Porthcawl chippy is a P100 champion 

Rest Bay Fish Bar in the seaside resort of Rest Bay, Porthcawl, has won 10 boxes of P100 premium frying fat.

Owner Tony Newey, at the helm for just two and a half years, was elated by the generous prize, put up by P100 and valued at over £200.

“It’s wonderful, news. I won £9.30 on the lottery last week, it must be my lucky week!” he said.

“Ten boxes is roughly two weeks’ worth of oil for me, which is a great help as it’s not the easiest of times at the moment.”

Tony, a chef before getting into fish and chips, bought Rest Bay Fish Bar a month before the war in Ukraine sent ingredient and utility prices shooting up.

“It wasn’t the best time to get started but I try and do my best, add different things to the menu and offer my customers value for money,” says Tony.

Since taking over the takeaway, Tony has extended the menu, adding homemade fishcakes in a range of flavours such as sweet chilli, cod and chorizo, and prawns and cod, and bought a flat-top grill to offer burgers. He’s also added meal deals and a specials board, the latter allowing him to utilise his chef skills and delight customers with new and innovative dishes. 

“If I see something I like the sound of, I’ll make it, add it to the specials board and if it sells it sells and I put it on the main menu.” 

Tony believes it’s this choice that sets his takeaway apart from others, adding: “The amount of items we’ve got on offer is more than most chip shops do, so it’s not just fish, chips, pies and sausages. We do cod, haddock and hake, fish platters and burgers. I’ve got a separate fryer for gluten free sausages, nuggets and scampi, and, come the summer when it gets busier, I’m looking at offering gluten free fish and chips too.”

With oil a key component of running a successful shop, Tony ensures he takes good care of his, filtering every day, cascading from the chip pan to the fish pan, and changing it when needed. 

“After fish and potatoes oil is the next important factor, you need it to last as it’s a big cost to the business,” he says.

“I’ve never tried P100 but it will be interesting to as it’s always good to try something new.”