20 January 2024 , 15:00
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The man's claim left everyone confused.
Fish and chips are such a staple comfort food that they are practically one of the UK's national dishes. From trips to the seaside to rainy Friday nights when you can't really be bothered to cook, any occasion you fancy nipping down to the chippie is the right one.
But then a single comment beneath a food review struck right at the very heart of a national culinary institution and left enthusiasts seriously confused. Restaurant columnist Grace Dent was shocked at the response she received to her review of Angel Lane Chippie in Penrith, Cumbria.
Back in 2020, someone responded to her particular praise in the review for the restaurant's "extra globs of thick batter", and his commentary sent heads spinning. The man claimed: "The batter is there to protect the fish during frying, you peel it off, throw it away, then eat the fish!
"If you bake a fish (or indeed a vegetable) in a salt crust, do you eat that too?" The comment knocked Masterchef regular and Guardian writer Grace for six, the Daily Star reported.
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She wrote: "This week's Guardian column is about a northern chip shop. This comment has kept me awake. I. I just. What." Hundreds of others were quick to rush in to correct the wild assertion.
TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp wrote: "If you throw away the batter what do you feed the children?" One man wondered whether the commenter had other curious culinary habits. He suggested: "I highly suspect this individual eats the heated towels at Indian restaurants."
Another man felt the suggestion indicated a serious decline in British standards. "That’s just ... it’s just... I don’t actually know what that is," he wrote. "This country is finished. We can’t even eat fish and chips properly anymore."
Amidst all of the fury, however, a hint of doubt was allowed to creep into the conversation. Grace asked her followers: "But he's sure. He is so so sure. listen to him. ARE WE THE WRONG ONES?"
While some people suggested the man assertion was rooted in history, it is clearly a long-forgotten part with little impact on proud fish and chip eaters today. However, the mystery remains even today, and for some, there will always be some doubt as they bite into their crunchy batter about whether they are simply approaching fish and chips all wrong.
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