It’s #FishandChipFriday!

…and look, the 'Guardian' has an article on it -  what will they get right?

But what really makes a good chippy? One man has the answer – Andrew Crook is president of the National Federation of Fish Friers, which runs the annual National Fish & Chip Awards.

Well, he must surely know his…err, onions? 

For industry expert Mr Crook, there's one particular quality in top fish and chip shops that help them stand out against others.

What it’s cooked in, perhaps? 

Mr Crook adds: 'The thing that makes an excellent fryer is they're always changing something. They've always got a desire to improve. They're always constantly tweaking things, and I think that's what drives the industry forward.'

No no no! We don’t want change, constant change isn’t good. When you’ve a good local chippy, like mine, you want it to stay exactly the same forever!

Where does he stand on the perpetual debate over whether you should order cod or haddock? After 27 years in the industry, the Lancashire-raised frier has developed a well-rounded take. 'I think it’s a very regional thing, there are lots of fantastic species out there but in fish and chips on the whole people want cod or haddock,' he says.

Now he’s talking - as a southerner, my usual is cod, with an occasional haddock or plaice or even cod roe for variety or maybe when I can (sadly my local doesn’t offer it) skate! Always with a wally (gherkin). But I’ve noticed the further north one travels, the less often the option of cod is available. 

The chippy expert dubs Whitby, in North Yorkshire, as the 'spiritual home of fish and chips'.

 Now he’s talking! The Magpie Cafe in Whitby is the best!

As for Mr Crook's go-to order? Despite being from Lancashire he sides with the 'Yorkshire way of doing fish and chips'. 'It would be haddock battered, not lightly battered just normal batter, chips, mushy peas,' he says, adding that he prefers it to be cooked in beef dripping too.

Now he’s spot on - vegetable oil in the south and beef dripping in the north, and I have to give it to the northerners on points!

Roll on dinner time!

 

Plenty!

Are there any drinkable canned cocktails?

ALL canned cocktails are drinkable, some only once.

Premix cocktails are disproportionately marketed to young drinkers – gateway booze, if you will, as the likes of Bacardi Breezer pineapple was for me – and often have a one-note, cloying taste.

My own favourites are Moth margaritas and M&S margaritas. 

Perhaps more than any other theme, writing about premix cocktails has made me confront the very question of why we drink alcohol. Take me as an example.

Twenty-five years on, and my palate is a different place, and I welcome the notes and nuances of a well-mixed drink. I now drink alcohol to savour it, and I like what I’m drinking to give me pause; it doesn’t need to be hard work, but I do like it to make me think.

Why did you drink it before, then?  

That’s not to say there aren’t premix cocktails out there that can do this, and I tasted several that I found interesting. The Reina Mezcalita in today’s pick, for instance, is delicious – smoky mezcal meets zippy lime soda – and I’d happily sip it from the can in the park or, even better, from a glass rimmed with Tajìn at home. Whitebox and Moth both produce good iterations of premix drinks (and in reassuringly small, potent formats) and are widely available in supermarkets; they feel a bit more grown up, too, both on the sugar front and because their ABVs skew higher, which you can taste (in the premix realm, quality seems to align with a higher ABV).

Must admit to always adding a little extra tequila to mine, so I guess it could be higher. 

Marks & Spencer has the widest own-brand selection, some of them better than others, but, on the whole, its premium Served range has more character and acidity (a good thing) than you’ll find elsewhere – I enjoyed the mojito and the lychee martini especially.

Hmm, might try the martini, if I ever see it in my local branch. 

Finally, A Column In The Guardian I Can Agree With Wholeheartedly...

When I was a child, I imagined that the best thing about being an adult would be going to bed whenever I liked, but in fact, it’s breaking off both ends of a baguette and buttering and eating them, and not being told off when someone later finds the middle folded inside the bread bin.

It's been a long time coming, I know.