The 10 shops - Athena's Fish & Chips in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex; Bywater Fisheries in Castleford, West Yorkshire; Catch in East Looe, Cornwall; Chuckles Chippy in Poole, Dorset; MyChippy.com in Enfield, Middlesex; Old Time Fisheries in Keighley, West Yorkshire; Potter Hill Fish Shop in Pickering, North Yorkshire; Sea Salt and Sole in Dyce, Aberdeenshire; The Great British Mayfair Fish & Chips in London and Wolfies Of Hove in East Sussex – will now ‘fry’ for glory in the race to bag the Best Newcomer Award.

To get to this stage and secure a place in the coveted shortlist, shops have been appraised across a variety of judging criteria including innovation, promotional activity and approaches to sustainable and responsible sourcing.

Over the coming weeks, the shortlisted business will be subjected to mystery judging evaluations including an assessment of product quality and customer service levels. This next stage of the competition will whittle down the top 10 shops to establish the UK top 3 finalists who will compete for the top accolade at the 2016 awards ceremony.

Celebrating new entrants to the industry, the Best Newcomer Award is open to independent fish and chip businesses that have been operating since no earlier than 1 October 2013 and recognises those that are excelling in upholding the high standards of the trade.

Award sponsor Andrew Marriott, Brand and Marketing Manager for Frymax, the leading all-vegetable frying fat for the fish frying trade, commented: “Frymax is a high quality product that is once again pleased to be sponsoring the Best Newcomer Award, which recognises and rewards the excellence of new fryers joining our industry.”

Paul Williams, Chief Executive of Seafish, said: “The aim of the National Fish & Chip Awards has always been to showcase the very best fish and chip businesses and individuals in the UK, while setting incredibly high standards for the industry to aspire to.

“I cannot stress enough the importance of celebrating and rewarding new entrants into the industry; there are some incredibly talented individuals that are dedicating their careers to ensure the future of our industry continues to thrive and that must be applauded.

“I’d like to offer up my congratulations to the shortlisted shops and wish them the best as they prepare to continue their quest towards becoming a finalist, but also thank them for upholding our high industry standards and helping us to reinforce the UK’s reputation as the home of the world’s best fish and chips.”

Culminating in an awards ceremony at The Lancaster London Hotel on 20 January 2016, The National Fish & Chip Awards are recognised as one of the most prominent and respected seafood industry events in the UK. Widely considered as the ‘Oscars’ of the fish frying industry, they celebrate the great British tradition of fish and chips, recognising the best talent, quality and choice offered by fish and chip businesses.

For further information on The National Fish & Chip Awards please visit www.fishandchipawards.com. Follow @FishnChipAwards on Twitter for all the awards news and information.