THE fish friers <strong>REVIEW</strong>NewsFish and chips in“Top 50” food list!Here’s a quick quiz question <strong>for</strong> you all.What do these three things have in common: breakfast at Carnegie Deliin New York, Kuala Lumpur street food, and fish and chips?Still struggling? How about including in the list: cooking curry fromscratch, making your own marmalade, and eating croissants in a Parisiancafé?Well, the answer is that they’ve all been included on a list <strong>of</strong> culinaryexperiences to try be<strong>for</strong>e you die.The list was compiled by a selection <strong>of</strong> distinguished foodies includingcritic Giles Coren, TV chef Simon Rimmer, and writer William Sitwell, aswell as food enthusiasts Miranda Gore Browne, Richard Bertinet andDanny Kingston. The list was conducted on behalf <strong>of</strong> kitchen goodsmanufacturer Kenwood.Whilst such exotic experiences like dining at Chez Panisse in USA,visiting Jemaa el-Fna square in Marrakesh and the famous Tsukiji fishmarket in Tokyo were on the list, British favourite fish and chips was notto be outshone.“What could be more British than fish and chips wrapped in paper andsmothered in salt and vinegar, enjoyed whilst sat on a harbour wall?”said the entry <strong>for</strong> our national dish.A Kenwood spokesperson said, “For us Brits, food has become asubject that’s almost as popular as the weather.”So there you have it. Fish and chips are comparable with the best foodexperiences on the planet!Members <strong>of</strong> staff at The Wetherby Whalerrestaurant and takeaway in Pudsey haveraised more than £2,500 <strong>for</strong> MacmillanCancer Support.David Thompson, 28, who is one <strong>of</strong> the friersand Matthew Popple, 20, a waiter, werejoined by Stephen Mahoney, 21, whopreviously worked at The Wetherby Whaler,<strong>for</strong> a mammoth sponsored cycle along the route <strong>of</strong> the Leeds/LiverpoolCanal, covering 127 miles in 24 hours.Janine Murphy, Co-owner <strong>of</strong> The Wetherby Whaler, said: “Everyone atATTENTION ALL GAS USERS!These two shocking photos were sent in Paul Barrett <strong>of</strong> HopkinsCatering. They depict work undertaken by another servicecompany. The jets were obviously leaking on the burners, and thecowboy engineer has tried to seal the leak using fire cement.Hopkins have now attended the shop, fully serviced it and replacedthe leaking jets.According to Gas Safe Register, there are at least 7,500 illegal gasfitters in Great Britain doing the most common and <strong>of</strong>ten mostdangerous types <strong>of</strong> gas work in our businesses and homes.Don’t fall victim to shoddy, dangerous and illegal gas workers.All gas range engineers must be COMCAT 4 qualifiedand engineers working on high-efficiency ranges must beCOMCAT 4 & 5 registered.www.gassaferegister.co.ukThe Wetherby Whaler’s route to charityThe Wetherby Whaler in Pudsey supported the trio in their fundraising<strong>for</strong> Macmillan Cancer Support. We are really proud <strong>of</strong> David, Matthewand Stephen’s ef<strong>for</strong>ts <strong>for</strong> such a worthy cause.”Matthew Popple said: “We wanted to do something special <strong>for</strong>Macmillan Cancer Support as it does fantastic work throughout thecountry. The bike ride was a real challenge <strong>for</strong> the three <strong>of</strong> us as none<strong>of</strong> us are experienced cyclists and we all felt very still and saddle sore<strong>for</strong> a few days!“We’d like to thank the staff at The Wetherby Whaler in Pudsey, andeveryone else who sponsored us <strong>for</strong> their support. We’re nowdiscussing the next challenge!”2
Issue 7 November 2013NewsCommon sense firstFirst aid training - it’s your call nowOn the 1st October, the Health and Safety (FirstAid) Regulations Act (1981) was amended, theresult <strong>of</strong> which means the Health and SafetyExecutive (HSE) no longer approves first-aidtraining and qualifications.This is good news <strong>for</strong> those wishing to see redtape slashed, making way <strong>for</strong> common sense toprevail.The HSE aims to reduce the load on businesses,so that standards are maintained whilst cutting down on bureaucracy. Thesechanges relate to all sizes <strong>of</strong> businesses which include, <strong>of</strong> course, fish and chipshops.What does this mean to you? The changes mean that it will be easier <strong>for</strong> fishand chip shops to choose a first aid training provider and to tailor the training totheir specific needs. Shops will have more leeway in how they manage their firstaid in the workplace.However, though fish and chip shops can now choose how their first aid trainingis delivered, and by whom, employers still have a legal responsibility to makesure their workers’ welfare is paramount and that they receive instantattention if injured or taken ill at work.As Andy McGrory, HSE's policy lead <strong>for</strong> First Aid, says, “HSE no longer approvesfirst-aid training and qualifications. Removing the HSE approval process will givebusinesses greater flexibility to choose their own training providers and first aidtraining that is right <strong>for</strong> their work place, based on their needs assessment andtheir individual business needs."Employers still have a legal duty to make arrangements to ensure theiremployees receive immediateattention if they are injured ortaken ill at work.”In<strong>for</strong>mation, including