Three fish and chip shops nominated for UK-wide training award

Three fish and chip shops are in line for a top national award for their services to staff training and development.

Harbour Lights in Falmouth, Mister C’s in Selby and Petrou Brothers in Chatteris have been shortlisted for the Staff Training and Development Award at the 2008 national Fish & Chip Shop of the Year competition, organised by Seafish, the authority on seafood.

Owners Peter Fraser, Mark Corbally and Mark Petrou and their teams will now be judged to decide the overall winner which will be announced by celebrity chef Simon Rimmer at a London ceremony on 22 January.

Competition judges have already been impressed by the three shops’ commitment to staff training needs after they successfully negotiated two rounds of judging.

Peter Fraser, a former pilot in the Royal Navy, has run Harbour Lights for nine years and says the secret to his success is giving his staff responsibility and letting them input to how the business is run. He also employs a dedicated trainer and HR professional, Phillippa Turner, who delivers a successful programme of appraisals and training opportunities.

Peter said: “Given our harbour-side location, we experience some very busy months during the tourist season, so have to employ more staff to cope with the extra demand. We have to make sure that all staff are motivated and brought up to our high standards very quickly.”

Harbour Lights will shortly be awarded Investor in People (IIP) status. IIP is a business standard which aims to deliver business improvement through people.

Mark Corbally runs Mister C’s, the marketplace takeaway with his wife Denise. The shop motto is ‘Forever Better’ and Mark believes that constant improvement and offering regular appraisals and training opportunities has been the key to the shop’s success. Mister C’s will also be awarded Investor in People (IIP) status shortly.

Mark said: “The team spirit we have created in the shop is fantastic, and rubs off on our customers. Every member of staff has the opportunity to input to the running of the shop so our success is entirely down to teamwork.”

Mark Petrou is no stranger to industry accolades. In 2006, his shop was crowned the Fish & Chip Shop of the Year. Since handing the crown back last January, Mark and his team have worked hard to implement regular appraisals, training programmes and a mentoring scheme for all new staff.

Working with Clive Monk of the Eastern Training Association, Mark believes great personalities make for the best staff. Mark said: “Working in a fish and chip shop is a way of life, so you have to be on top of your game all the time. Fish and chips is a national institution so we have the industry’s reputation to uphold. We’ve really invested time and effort to make sure our staff get the right training to ultimately grow and improve the business.”

As well as the Staff Training and Development Award, Mark’s shop is once again in the running for the overall national title having been announced as one of the ten best fish and chip shops in the UK for 2008.

Richard Wardell is the Seafish Training and Accreditation Advisor who oversees the judging of the Staff Training and Development Award. Richard said: “The UK’s fish and chip shop network is made up mainly of independent retailers and family businesses.

“The top performing shops have a professional attitude when it comes to training and development and have set a high benchmark for the rest of the industry. Each of the three finalists have shown that when a business invests in its people a long and profitable career can be made from working in the fish and chip industry”.

The Staff Training and Development Award is sponsored, for the second year running, by James T. Blakeman & Co, manufacturers and suppliers of high quality sausages. James T. Blakeman & Co is the home of the famous Supreme Sausage and as one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of sausage and meat products, the Blakeman family has supplied fish and chip shops for over 50 years.

Date : 19-12-2008