A Chester chip shop could produce the UK’s best young fish frier for the second year running.

Jay Potts, of Fish & Chips @ Weston Grove in Upton, is one of eight semi-finalists in the Drywite Young Fish Frier of the Year category of the National Fish & Chip Awards 2027, announced on 20 October.

The title is held by James Ellams, from the same shop, who was named the winner in February.

Run by the National Federation of Fish Friers, the trade body behind them, the awards have been rewarding the industry for almost four decades, and the young frier title has been contested since 1995.

Jay is the only semi-finalist from the North West; the other seven work at shops in Haxby, Spalding, St Neots, Braunton, Anstruther, Guildford and Lincoln.

How Jay reached the semi-finals

Jay was one of 14 young friers on the shortlist published in September.

The eight then “secured a place in the third round following intensive individual interviews”, the organisers say.

Experienced entrepreneurs from across the trade tested their “technical ability, product expertise, customer service, business knowledge, wider industry understanding”, and watched them fry fish and chips.

The organisers describe the group as having “skill and poise beyond their years”.

What happens next

Judges will now visit each semi-finalist at work “to see them take on the demands of a busy service”.

They will be marked on how they prepare the fish and potatoes, how they fry, and whether they can cook “high-quality food consistently” while serving customers under pressure.

The finalists will be revealed in January.

The winner will lift the Malcolm Lee trophy as the 28th Drywite Young Fish Frier of the Year at a ceremony at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge in London on 24 February.

Kelvin Lee, managing director of sponsor Drywite, said he and his late sister Briar set up the award in memory of their father “to encourage young people to look upon fish frying as a worthwhile career rather than just a job”.

Andrew Crook, president of the federation, said: “Our semi-finalists are great ambassadors, and we wish them all the best for the next round.”

Do you get your fish and chips on Weston Grove? Tell us in the comments.