Man claims we've all been eating fish and chips wrong the whole time

A chippy tea is a staple scran for Brits - whether your munching it on your laps in the car after a long day or walking through the door with armfuls of battered goodness, there's just nothing like it.

Mind you, we all have our own ways of doing it.

Some like to lash on the salt and vinegar, others prefer to get their grub smothered in gravy, and a few opt to skip on the customary mountain of mushy peas. Which is madness, but that's another story.

But whatever items you might substitute or swap, it's safe to say we all know how to eat fish and chips correctly after all these years. Or do we?

A bloke has claimed that Brits have been scoffing down on the beloved cuisine all wrong, while leaving people pretty confused about his reasoning behind it.

Chippy-gate all started when food critic and former I'm A Celeb star Grace Dent shared a review of the Angel Lane Chippie in Penrith, Cumbria.

The Guardian columnist said the takeaway was a 'shining example of British brilliance' which took her straight back to the 70s - in the best way, of course.

She was particularly excited by the chip shop's authenticity and its refusal to succumb to peer pressure and modernise - as she reckons 'everything was better in the olden days'.

Dent said the same thought crosses her mind every time she sizes up a cod to devour from Angel Lane - before adding: "Which is always curly, firm-fleshed and clogged with extra globs of thick batter."

Getty stock image

Her review, shared in January 2020, went down a treat with food lovers on the hunt for a new spot to dine at.

But not everyone was too impressed with her description of the staple UK meal.

One bloke who read her complimentary critique of the chippy wasn't too pleased with the restaurant serving up their fish with 'extra globs of thick batter'.

He fumed: "The batter is there to protect the fish during frying, you peel it off, throw it away, then eat the fish! If you bake a fish (or indeed a vegetable) in a salt crust, do you eat that too?"

Sorry, pardon me?

He strips the fish of the crunchy golden layer on the outside and chucks it in the bin? That's surely a criminal offence in the eyes of avid chippy eaters - as the batter is the best bit for most people.

Dent herself was just as dazed by the man's admission and confessed that his response had 'kept her awake'.

She said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, at the time: "This week's Guardian column is about a northern chip shop. This comment has kept me awake. I. I just. What."

Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images

The established foodie was left questioning if 'we are the wrong ones' after being stunned by the conviction in the man's bold statement, while pointing out that he must have used this bizarre method 'all his life - every time'.

"I got up at 6am as it was following me in my dreams," she added.

Social media users were just as surprised by the lad's strange suggestion and shared their thoughts online.

Location, Location, Location star Kirstie Allsopp joked: "If you throw away the batter what do you feed the children?"

Another said: "Throw it away?! Imagine being this man’s dog – the sights you must see, the opportunities you must miss."

A third added: "Oh my god. I'm glad I was sitting down."

A fourth wrote: "Have him nicked. ASAP."

And a fifth added: "Faulty logic, just because a thing serves one purpose does not mean it can't serve another...also, batter is the best bit!"

Be careful who your polishing off a chippy tea with people.

Topics: Food And Drink, UK News, Weird, Celebrity

Olivia Burke

Olivia is a journalist at LADbible Group with more than five years of experience and has worked for a number of top publishers, including News UK. She also enjoys writing food reviews (as well as the eating part). She is a stereotypical reality TV addict, but still finds time for a serious documentary.

@livburke_