Foodservice National Fish & Chip Awards finalists announced

Six of the UK's top fish and chip operators have been named as finalists in The National Fish & Chip Awards 2014, organised by Seafish. They are shortlisted across the Best Independent Food Service Operator Award and the Best Newcomer Award categories, sponsored by Seafood Scotland and Frymax.

The Best Independent Food Service Operator Award finalists include The Real Food Café in Tyndrum, The Black Swan Pub in Warrington and The Caven's Arms in Dumfries, and the Best Newcomer Award finalists are: Blackstocks in Chester, The Cod's Scallops in Nottingham and The Scallop Shell in Frome.

All six now face one final round of judging in their respective categories before the winners are revealed at an awards ceremony, hosted by chef Jean Christophe Novelli, in London on 22 January 2014.

Cyril Solomons, Marketing Consultant to Frymax, who visited all the shops, said: "The outstanding feature of these shops was the very high standard of their food and customer service. All the shops will present a great image of the fish and chip trade to the public."

Dr Paul Williams, chief executive of Seafish, added: "These awards are both very different, but are united in the high standards they demand from entrants. It's particularly nice to see such a strong set of finalists in the Best Newcomer Award category as we love to see that the industry is thriving with new high quality shops coming through every year."