NATIONAL FISH AND CHIP AWARDS CROWNS STOCKPORT PROFESSIONAL AS EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR

National Fish and Chip Awards crowns Stockport professional as Employee of the Year. Taylors in Stockport, Greater Manchester is celebrating after its team member Jamie Toland received the first-ever Employee of the Year trophy at the National Fish and Chip Awards.

The new category saw applications from top chip shop talent, with tough judging rounds seeing the shortlist of 10 whittled down to four phenomenal finalists. Fish and chip industry specialists scored the hopefuls against criteria such as teamwork, effective contributions made within the business and how they’ve exceeded their duty for the benefit of the local community.

Industry guests and the media were invited to vote for the winner live at the awards ceremony on 28 February at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge in London. Jamie was awarded the grand prize after a close battle with the other brilliant competitors.

The award – sponsored by food producer Premier Foods – aims to encourage individuals to push their abilities and reward excellence in the industry.

Awards organiser and President of the National Federation of Fish Friers, Andrew Crook says:

“All the finalists were worthy winners but what a fantastic moment for Jamie from Taylors! The Employee of the Year award is a token of appreciation from the industry and we’re proud to have such a hardworking and dedicated individual in our midst. We’re sure the community which Jamie serves will be overjoyed, too.”

Sarah Robb, foodservice marketing manager at Premier Foods, adds:

“Premier Foods Foodservice is proud to support Jamie as this year’s Employee of the Year winner at the National Fish and Chip Awards. His hard work and dedication really impressed all of us and we’re excited to see what the future holds for him.

“Big congratulations to all other finalists too, for their exceptional work; the competition in this category was particularly fierce!”

Jamie has been invited to visit Norway in June for a once in a lifetime experience with Seafood from Norway.

The two-day study trip will take fish and chip shop teams on an unforgettable exploration of the Norwegian fishing industry, experiencing the cold, clear waters aboard the state-of-the-art longliner and Danish seine vessel, Østerfjord, to learn more about environmental and sustainable practices that ensure UK fish and chip shops are supplied with the freshest, highest quality produce.

They will also meet leading industry authorities and stakeholders to find out how fish stocks are sustained, as well as learning about the ocean-to-plate journey of frozen at sea white fish.

For more information and bits on the National Fish and Chip Awards, please visit: www.thefishandchipawards.com.