortlisted new shops will now be subjected to mystery shopping assessments by expert judges, who will evaluate the business’ quality, customer service, use of ingredients, responsible sourcing, promotional activity, and innovative approaches to running a new shop.
Marcus Coleman, chief executive at Seafish, said: “Being shortlisted in this award is a fantastic achievement for newly opened fish and chip businesses. It demonstrates their incredible talent, dedication and commitment to thrive; traits that are to be applauded.
“I’d like to offer up my congratulations to the shortlisted shops and wish them all the best as they continue in their quest towards becoming one of our finalists. I also want to thank them for upholding our high industry standards and helping us to reinforce the UK’s reputation as the home of the world’s best fish and chips.”
The Newcomer category is sponsored by Frymax.