The Fry Magazine recently announced their top 50 fish and chip shops across the UK, with Sea Blue Fisheries - located at The Green in Clowne - earning a spot in their prestigious ranking.
We spoke to the shop’s owner, Jay Kumar, to hear about his background in the industry - and learn more about why Sea Blue Fisheries has been going from strength to strength.
1. Sea Blue Fisheries
Sea Blue Fisheries has been named among the UK’s best chip shops. Photo: Sea Blue Fisheries
2. “High-calibre fish and chip shop”
Jay said: “We’re quite a new business, we’ve only been here for a year and a half. We’ve been working our socks off - especially with us being a new business. We came to Clowne and found a central hub where we thought there was a gap in the market. We wanted to set up a high-calibre fish and chip shop, and we’ve done that.” Photo: Sea Blue Fisheries
3. Experience in the family business
Jay and his family are from Long Eaton - and he said that he was raised working in the chip shops owned by his relatives. He said: “I’ve been in the fish and chip industry since I was 13, within our family businesses - I’ve got experience of opening up and running busy shops, and this is the first one I’ve done on my own. My father, who was a chef, taught us how to fry. He taught us how to cook at a young age and we use the same philosophy - we don’t give anything to customers that we wouldn’t eat ourselves.” Photo: Sea Blue Fisheries
4. Award-winning establishment
Sea Blue Fisheries has certainly been popular among customers since it launched. It has gained a 4.7/5 rating based on 178 Google reviews, along with a 4.6/5 rating on delivery platform JustEat - based on 186 customer reviews. Sea Blue Fisheries was the only Derbyshire establishment to be listed among The Fry Magazine’s top 50 fish and chip shops. The accolade comes after two rounds of mystery dining visits conducted by the leading trade publication. The judges evaluated several aspects of the business - including food quality, premises cleanliness, staff expertise, value for money, ease of ordering and social media presence.With a high pass mark set at 96%, Sea Blue Fisheries scored an impressive 98%. The mystery diner praised the establishment, particularly noting that “the chips were perfect, crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside as proper chips should be.” The staff were also commended for their friendly and efficient service. Photo: Sea Blue Fisheries