Smells fishy, as Dolphin in Dungannon is set to fry for glory!

The Dolphin Takeaway in Dungannon has been announced as the top fish and chip shop in Tyrone.

It will now ‘fry’ for glory against Fish City in Belfast in the race to become Northern Ireland’s best fish and chip shop.

It’s all part of the 2017 National Fish and Chip Awards, organised by Seafish.

To reach this stage all the takeaways have been appraised by industry experts across a variety of judging criteria, including menu development and innovation, sustainable sourcing policies, staff training processes, and marketing and promotional activities. They were also assessed by mystery shoppers.

Over the coming weeks, shops will be subjected to further mystery shopping assessments and in-depth judging audits.

This next stage of the competition will whittle down the line up, establishing the UK top 10 regional winners.

Marcus Coleman, Chief Executive at Seafish, says the Independent Takeaway Fish and Chip Shop of the Year Award is one of the highest honours a fish and chip business can receive.

“Many of our past winners and finalists have gone on to reap substantial benefits, including increased customer footfall and turnover and media fame; some have even launched their own branded products,” he adds.

Joint award sponsor Mick Bacon, Manager of the Responsible Fishing Scheme, says they focus on crew welfare and health and safety on board, so buyers can be assured that seafood from an RFS certified vessel has been ethically harvested too.

Culminating in an awards ceremony in London on 26 January next year, The National Fish and Chip Awards are recognised as one of the most prominent and respected seafood industry events in the UK.

For further information on The National Fish & Chip Awards or to view the full top 60 shortlist visit www.fishandchipawards.com. Follow @FishnChipAwards on Twitter for all the awards news and information.