Whether she’s working alongside her team at Millers Fish & Chips in Haxby, York, or chatting with customers at the counter, 21-year-old Abby Barker is passionate about helping others understand where their food comes from
Since making the final four in the Drywite Young Fish Frier of the Year competition earlier this year, life has been moving fast for me. I’ve just been promoted to a new role as back-of-house manager and I’m also coming to the end of my Level 3 Production Chef apprenticeship. But beyond all the excitement, one thing has become increasingly important to me – helping people understand where their food comes from.
I’ve always had an interest in food provenance. Growing up with a farming background meant I saw food at its source – whether potatoes coming from the field or livestock raised on the land. That early exposure has given me a greater understanding of the effort it takes to grow the ingredients we use every day. It’s not just about cooking it right – it’s about understanding what goes into growing and producing it too.
During my training at Millers, we learned how to test the sugar content and dry matter of potatoes to make the perfect chip, but because I already had experience handling potatoes on farms, I understood many of these processes. It made me realise I could bring my knowledge to the rest of the team – and our customers so that everyone can understand the food on their plate better.
At Millers, we put a lot of effort into educating our customers. We’re proud to be Marine Stewardship Council certified, so we can trace our fish right back to the boat it came from. When our potato variety changes – like our current switch to Agria from Ramos – we explain why the chips might look different. We’ll say to the customers it’s because the sugar content is higher that they are looking a bit darker than last week. Educating the customer really does help them understand the changes we make and why we make them.
It also helps when we have to put our prices up if the customer sees the bigger picture. Rather than just telling customers our costs have gone up, we can explain that everything from the very beginning of the process – the rent for land to grow the potatoes, the nitrogen that goes into growing them – has all gone up and that impacts every stage of the food journey. The more we talk about where our food comes from, the more customers understand why prices have increased, and why it’s worth paying for quality, traceable ingredients.
This year, I’m focused on developing in my new role – managing a bigger team for one, but also looking at different sides to the business such as working with our products in better ways, reducing waste, creating specials and helping to bring in trade. I’m also going to enter the Drywite Young Fish Frier competition again. When I entered the competition this year, I’d only been in the industry for just over a year, so I didn’t really know what to expect. Now that I’ve had my feedback, I know what I need to work on. With my new role giving me the chance to learn even more, I’m feeling much more confident going into it again a second time.
