Venere Travel Blog - It's our business where you sleep!

Nearly every country in the world has their own favourite “Simple” food. In the USA, for example, it’s the Hot Dog. In Saudi Arabia it’s the Shawarma. In the UK, we have our world famous Fish and Chips; more often both spelt and pronounced “fish ‘n’ chips”.To the Anglophobe, Fish and Chips are deep-fried, rough-cut slices of potato (to be differentiated from the American “Fries” – in that they aren’t all of uniform size and shape) and served alongside a battered, deep-fried fish (usually either Cod or Haddock). Before being wrapped up in paper and presented with a wooden fork, they’re doused in Malt Vinegar and snowfalls of salt before being lustily devoured, usually outside.

Traditionally, Fish and Chips were nearly always only eaten by the working class as an alternative to packed sandwiches, as being one of the cheapest, most satisfying meals that money could buy, but consumption of them also came to be associated as a seaside-holiday treat. If you were to go up and talk to say, an octogenarian in the UK nowadays, and ask him of his childhood memories, you could put money on at least one of them involving Fish and Chips!

Fish and Chips are traditionally served in “chippies”, places where cheeky posters and advertisements are plastered all over the white-tiled walls. “Chippies” nearly always sell other items as well, such as “Fish Cake”, “Jumbo Sausage”, “Pickled Gherkin” and “Pukka Pies”. I’ll leave it to your research and experience to find out just what they are!

However, throughout the latter part of the 20th century, Fish and Chips started to lose their popularity. Increasing wealth across all classes, as well as perhaps changing tastes, not to mention the all-important factor of globalisation, has meant that many people now prefer Doner Kebabs and Turkish/Arabic inspired food, and of course the Curry that most Brits seem to enjoy most commonly washed down with Lager.

The different and changing face of the industry today still reflects the way the industry is headed – depressingly, few could argue that it’s not still in decline. Tourists visiting London may find a dire lack of places still offering the real, authentic deal, at least for a sensible price. The escalating cost of the “delicacy” also means that they just don’t quite offer the value that they’re meant to represent – the common gripe is that they cost double than what they cost 10 years ago.

While the struggling industry has yet to see a real revival, it continues to press on, in one form or another. Many famous British Gourmet chefs praise them for their simplicity and taste. And increasingly there have been outlets and posh places hoping serving the dish to a more upmarket and increasingly prosperous clientele, so hopefully they’ll still be around, at least fleetingly, in the years to come.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your travels!

Enjoy Traditional Fish and Chips photo by dearbarbie