Yorksview

'Fish & Chips, tea, bread and butter' such lovely words - perhaps only complemented by 'Mushy Peas.'

My love affair with Fish & Chips started many years ago. How privileged to come from the very place where this famous duo were born - Yorkshire. They are as well know as Yorkshire Pudding. They have stood the test of time and have survived the influx of 'foreign' foods - American, Italian, Asian - you name it.

They used to say that owning a Fish & Chip shop was 'A licence to print money' and still may be the case today if you have a good outlet, and not all of them are. People will travel far for the best fish & chips, they are not all the same.

The oldest chippy in the world, Yeadon, Leeds

There is an abundance of Fish & Chip shops, both 'Eat-In' and Take-Away,' within a few miles from where I live in West Yorkshire, including 'The Oldest Fish & Chip Shop In The World' - this is at Yeadon, Leeds. Just down the road from there is a 'Drive-Thru' establishment - is this a first? Then a little further along comes Harry Ramsden's -the original one at White Cross, Guiseley. At Harry's you can have chips amongst chandeliers. People have been known to have their Wedding Receptions here. It is posh at Harry's - a small boy once asked his dad if this was where God comes for his fish & chips.

The King of 'em all, Harry's, Guiseley

Fish & Chips are an essential part of our society and their fame has spread to the four corners of the earth - a very good export from Yorkshire. I don't think they can be quite as good though because they don't have the Haddock, or Cod at least, and do they fry them in Dripping? There is an art in frying fish & chips, it isn't just a matter of throwing them in to boiling fat, the batter has to be right, along with the temperature, timing and so on. The master himself, Harry Ramsden even believed it was possible to fry a fish wrongly upside down! The humble Fish 'Oil.... long may it live!