Young Fish Frier of the Year finals beckon for Garioch' Fish Bar's Glen
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Two north-east young fryers have made the final four finalists in the Drywite Young Fish Frier of the Year category of the National Fish and Chip Awards.
It had been previously stated that there’d be three finalists, but the judges found the standard to be so high that they had to include an additional contender.
Making the cut are Glen Marshall Morrison of the Garioch Fish Bar in Inverurie and Jamie Russo of the Redcloak Fish Bar in Stonehaven.
The winner will be announced at the awards ceremony at the end of February.
The award is back after three years due to restrictions from the pandemic, and its long-awaited return has seen top-class hopefuls pulling out all the stops to bag the renowned accolade.
The Drywite Young Fish Frier of the Year category is open to those aged 25 or under, with a minimum of six months’ unsupervised fish frying experience under their belts.
The four competitors are cooking on gas having outshone all the other applicants in three previous judging rounds, which have involved in-depth assessment of their industry knowledge as well as their preparation and fish and chip frying skills by a group of sector experts.
The National Fish and Chip Awards is well known for its comprehensive approach to its evaluation procedures to ensure standards remain high throughout the industry and to encourage accountability among category applicants, with a view to spur them towards the next level up.
As Glen explained: "It has been a lot of work to get to the finals.
"From the initial long application process, there have been practical and theoretical judging at each of the stages.
"The latest included a three hour long personal scrutiny visit by the judges of my work carried out at the shop, with a long technical zoom call on cooking an preparation as well as a day at the School of Excellence in Peterborough doing training."
The Garioch Fish Bar is also working towards a national federation excellence award for which Glen has also been involved in the whole process.
Hoping to be the next Drywite Young Fish Frier of the Year are -
Glen Marshall Morrison - Garioch Fish Bar in Inverurie.
Jamie Russo - Redcloak Fish Bar in Stonehaven.
Kieran Bulpit - Linfords Traditional Fish and Chips, Market Deeping, Lincolnshire
James Ellams - Fish and Chips @ Weston Grove in Chester, Cheshire
Kelvin Lee, Managing Director of Drywite Ltd, which sponsors the award, applauds the finalists: “Having celebrated 90 years in business in 2023, Drywite Ltd is very pleased to have been able to re-instate the Drywite Young Fish Frier of the Year Award for 2024.
“The calibre of young talent coming through the industry is amazing and the four finalists all have the potential to really drive their fish and chip careers forward in the future.
“Having started his working life as a potato boy in a fish and chip shop, Malcolm Lee remained very closely involved with fish and chips and always encouraged young people to make a career in the industry, so in 1995, his son Kelvin Lee and daughter, the late Briar Wilkinson, established the Drywite Young Fish Frier of the Year in his memory.
"It will therefore be a real thrill to present the Malcolm Lee Trophy to this year’s winner and for Drywite Limited to become a part of their career story.”
Andrew Crook, awards organiser and president of the National Federation of Fish Friers, says: “Winning the Drywite Young Fish Frier of the Year award has proven to be a game-changing moment for many of its previous recipients and this year’s cohort is already demonstrating the kind of skillsmanship you’d expect from those who’ve been in the industry a lot longer. We’re very proud of them all and they’re a credit to their respective businesses.”
Kieran, James, Glen and Jamie will be heading to London for the awards ceremony on February 28 at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge where the Drywite Young Fish Frier of the Year will be announced.
