Keeping tradition alive

Barracuda Fish Bar has changed hands several times, but the current owner is keen to keep it traditional, including continuing to fry in P100

Barracuda Fish Bar has been serving customers in Mansfield, Nottingham, since the 1950s, and when owner Theo took over three years ago, he aimed to hold onto the traditions that had made the takeaway so successful.

“It had a good reputation as a traditional fish and chip shop, so I’ve tried to stick to that,” he says. “We’re not even online yet and we don’t offer click and collect. I’ve just held on to the tradition for as long as I can.”

That philosophy runs to the menu also, which sticks to the classics. Cod, haddock and plaice sit alongside Yorkshire fishcakes, cod roe, spam fritters, saveloys and homemade sauces. There are no pizzas or fried chicken. “I think you go to a chicken shop for chicken, a fish shop for fish and chips, or a kebab shop for kebabs,” Theo explains. “We’d rather do what we do and do it well.”

The same straightforward approach applies behind the fryer. Theo continues to use P100 vegetable fat used by the previous owner, seeing it as essential to maintaining the quality customers expect. “I like the look of it, the colour of it and the way it fries,” he says. “It gives the fish good colouring, especially after it’s had a day or two in the pan, and I think it’s an all-round good fat.”

The frying medium is carefully looked after every day. The pans are filtered daily and topped up with fresh fat, helping to maintain both quality and consistency throughout the week. “I’d say we get seven to ten days out of our fat before changing it. It could probably last longer, but we’re perfectionists. Once it starts to darken, we’d rather refresh it than compromise on quality.”

For Theo, the frying medium is just as important as the fish or potatoes, adding: “It’s one of the most important things, isn’t it? We pride ourselves on quality fish and chips, but the fat needs to be good too. It needs to last, give a good finish and not break down quickly.”

Although he’s been approached by other suppliers, changing frying fat isn’t something he takes lightly. “I’ve tried one or two different ones, but it’s not really a product I like to play with. Changing your potato supplier or your fish supplier now and again is doable, but the fat is different. With costs increasing, I know some shops are tempted to reduce quality and buy cheaper, but it’s not a route I want to go down.”

Theo also values the flexibility that vegetable fat offers, adding: “It lets us cater for more people. There are quite a few shops locally that use beef dripping, but I’d rather be able to provide for everyone.”

While many things have stayed the same at the takeaway, Theo did make one significant change two years ago by switching suppliers. He now buys his P100 and other products from Derby-based wholesaler Zanfish and has been pleased with both the service and reliability. “Zanfish have been really good,” he says. “They look after us, they deliver what they say they’re going to, when they say they’re going to, and those things are all really important to us.”

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