Rising fish prices have pushed Fiddlers Elbow to get creative – introducing alternative species like saithe, hake and hoki, while also expanding their menu with chicken dishes and loaded chips
Fish prices are going up every single week – we’re now hitting over the £300 mark per case for cod. With cod quotas being reduced, that’s pushed haddock prices up too. In fact, haddock’s been going up by nearly 10% each week, and just last week it jumped £30 a case. It’s having a knock-on effect across other species, and it’s getting harder to keep those prices in check for customers.
In response to this, we’ve been trying to get a bit creative. We’ve put alternatives like hoki and saithe on the menu and offered little tasting pieces to tempt people into trying something new. Hake’s actually been quite a success for us. We’ve got that on now at £7 – compared to cod at £9.80 – and we are still making a 65% gross profit. That’s a big difference! We’re starting to buy more and more cases of hake, which is encouraging.
Still, for some customers, it’s cod or nothing and they are accepting of the prices we are charging. The National Federation of Fish Friers did a fantastic poster explaining the challenges we’re facing, and we’ve put that up in the shop. A lot of people stop and read it, and they do seem to understand. But there’s always going to be a few who will only order if cod’s on the menu. Others are beginning to try new things – slowly but surely. We just want to make sure we have something for everyone so that we don’t lose customers.
We’ve also noticed people who used to come weekly are now popping in fortnightly and when they do come in they are buying a lot more chicken and sausages. Everyone’s pockets are a bit pinched at the moment and I think that will be the case for at least another year maybe even two years. So we are putting on more chicken dishes, different sausage options, and even vegetarian choices. We’ve started offering loaded chips – with shredded chicken, cheese, spring onions, and sriracha mayo – and they are selling well. We’ve also added a lunch box meal. It’s about offering value and variety, especially for those who might not be able to afford cod every time. We’re constantly looking at the menu to see what we can change to help everybody’s pockets and keep customers coming in while also making a profit ourselves.
VAT is another constant challenge. We’d love to see it come down to 10%, but even if that’s wishful thinking, what would help is a level playing field so that all shops paying it. We’ve put up a poster in the shop explaining VAT to our customers and how it’s added to our prices because a lot of customers just don’t realise we have to charge it.
But despite the challenges, we’re still really proud of what we serve and we continue to remind customers what a brilliant product fish and chips is. Easter reminded us how strong the tradition is – queues out the door! With VE Day and National Fish and Chip Day around the corner, it’s a great time to put fish and chips on the map and keep it at the forefront of people’s minds. We’d rather focus on the positives – quality, sustainability, value for money – than dwell too much on the rising prices.
