So says The Crab & Lobster Fish Shack, as it receives a finalist listing in Field to Fryer category of the National Fish & Chip Awards 2027, a category which hero’s chips!
Along with finding out that it’s Scotland only representative in the Top 10 Best Fish & Chip Restaurants in the National Fish & Chip Awards 2027, the Crab & Lobster Fish Shack in South Queensferry has just found out that it’s a finalist for another category within these prestigious awards, known as the “Oscars” for the Fish & Chip industry.
Celebrating the skill, knowledge and passion behind the perfect chip, from potato selection and preparation, to achieving a crispy outside and fluffy centre, the “Field to Fryer” award hero’s everything to do with chips. – which are always fresh and never frozen at The Crab & Lobster Fish Shack.
It joins only two other Scottish businesses in the category. All go through now to the Grand Final in London in February next year.
Commenting on the listing, owner Bryan Coghill said: “We have always been committed to producing chips which are as good as our fish, and now it’s official. We only ever fry with freshly prepared chips, prepared daily on the premises every day, with varieties that change seasonally throughout the year via our Potato Merchant, Superfry Ltd, in East Lothian.”
“We stick with Superfry as it enables us to have a very strong working supply chain, with them understanding and delivering exactly the quality potatoes we require all year round.”
Bryan also explained that, a few months ago, he had taken part in an industry event on potatoes in Ely in Cambridgeshire, in association with trade magazine, Chippy Chat.
“We visited a busy potato farm, seeing firsthand the hard work that goes into growing and harvesting potatoes for the fish & chip sector,” he said. “They have to be perfect. Frying is a science, but the correct potatoes are essential. It was a fascinating experience, and I came back with a renewed appreciation of the work these farmers do.”
“It’s really good news to have reached the final in this category as well as overall best Fish & Chip Restaurant” he continued. “These awards certainly are the benchmark for excellence, and we always say that the chip is just as important as the fish. One cannot exist without the other! If a customer is coming in for fish & chips, they expect every element on their plate to be perfect, and that’s what we aim to deliver every day.”
From the outset, in setting up the business in 2025, The Crab & Lobster Fish Shack made a substantial investment in the equipment to store, produce and fry the perfect chips.
“We Invested our time to understand the science behind producing the perfect chip,” said Bryan. “With our fine dining background, we have made sure it becomes part of the customer experience, with our waiting staff letting our customers know exactly what the variety of the potato and chips are, and where they were grown.”
“Every potato needs love care and attention from the preparation and blanching, to the final fry. The difference in flavour profile of chips with temperature variance is quite substantial. Hot freshly cooked chips bring out the flavour of the variety, whereas lukewarm chips that have been sat in a chip box, lose not only the texture, but also the flavour profile and structure of the chips – and let’s face, it no one likes soggy chips!”
“Although our frying range has one, we never use the chip box, and never will.” He finished. “The next frying range that we buy will not have one. The result for us is we consistently only serve hot chips, crispy on the outside and fluffy in the inside, every single portion, every single time. Why would you cook fish to order but not the chips, that makes no sense?”
Further details on the NFFF National Fish & Chip Awards 2027 at: https://thefishandchipawards.
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