From counter to fryer

At just 19, Jack Spencer has spent nearly three years at Queens Drive Fish & Chips in Ossett, West Yorkshire, working his way through every role in the business. From managing busy delivery systems to reaching the final of the Drywite Young Fish Frier competition, he discusses learning the trade, embracing pressure and what might come next

I only meant to get a job to fill the gap between my GCSEs and going into sixth form. That was the plan, just something short-term. Nearly three years later, I’m still at Queens Drive, and I’ve gone from serving on the counter to running shifts and frying on a Friday night.

I started out front-of-house in the takeaway, just getting to grips with the basics. Pretty quickly, things started changing as we introduced click and collect, then deliveries not long after. A co-worker and I ended up putting a system together for how we’d wrap everything, bag it and keep it all moving. On busy nights, we’re talking 50 or 60 deliveries, so having a proper system matters.

I’ve always had that mindset of wanting to improve. I’d watch what other people were doing, listen, and try to pick things up. After a while, I moved into the restaurant side, taking orders on the tablet and serving customers. We’ve always said it’s better to be able to do everything well rather than just one thing, and that stuck with me. Now I’m at the point where I can run the restaurant and help train others.

Frying was something I wanted to get into early on. I started on chips and plating up, then moved on to fish. I’ve done a few Friday nights, but that’s a completely different level compared to a Monday or Tuesday as it’s non-stop. Orders are coming from everywhere – the restaurant, takeaway, click and collect, phones, deliveries. I’ve got two fish pans, eight fish in each, so I’m constantly thinking ahead.

Then there’s everything else going in like onion rings, mushrooms and halloumi fries. Halloumi is tricky because it looks almost identical to fish bites when you’re in the middle of a rush. On a busy Friday, keeping track of all that while maintaining quality is a real balancing act. That’s probably what I enjoy most, though. I like being pushed. I don’t like it when it’s just the same thing day in, day out.

The Drywite Young Fish Frier competition came out of nowhere really. My boss, David, just said one Friday afternoon, “you should enter this competition, I think you’d be really good at it”. It was actually the deadline day, so I just went for it, thinking it’d be a bit of fun. Then I kept progressing, and before I knew it, I was in the final five and that’s when it hit me that it was serious.

I didn’t win, but it was a great experience as it really tested what I knew. Before that, I’d been taught how to fry, but not always why things are done a certain way. The competition pushed that side of it – understanding potatoes, for example. People think a chip is just a chip, but different potato varieties need different frying temperatures and timings. That kind of knowledge is something I probably wouldn’t have picked up had it not been for the competition.

I’m 19 now and studying psychology at university, so I’m still figuring out what I want to do next. I might go into teaching, or I might stay in fish and chips. If I do stay, I’d want to be running my own shop within five years.

What’s kept me here is the team. It sounds like a cliché, but it really does feel like a family. Everyone looks out for each other and that makes a big difference when you’re working in an environment like this.