One of the top fish and chip shops and restaurants in the UK, Belfast's Fish City wins a once-in-a-lifetime sustainable seafood study trip to Norway

Fish City in Belfast’s city centre, was recently revealed as one of the top fish and chip shops and restaurants in the UK at the 2023 National Fish & Chip Awards, headlined by Seafood from Norway, and was the only establishment to take home two trophies.

To further mark its success after battering stiff competition to take home the coveted Fish and Chip Restaurant of the Year Award, as well as the Environment and Sustainability Award, owner John Lavery and fry chef Bob Leahy were invited on the educational seafood study trip to visit the western shores of Norway.

Joined by seven other category award winners representing the best of the best in British fish and chips, John and Bob visited the port city of Ålesund to discover the facts surrounding one of the largest cod stocks in the world. As a fellow ocean nation, Norway is a proud supplier of sustainable seafood to British consumers, with a long-standing relationship providing a bounty of cod and haddock for the national dish.

John Lavery, said: “Over the years, our business has been very successful at winning different awards from different organisations, but the National Fish and Chip Awards are amongst the most challenging because they take such a broad view of the business and its operation. They are forensic in their judging process! To have won two awards provides us the validation that we are doing something right and benchmarks us amongst our peers.

“This was my first time in Norway, and I’ve been impressed by everything I’ve seen. From the beauty of this country and seeing how the Norwegians fish, to discovering the passion they have about doing it sustainably, was just incredible.

“Thanks to this trip, I now have a connection with Norwegian whitefish, the people, and the method behind it all. That in turn works its way into our business. If we are passionate about what we do, and the people that supply our fish to us, that will feed back to our customers.”

The winners’ time in Ålesund provided valuable insight into how Norwegian cod and haddock is responsibly caught, frozen-at-sea within a matter of hours and delivered to UK fryers. Not only did the winners learn about the vital supply chain of sustainable cod and haddock from Norway to the UK, they also met with the Norwegian fishing industry and studied the science behind the country’s leading fishery management programme.

Speaking on the value of sustainable seafood, Frank Bakke-Jensen, the Norwegian director of Fisheries, contined: “Knowledge of how to sustainably manage marine resources is one of our biggest and most important contributions to a growing world population.”

The action-packed study trip included a voyage onboard one of Norway’s impressive frozen-at-sea vessels, Atlantic, where the award winners experienced first-hand the Norwegian fleet’s world-class sustainable fishing, processing and quick-freezing facilities producing premium quality whitefish for the UK’s favourite dish.

Norwegian Seafood Council UK director, Victoria Braathen, explained: “It’s important to us to support the fish and chip industry and help celebrate the successes within, making it a pleasure to host the winners of the 2023 National Fish and Chip Awards on an educational study trip to Norway for knowledge sharing and networking among key industry stakeholders.

“This trip proved a fantastic opportunity for the top ambassadors of the fish and chip industry to witness first-hand why origin matters when it comes to sustainable seafood. I hope John and Bob returned armed with sustainable seafood know-how, and enjoy sharing stories of their Norwegian adventures with Fish City’s loyal customers.”

Winners were also joined by The National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF), organiser of the National Fish & Chip Awards, president of NFFF Andrew Crook, added: “The National Fish and Chip Awards are the biggest driver of standards in the fish and chip industry. We also take pride that they have built a strong network for fish and chips across the UK.

“The trip to Norway, bringing together the winners of the 2023 awards, was fantastic. Seeing firsthand the catch methods and processing out at sea – within hours of being caught to lock in that freshness – simply explains why the quality is so good when the fish reaches our shops!”

Fish City was the only establishment in Northern Ireland nominated across all categories at this year’s awards, and the dual wins mark the first time the prestigious national title of Restaurant of the Year has been held by a Northern Irish restaurant.