Local Winners Announced In Fish And Chip Shop Comp

One hundred fish and chip shops will have bigger fish to fry this month, after having been named local winners in The Best New Zealand Fish and Chip Shop Competition - 1999.

Competition spokesperson, Wayne Coutts, said the public had turned out in force this year to vote for their favorite fish and chip shops, with nearly 64,000 votes being received - a record for the competition.

Following the announcement of this year's local winners, Mr Coutts said top shops would be turning up the heat as mystery judging gets underway to find the nation's number one chippie.

"Based on public voting and a mystery judging process, 20 local winners were chosen from each of the Upper North Island, Lower North Island, Central North Island, Upper South Island and Lower South Island regions," he said.

Over the next month, each of the 100 shops will be visited by a mystery judge to determine the Grand National and top five regional winners.

Mr Coutts said judges would be assessing the total fish and chip experience - including hygiene, customer service, visual presentation of the shop and food, and quality of the product.

"With Auckland Healthcare and the National Heart Foundation on board again this year, shops are also being encouraged to practice healthy cooking techniques, to ensure oil absorption is kept to a minimum, and that the frying medium is being regularly refreshed," he said.

The winning name of the top shop - the grand national winner - and five regional winners will be announced on 17 November.

ENDS....

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