Towngate Fisheries, Idle, 'overwhelmed' to be T&A Best Chippy finalist

The T&A received 2,237 nominations for the competition through our online voting platform. The list has now been whittled down to the final 10 - and we aim to profile all of them during the coming days.

Towngate Fisheries in Idle is a finalist in the T&A's Best Chippy 2024 competition (Image: UGC)

One of the chippies in the final is the award-winning Towngate Fisheries, based at the top of High Street in Idle.

Manager Joanne Newman told the T&A: “It’s overwhelming that your readers and our customers have voted for us."

The staff at Towngate Fisheries in Idle (Image: UGC)

She said: “There are a lot of good quality fish and chip shops in Bradford so we’re up against some tough competition.”

Joanne spoke about how Bradfordians’ affinity for fish and chips is ingrained into communities across the district.

The staff at Towngate Fisheries in Idle (Image: UGC)

She said: “Fish and chip shops are a big part of the community. Our customers like coming in to chat with us. 

“It’s all about the community spirit as well as the food.”

That community spirit, and of course, the food keeps people coming back.

The fish and chips on offer at Towngate Fisheries in Idle (Image: UGC)

“Customer loyalty is important,” said Joanne, who has worked at Towngate Fisheries for 14 years.

“I worked here since I was 16,” she said. “I started in fish and chips, so I think it’s important to employ young staff to give them a strong work ethic.

“There are about nine of us. We’re a small staff but we all work hard. We have a passion for what we do.”

The staff at Towngate Fisheries in Idle (Image: UGC)

Fourteen years at Towngate Fisheries has given Joanne the chance to hear many stories about how much people enjoy their fish and chips.

“We have loads of people who come from overseas who like trying our fish and chips.

“We recently had a family from Japan who were on holiday in Bradford visiting their child who was a foreign exchange student, and they came into our shop every day for a week.

A staff member at Towngate Fisheries prepares food for its customers (Image: UGC)

“We also had a family who came in to buy some fish and chips so that they could take them to Spain for their friends to reheat and enjoy them.” 

Joanne also talked about Northern and Yorkshire attitudes of how people like to enjoy their fish and chips.

“We had someone come in and say we can’t get fish cakes down in Bristol like you have in Yorkshire.

“We also have had Southerners come in and wondered what ‘scraps’ were,” added Joanne. “They don’t know what they’re missing.”

• We aim to profile all of the finalists during the coming days. To vote for your favourite, pick up a copy of the Telegraph & Argus and fill out the coupon.