News, Manchester
A YouTuber who has spent 15 months travelling across the UK to sample 120 fish and chip shops has told how his favourite turned out to be in a town just a short hop from home.
Stephen Peel said he began his delicious mission – named The Chippy Tour – to “support and promote the traditional fish and chip”.
But after scouring the length and breadth of the country he decided – after a third visit – that his absolute number one was Green Lane Chippy in Leigh, Greater Manchester.
Proprietor Paul Georgiou, who runs the shop with his brother Andy, said it was a “great honour” to be praised by Mr Peel, who has amassed thousands of online followers.
Mr Georgiou said his shop had been around for “well over 100 years”.
“There’s customers in there who are 80, 90 years old who have been coming in since they were kids,” he said.
“We do take a lot of care, we’re very fussy in our products. We’ve got great staff and fantastic customers.”
Mr Peel, of Warrington, Cheshire, who posts his reviews on Youtube, said he got the idea after becoming concerned by the decline of traditional fish and chip shops due to spiralling costs and competition.
He said he visits each shop incognito to ensure he gets the same service as anyone else, before filming his reviews somewhere nearby and rating each establishment out of five.
“The idea is to show fish and chips at different chippies, how they do it, their love for the meal,” he told Radio Manchester.
“When you actually get to start meeting the people, they really want to be the best. They have their own ideas about things like the batter and their cooking mediums.
“It’s family-run usually, through generations sometimes. There’s so much more that goes into these businesses.”
Mr Peel said he often ensures he also tries any other speciality dishes he spots on the menu.
“If they do their own pies or do their own things like deep fired Mars bars, I’m on it,” he said.
