We were in the news again at the weekend. A story broke on Friday when I was contacted to do an interview about the potato shortage we are facing this year.
As soon as the story went live on the FT website we were contacted by the Daily Mail, Andrew had to do an interview with them whilst frying on Friday tea time… who says blokes cant multitask!
The Following morning Sky News called to ask if the could come to do an interview. As it is so important we get the message out about the crisis chip shops could be facing we had to take part.
The ‘Beast From the East’ caused late planting which was followed by that amazing warm long period and then the late rain then caused more problems. The result is that the yield per acre is down on unirrigated fields, and irrigating fields has pushed the costs up on those farms.
The high potato price hat we are already experiencing is just the start and I have never seen this situation in the 19 years I have been trading. 1976 was the last year we had something similar.
To further compound this fish is also commanding a very high price, doubling since 2011 and currently the most expensive it has ever been.
This situation does highlight the value of food and we are advising people to offer greater choice to consumers, by giving lighter menu options, at a price to match we can reduce the amount of food wasted by over portioning and still keep the Nations favourite meal at a reasonable price.
You can read the story in the Express here
I have been in fish and chips for 21 years and currently hold the position on President of the National Federation of Fish Friers