A beloved Prestwich chip shop has been named amongst the UK’s best for the second year running – and its owners are absolutely overjoyed.
Prestwich chippy Chips @ No.8 was named amongst the very best in the country by 2022 Fry Magazine Awards, alongside two other Greater Manchester chippies – The Little Chippy in Tyldesley and Wigan’s The Fish at Goose Green.
And with this year’s pass mark set high at 96%, Chips @ No.8 scored an impressive 98% – with the mystery diner particularly praising the high quality, freshly cooked to order food, the friendly and professional staff and eco-friendly packaging.
In a series of ebullient social media posts, Chips @ No.8’s owner Dan Edwards shared his amazement that, out of over 10,500 chippies, his had made it into the Top 50 for two years now.
Image: Chips @ No.8
He wrote: “Wow! What a day! We’ve just found out that out of over 10,500 fish and chip shops, our little chippy down a side street in P-Town has made @frymagazine Top 50 fish and chip takeaways in the country for the 2nd year running!!!”
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Continuing in another post, he revealed that when he opened the shop four years ago he didn’t even like fish and chips, and had only fried three fish in his life.
Having sunk ‘almost everything’ he had into doing the shop up and spending the rest down the road at All The Shapes manchester on ‘breaks’, six months later he opened his doors for a moment of truth.
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How the shop looked before Dan renovated it. / Image: Chips @ No.8
How the chip shop looks now, four years and two awards later. / Image: Chips @ No.8
He called the move “a moment of madness”, and said that he had “just wanted to be my own boss” – adding “I either sank or swam… fortunately, I discovered I was incredibly bouyant.”
He’s not wrong. Locals absolutely rave about his little chip shop down a side street. And now it’s been awarded with a national gong, too.
“Two and a half years later we were listed in the UK’s best 50 chippies out of over 10,000 shops, and we have no plans to rest on our laurels,” he finished.
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In an additional comment, he told The Manc: “To have made the list two years running is an incredible achievement and the whole team can be very proud of themselves.
“We try to provide all our customers with a great all round experience every time they visit and that means we have to be continually on top of our game.
“We use only the finest, locally sourced ingredients, we fry in beef dripping and our fish is delivered fresh every day, caught in UK waters by UK fisheries. You can taste the freshness and it really makes a difference”
Image: The Little Chippy, Tyldesley
To choose the winners for this year’s Fry Magazine Awards, mystery diners sampled thousands of portions of fish and chips from shops up and down the country.
Alongside Chips @ No.8, Tyldesley’s The Little Chippy and The Fish at Goose Green in Wigan also made it into this year’s top 50 – with The Fish at Goose Green taking home the gong for the third year running.
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All takeaways and restaurants that entered will receive their mystery dining report, a winner’s poster and plaque to proudly display in their shop.
Reece Head, competition organiser, commented: “We’re so pleased to announce this year’s winners. The awards recognise and celebrate the hard work, passion and dedication that these operators put into running their businesses.
“It’s been a tough couple of years for the industry, in particular for restaurants that have had to deal with closures, but operators continued to adapt, motivate their workforce and invest in new equipment and systems that have seen them come out the other side stronger and in a better position.
“Our 50 Best Takeaway and 10 Best Restaurant winners really do represent the best in the business and they continue to showcase fish and chips as a high quality, value for money meal.”
Feature image – Chips @ No. 8
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70% of North West residents think Andy Burnham has ‘done well’ as Greater Manchester Mayor
Emily Sergeant
A new survey has revealed that 70% of North West residents think Andy Burnham has ‘done well’ in his job as Greater Manchester Mayor.
It this point, it’s hardly a secret that Andy Burnham’s run in the upcoming Makerfield by-election is about more than just becoming an MP, with expectations that – if he wins, of course – he will go on to challenge Keir Starmer for the position of Prime Minister.
But do Brits believe Burnham has what it takes for the top job? Well, YouGov has set out to answer this question with a new survey, seeing how much people think he’s succeeded in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester.
The survey found that Brits tend to believe Burnham has ‘done well’ in his current job as Mayor, with 44% of survey respondents nationwide saying so, in comparison to just 12% who’ve gained the impression he’s done poorly and a further 44% saying they are unsure.
70% of North West residents think Andy Burnham has ‘done well’ as Greater Manchester Mayor / Credit: GMCA | Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash)
Although this poll is, admittedly, not a large enough sample to examine Burnham’s reputation in Greater Manchester alone, it was discovered that an impressive 71% of those in the wider North West region think he’s done a good job, while just 14% believe the opposite.
The most interesting part about this statistic is that Burnham’s reputation as an effective Mayor appears to be spread across political parties – even somewhat conflicting one.
It includes 66% of those who voted Labour in 2024, as well as 56% of those who backed the Lib Dems and 51% of those who voted Green. Conservative voters also tend to believe Burnham has been a good Mayor, by 41% to 19%, while Reform UK voters are split 33% to 31% on his effectiveness.
Britons tend to think it's unclear what Andy Burnham stands for, even if more feel it's clear what he believes than what Keir Starmer believes
Around four in 10 Brits (39-43%) describe Burnham as being competent, likeable, and decisive, and around 27% see him as trustworthy.
Whether he is ready for a promotion to Prime Minister in the future though, now that divides the public.
According to YouGov’s findings, a third of Brits (33%) believe Burnham looks like a leader ‘in waiting’, but this is then matched by the same amount who feel he doesn’t look like a Prime Minister at present.
While the public might not be sold on Burnham as a Prime Minister just yet, what can be seen is that opinion on whether he is up to the job compare favourably to current opposition leader, Kemi Badenoch.
Featured Image – TfGM
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Transfers: Manchester United reportedly in the race for Rafael Leao as asking price is revealed
Danny Jones
In the latest transfer news coming out of Manchester, Man United are reportedly set to make the first move in an effort to sign Serie A star Rafael Leao after AC Milan are said to have ‘offered’ the wantaway winger to Premier League rivals Arsenal.
After being linked with MUFC on and off in the past, this could shape up to be a tasty tug of war if all rumours are to be believed.
But a recent interview by Leao may have pricked up ears over at Old Trafford and Carrington:
Do you think there are some hints being dropped here?…
Speaking to London-born and now Manchester-headquartered (interesting…) streetwear and jewellery brand Cernucci on their new podcast, the Portuguese international confessed to presenter Fred Buckley that he spent much of his childhood watching Man United, and still does to this day.
While he also admitted he likes Arsenal, adding even more fuel to the fire of the links with the Gunners, he also named Cristiano Ronaldo as his idol; either way, the ‘Rossoneri’ are believed to be asking for between £43-50 million for the former Sporting and Lille player.
A teammate of his with the national squad and having starred for major European sides, winning silverware – a Serie A title and Italian Super Cup, as well as a UEFA Nations League with Portugal – he’s evidently looking to try and emulate his fellow compatriots’ success moving forward.
Now 26 years old, he’s at a crucial juncture in his career, and despite being criticised for his work rate and efforts off the ball at times, not to mention blowing somewhat hot and cold in and around a fair few injury problems, the next big money move feels almost inevitable as he approaches his ‘prime’ years.
As you can see, many Milan fans have seemingly turned on him already after he made his plans to depart rather publicly, which has also seen him pop up on the radar of several other Champions League competitors this summer.
One such alternative suitor outside of English football is Galatasaray, with multiple Italian and Turkish outlets claiming that the club are the only team to be drawing up a ‘formal proposal’ thus far.
Journalist Matteo Moretto does state, however, that no official offer has been made as yet.
Georgina Pellant -
10th March 2022 