theregulations document andguidance document to helpemployers identify and select acompetent training provider, isavailable on the HSE website atwww.hse.gov.uk/firstaidWe’ll keep a welcome in Welsh Chip Shops(normally sung as We’ll keep a welcome in the hillside….)Welsh Area Council Dinner & Dance Sunday 22 September 2013By Executive Councillor <strong>for</strong> Wales John PenalunaIn March this year the Wales Area Council (WAC) decided to host a dinner dance tocontinue the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Federation</strong> <strong>of</strong> Fish Friers’ Centenary celebrations.Good ideas are just that – ideas. What we now needed to do was put this idea int<strong>of</strong>ruition, which was no mean feat. Once we decided on the first task – searching <strong>for</strong> avenue – the plan began to pick up speed. Perhaps the most important criteria whenchoosing the venue was the price <strong>of</strong> alcohol. We were looking <strong>for</strong> a decent venuewhere if all else failed we could sit around and drown oursorrows knowing that at least there were other venuescharging more!The Park Inn in Cardiff North fitted the bill nicely as it’slocated just <strong>of</strong>f the motorway, has plenty <strong>of</strong> parkingspaces and <strong>of</strong>fers great accommodation. We then had toconfirm the date, which proved difficult because we hadto contend with weddings, christenings, birthdays, stagweekends, wedding anniversaries and even holidays.Once the date was settled we had to round up the guests.Our goal was to attract shop owners, staff and suppliers(not necessarily NFFF members) because we wanted tospread the word to the industry and further raise thepr<strong>of</strong>ile <strong>of</strong> the NFFF.A small task<strong>for</strong>ce led by EC <strong>for</strong> Wales John Penaluna,Zohaib Hussain, Lee Penaluna, Emma Jenkins and SteveMuscat began rallying the Welsh troops. As this was the first event there was aconsiderable amount <strong>of</strong> organisation: phone calls, e-mails, flyers (even blackmail!) allgenerated interest. Eventually suppliers were responsive, shops and staff were keenand we got our numbers together. It was never in doubt!We needed an “A-lister” as one <strong>of</strong> the guests so who else could we invite other thanBriar Wilkinson <strong>of</strong> Drywite? After all we had a previous winner <strong>of</strong> the Drywite YoungFish Frier <strong>of</strong> the Year competition in Zohaib and we really wanted to promote youngpeople in the industry. Of course, Briar accepted immediately, as she’s a wonderfulambassador to the industry and a great supporter <strong>of</strong> the NFFF. Thank you Briar.On to the entertainment. There were many options but in the end we opted <strong>for</strong> theaward-winning comedian Lenny Dee. We didn’t regret choosing Lenny as he gave usa night to remember. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed his brand <strong>of</strong> humour – thecomments speak <strong>for</strong> themselves:“Sadly I didn't take any photo - too busy laughing at the comedian. Very funny guy.”Stephen Jenkins, Cwmcarn Fish Bar.“Just wanted to let you know that last night was great….And I laughed so much at thecomedian, I cried.” - Niccy Bobath.Everything went smoothly. Rhian greeted the ensemble be<strong>for</strong>e dinner to some fantasticWelsh (and some English) tunes on the harp while we enjoyed canapés and pre-dinnerdrinks. It really was a great way to start the night.Following a greeting by WAC President Adrian Herdman,grace was conducted in both Welsh and English, in Welshby eight-year-old Ellie Penaluna followed by granddadJohn.The WAC were delighted that the principle <strong>of</strong>ficers <strong>of</strong> theNFFF – President Gregg Howard, Vice President MarkDrummond and Treasurer Andrew Crook – all came alongto support the Centenary celebrations.The three-course meal was delicious (no fish involvedand, apologies to many – no Welsh lamb!) and the wineflowed as constantly as the chatter around the tables.After dinner there was a good old-fashioned raffle assistedby the two youngest guests in the room – Ellie Penalunaand Alex Muscat. With their assistance £375 was raised<strong>for</strong> the Fishermen’s Mission. Prizes were provided byKerry Foods, Drywite, P&T Cleaners, Castell Howell, Penderyn and the Welsh AreaCouncil. Many thanks to these organisations <strong>for</strong> their support.After Lenny’s per<strong>for</strong>mance – where guests were left aching – the entertainmentcontinued with a disco until well past midnight with many still staggering to the danceflooreven after the music stopped. As is the norm at these dinners, a lot <strong>of</strong> guestsstayed up until the early morning just chattering and enjoying the company.Our special thanks go to the principle sponsors and supporters <strong>of</strong> the night:Kerry Foods (Goldensheaf, Henry Jones & Dinaclass), Frymax, T Quality, Smales,Snowden & Co (Cardiff), Mitchells Potatoes Ltd, Peter Foods, and M&S CateringSupplies Ltd.The support <strong>for</strong> the industry was very generous and greatly appreciated by all involved.It was a really great night where shop owners, staff, suppliers and guests mixed freely.So much so that we’ve had many requests to hold the event again next year. Watch thisspace because we loved it so much we want to do it all again.3
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