Cod is off the menu at a Manchester fish and chip shop, with coley taking its place.
Chips @ No.8 in Prestwich made the switch yesterday due to the soaring cost of fresh cod, which owner Dan Edwards says has now become unsustainable for the business.
“The price of cod has been creeping up recently, but last week we had a delivery, and when I looked at the invoice, it had jumped from £16.50 to £18.50 a kilo,” he says. “When I phoned the supplier, he confirmed that the price was going to hold for the week and could go up even further next week. At that price, we’d have to increase our menu price by up to £2 per portion, which didn’t feel right for our customers.”
This would have taken a portion of cod from £7.20 to £9.20. With haddock its best-seller, Dan decided to drop cod and try coley instead, a fish historically overlooked in the UK. After receiving samples and seeing how it cuts, checking the yield and test frying, the decision was taken to add coley to the menu.
“We’ve tried coley before, but it didn’t work because we had no story behind it. This time, we took the jump, tested the product, and we thought it was a great fish. It fries really well and is very suited to fish and chips. The feedback has been really positive and we’ve already had a couple of messages from customers who tried it last night and said it was as good as the cod.”
To encourage customers to embrace the change, Chips @ No.8 has priced coley at £6.60 for a 6.5oz portion, which allows for a gross profit margin of 72%. “We thought those days were gone, but this price point makes it viable,” adds Dan. “We’ll monitor how it goes and tweak the price if needed.”
Dan admits he has sold fewer coley portions than he would have cod, with more customers making the switch to haddock instead. However, he is confident that consumer perceptions will change, adding: “Oxtail and lamb shank were once considered low-value cuts, and now look at the prices they command. It might take a little bit of time, but I think we’ll get there.”
The move doesn’t spell the end of cod for good at Chips @ No.8. Dan acknowledges that some customers will only eat cod so he is considering bringing it back in limited amounts each week. “There are people for who it’s cod or nothing and, as we are in an affluent area, we may get a finite amount each week, and have it on at a much higher price so that we are making profit on it.”
The concern now is that as cod prices continue to rise, more shops will switch to haddock, potentially driving its price up as well.
“We have to prepare for that,” says Dan. “People have accepted price increases on most things, but there is still a perception that fish and chips should be cheap, like it was in the ’90s. The reality is, it’s a high quality meal made with premium ingredients, and the industry needs to shift perceptions. People will pay £12 for a pizza that costs £1.50 to make and we’ve got an alternative here that is a great source of protein, that uses great ingredients and makes a great meal.”
