Robert Hawes, owner of Jolly Friar in Alford, Lincolnshire, recently welcomed Frymax Ambassador and renowned fish frier Des Anastasiou, owner of Burton Road Chippy, for a day of advice, shared knowledge and inspiration.
The visit was a prize from a competition run by Frymax, Fry to the Max, designed to connect shop owners with experienced ambassadors for support.
Rob, who has worked at the takeaway for 25 years and owned it with his wife for the past four, was delighted with the opportunity. “Every day is a school day for me,” he said. “If I’ve got an opportunity to learn, I’m going to take it. I’ve been doing this for over 25 years, but Des has been doing it even longer and has a lot of knowledge and information that he was able to pass on to me.”
Jolly Friar is firmly rooted in the Alford village community, with 80% of its trade coming from regulars. “You could set your watch by them,” said Rob. A traditional chip shop through and through, Rob has relied on Frymax for 25 years due to its consistent quality. “The quality of the products we use is emphasised by the oil we use,” Rob explained. “If you use good oil and good products, you’ve got a chance of doing all right. The core of our shop is having a great oil, so it’s Frymax all the way for us!”
The pair covered a wide range of topics around running a successful fish and chip shop, including the rising cost of fish, effective oil management, and the potential benefits of offering a delivery service. The latter was quickly ruled out by Rob, who admitted he’s already at full stretch managing demand on his three pan range. That naturally led to a discussion about range efficiency, something that did catch Rob’s attention. “Des has got a modern range, and we’ve got an old one, so it was interesting to talk about the new efficient ranges, and it’s something I might explore,” said Rob.
The visit also validated Rob’s existing practices. “We’ve got a system that we use for oil management, which we’ve always used. Des echoed it and said it was the way he’d do it if he were in a shop of this size. He seemed to think I’d got everything nailed and that we operate very efficiently, which is encouraging.”
Reflecting on the day, Rob summed it up simply: “It reinforced that what we’re doing is the right thing in our situation. But it’s good to be open, as there’s always something to learn. The moment you think you know it all – it’s not good.”
On sharing his expertise with Rob, Frymax Ambassador Des Anastasiou said: “Rob is an excellent operator with his own systems in place that work well for him. The shop itself is very small, but incredibly well organised and efficient. The name Jolly Friar definitely suits Rob as customers were coming in and he was always laughing and joking with them!”
Frymax www.frymax.co.uk
