Is this the best fish and chips shop in the country?

Tobin Fish Tales in Townsville has won the title of Australia’s best fish and chips for 2019 in the Australian Fish and Chips Award. The award saw almost 40,000 consumers cast their votes for their favourite fish and chips in the People’s Choice category. Once the leaders had been chosen from that category, judges travelled across the country tasting the people’s choices in each state before determining this year’s winner.

Tobin Fish Tales provides a range of local seafood, with some of it even caught by the owners, Andrew and Renae Tobin. The staff are attentive and knowledgeable, providing information to customers about the seafood they sell. The owners both have PhDs in fisheries science, which allows them to guide customers with suggestions for the best fish for each cooking method.

“The fish really tasted fresh and the cooking method did not overpower the actual taste of the fish,” said one of the judges.

The primary purpose of the Fish and Chips Awards is to help educate consumers about seafood and the industry that supplies it, and to help other fish and chippers improve what they 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,” said Peter Horvat, General Manager Communications, Trade and Marketing.

The awards are now in their third year, with over 2000 shops competing in 2019, translating to around 40% of Australia’s fish and chips operators partaking in the competition.