The UK’s No 1 chippy, Kingfisher Fish & Chip in Plymouth, has completed an astonishing month-long 13,000 mile round trip, serving 11,000 portions of fish and chips and breaking a Japanese record – all in the name of championing the UK’s favourite takeaway food.

Owners Craig Maw and Nikki Mutton’s epic journey began with an all-expenses paid trip to open a pop-up at the 50thannual British Fair in Hankyu department stores in Japan, the country’s equivalent of Harrod’s. Invited as ambassadors for the British fish and chip industry, over the course of just ten days, Kingfisher served 9,000 portions in the store’s two locations, Fukuoka and Osaka. They achieved a high of over 1,400 portions in one day, breaking the fair’s previous record of 1,300. Themed "The Best of the Best”, the fair was supported by the British Embassy as well as other UK organisations including the V&A and the National Trust.

After flying back to the UK, the couple spent just one night at home before taking fish and chips on the road, visiting five UK cities in their striking green ‘Kingfisher Fish & Chips on the Go...’ van.

The tour formed part of The National Fish & Chip Awards’ 30thanniversary celebrations, organised by Seafish, and coveredalmost 1,000 miles stopping in Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham and London, giving away 2,000 portions of fish and chips for free.

October was quite the month for Kingfisher with the team also scooping the SRA Food Made Good Source Fish Responsibly award, receiving a nomination for a Free From Eating Out Award and Craig being appointed to Vice President of industry body, the National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF).

Reflecting on their incredible journey, Craig commented, "We love what we do and are on a mission to champion delicious, sustainable British fish and chips far and wide. To be able to share our passion with people not only across the UK but as far afield as Japan has been amazing. Our feet haven’t touched the ground these past few weeks but we’ve had brilliant feedback in every city we’ve visited. It’s been worth every mile!”

Marcus Coleman, Chief Executive of Seafish added,"Craig and Nikki are excellent ambassadors for the fish and chip sector. Not only do they provide an absolutely first class product, but their enthusiasm and dedication to promoting the great British tradition of fish and chips is second to none. We’d like to thank them for their excellent work and hope that they now have some free time to take a well-deserved rest.”

Named the UK’s No 1 Fish and Chip Takeaway 2017 at the National Fish and Chip Awards in January, Kingfisher has racked up around 30 accolades. Craig recently won the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) UK Sustainable Chef of the Year and Kingfisher is known for having the ‘most sustainable seafood menu in the world’. It holds the National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF) quality award, is one of just two chippies to be awarded the maximum 3 star rating from the Sustainable Restaurant Association and has the highest rating from Fish to Fork.