Today is National Fish and Chip day and if there’s one harmless, divisive topic in the UK, it’s what makes a good chippy tea. According to a new study commissioned by Buzz Bingo, we all feel very strongly about our chippies
The study, which surveyed 1,000 people over 15 UK cities revealed that while most of the UK agrees on which fish to order – all areas of the UK prefer cod apart from Scotland where haddock was an outright winner. We all agreed that salt and vinegar are essential parts of a good chippy tea and all but Scotland and Northern Ireland prefer mushy peas as a side. Scots don’t like to have a “side” with their chippies and people in Northern Ireland like… baked beans. Okay.
Gravy Was Most Popular In… Northern Ireland
Perhaps the most surprising stat was that the most popular sauce in northern England was actually ketchup and not, as the longstanding stereotype suggests, gravy, which is mostly popular with people in Northern Ireland.
One in 10 Brits said that their sauce of choice was mayonnaise as opposed to the traditional tartar sauce which actually was only the preferred choice for 12% of respondents.
Also, surprisingly, the most popular side for 18-24 year old Londoners was a pickled egg with 23% of the city’s respondents naming it as their preference.
Scraps or as they’re sometimes known, bits, the small bits of leftover batter from fish also proved to be controversial with only 49% of the nation ordering them and 7% stating that they’d never even heard of them. You could say they’re not really doing bits for many Brits. Sorry.
The Ideal Chippy Tea For Every Nation
Okay, so, what is the perfect chippy tea?
In northern England, the ideal chippy tea is made up of cod, salt and vinegar, mushy peas, tomato ketchup, scraps and Coca Cola. South east England is similar but they skip the scraps. Central England is again, very similar but their choice of beverage is a cup of tea. South west England is also not very different but they have the strongest aversion to scraps of all English regions with 59% opposing scraps with their dinner.
Scotland is a little different with 44% choosing haddock, the majority chose to not have sauce with their dinner, no scraps and of course, Irn Bru as the drink of choice. We’re just built differently up here.
Wales was the only region that preferred curry sauce and perhaps, the most unique respondents were from Northern Ireland where the perfect chippy tea consists of cod, salt & vinegar, baked beans, gravy, scraps, and, uh, coffee.