Unsung Hero: Dino  Anastasiou, Burton Road Chippy, Lincoln, Lincolnshire

Job title: Fryer

Age: 39

Nominated by owner Des Anastasiou, who says: “Dino quietly goes about the day-to-day running of the business. He can always be relied upon to deal with anything that may arise. He’s a firm favourite with both the customers and the rest of the team and a real asset to the business.”

How long have you worked at Burton Road Chippy?

A lifetime! I started helping my dad with dishwashing at weekends around the age of 14 and have carried on working in fish and chips ever since.

What are your responsibilities?

My responsibilities include, but aren’t limited to, frying, food prep, customer service, cleaning, basically anything you can think of in our business, I will take care of! That’s one of the great things about working in our industry, it always brings new challenges and every day is different.

What’s your favourite part of the job?

There are a few! Firstly, it’s family. To me, it’s the link to my past, it’s what I’ve grown up with and always known. I’m a third-generation frier, and many of my earliest memories are of being in a chippy. When I was a child, my grandad would take me with him to work at his chippy in Leicester. Things were very different then, health and safety was certainly a lot more relaxed!

I love interacting with our customers, too and all the banter that comes with that. You get to learn a lot by simply talking to people. I enjoy meeting and talking to people in our industry; there is always something to learn. And, finally, there’s nothing more satisfying than hearing how much our customers love our fish and chips and seeing how all our hard work comes together.

What’s your least favourite part of the job?

If we do not meet our customers’ expectations when they visit us. Obviously, customers have a right to expect good quality, well-cooked fish and chips with great customer service, which every shop tries to achieve every time. Unfortunately, not every customer feels that they receive this, and it can be quite disheartening. I focus on the positive feedback we get and the good reviews. When the good outweighs the bad, we must be doing something right.

What is it you like about working at Burton Road Chippy?

We have a wonderful team full of very different characters that each bring something different to our business, and I enjoy working with every single one of them. 

How do you feel about being nominated as an Unsung Hero?

It’s nice to be recognised in this way. I always just try to do my job to the best of my ability and make sure we have a happy team and many more happy customers. I know there are hundreds and hundreds of other people up and down the country who are doing an amazing job, and each and every one deserves a big shout-out!