Grilled, battered, crumbed—tucking into a delicious serve of fish 'n' chips is an iconic Australian experience. But who will be crowned as having Australia's best?
In its third year, kicking off this Easter, the FRDC is excited to be opening votes and hopping nationwide on its quest to uncover Australia's best fish and chips for 2019.
The awards are a fantastic opportunity to support local businesses as well as educating consumers on the sustainability of the Australian seafood industry and the vast range of seafood options on offer.
Tasmanian Gourmet Seafood is a small family-owned business in Cambridge. They won the Judge's award in 2018. "Winning has certainly increased our customer base." Say directors Tabitha Dobson and Michael Blake "This has in turn increased business and allowed us to employ more people".
"We pride ourselves on providing the freshest seafood to our customers. We do this by sourcing from local suppliers and we only cook to order. Our victory shows these basic principles are a winning formula."
The People's Choice award went to Fraggles Fish and Chips in Invermay "It's a bit of a pat on the back for our staff because we put in so much effort. It's a pat on the back for our customers who supported and voted for us" Says Chris Fragoulis.
"It's a good competition to highlight the facts of our business, to educate customers to buy locally and what they're getting is proudly Australian sourced. We are really proud of using Australian fish species and local businesses. Our fish and potatoes, we source ethically. A local fish factory my parents dealt with we still use today. Potatoes are the same, a local grower brings it in every week."
The awards will again run across two categories—Judged and People's Choice. This year however, shops will need to nominate themselves to be judged through an online application process.
The Fish and Chips Awards have also been brought forward to align with the Seafood Industry Awards, which run in conjunction with the biennial Seafood Directions Conference held in Melbourne, where the national winners will be awarded.
Voting will begin across all states and territories on Friday 19 April 2019 and will finish on Friday 31 May 2019.
