The battle for Australia’s best fish and chips for 2019 has now been settled with Tobin Fish Tales in Townsville taking the crown.
Competition for the Australian Fish and Chips Awards saw almost 40 thousand consumers cast their votes for their favourite in the People’s Choice category. With the leaders established from that pool, judges then traversed the country tasting the people’s choices in each state and territory before settling on their final decision for this year’s winner.
Tobin’s Fish Tales, based in Townsville and run by Andrew and Renae Tobin, despite being a smaller shop, punches well above its weight and really stands out from the crowd, according to the judges.
So, what gave Tobin’s Fish Tales the edge? Their whole approach!
Starting with the basics, the fish was cooked to perfection, the chips crunchy and seasoned well. The range of seafood is local with some of it even caught by the owners. The staff are attentive and knowledgeable and provide a wealth of information to customers about the seafood they sell.
Owners of Tobin’s Fish Tales, Andrew and Renae both have PhD’s in fisheries and Andrew is a commercial fisher with over twenty years’ experience. It seems likely all that wealth of knowledge has paid off!
What the judges told us…
“Their staff were not only friendly but knowledgeable and really helpful, guiding us with suggestions for the best fish for each cooking method. They also had some of these suggestions up on their menu,” commented one of the judges (judges aka John and Jane Dory will otherwise remain anonymous).
“The fish really tasted fresh and the cooking method did not overpower the actual taste of the fish,” said another of the judges.
“Their flyers say “Tobin Fish Tale’s – every fish has a story – Tobin Fish Tales brings you first class fish & chips and fresh seafood. We are a complete chain – we catch it, we slice it, we cook it, we sell it. We are commercial fishers. Our seafood products are sustainably sourced and processed instore.” This clearly shows!
“Their food tasted great. The service and store was welcoming and friendly. And they provided choices with information on all of them.”
Peter Horvat, General Manager Communications, Trade and Marketing says “one of the driving forces behind running the Fish and Chips Awards is helping educate consumers about seafood, the industry who supply it and to help other fish and chippers improve what they do.
“The Tobin’s whole philosophy is what we hope all stores will aim to do. Obviously not everyone is going to get a PhD in fisheries science, but they can always improve on how they do things. The shop won the best fish and chips award because they got the basics right.
The Fish and Chips Awards is now in its third year. 2019 saw over 2,000 shops compete, which translates to around 40 per cent of Australia’s fish and chip operators, taking part in this competition which has been growing year on year.
STATE AND TERRITORY WINNERS
State and Territory Judges Choice Award Winners
NSW – Pelican Rocks Seafood Restaurant and Café
NT – Frying Nemo Fish and Chippery
QLD – Tobin Fish Tales (Townsville)
SA – Stunned Mullet and Fish Out of Water
TAS – Tasmanian Gourmet Seafood
VIC – The Golden Flake
WA – Ocean and Paddock
State and Territory People’s Choice Award Winners
NSW – Pelican Rocks Seafood Restaurant and Café
NT – Frying Nemo Fish and Chippery
QLD – Costa’s Seafood Cafe
SA – Dolphin Fish Shop and Take Away
TAS – Fraggles Fish and Chips
VIC – Trident Fish Bar
WA – Pinjarra Fish and Chips
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