Sarson’s will be sloshing onto the shores of Barry Island this bank holiday weekend, giving away free chips in a bid to protect Wales’ much-loved national dish, fish and chips.
On a bustling summer’s day, there’s no better place to be than Barry – enjoying a crispy bite of freshly battered fish doused in vinegar, served with a portion of golden fries – and this weekend the activity will be top of the agenda for hundreds of locals and visitors seeking some bank holiday sunshine.
Whilst the dish makes for a big part of Welsh culture, today, chip shops along the coast are struggling to keep up with rising operational costs, with many being forced to shut their doors after being passed down from generation to generation.
Sarson’s together with the National Federation of Fish Friers has identified that by visiting your local chippy just twice more per year, the nation could help stem the tide of chippie closures in just 12 months – and they’ve created an extra saucy incentive to get Barry backing their local.
On the 25th August, Sarson’s will be popping up at Barry’s famous chippie, Fryer Tuck, handing out free chips between 12pm and 2pm. To help save your chippie, all you need to do is turn up, support your local and claim your fresh chips.
There’ll be more chances to get your Friday night chippy tea for free throughout the year as Sarson’s have pledged to give away one tonne of free fish and chips across the country. That’s 50 meals to be claimed every week, all year long. So far this year, Sarson’s have given away around 1,000 portions of fish and chips to vinegar fans nationwide.
To get involved all you need to do is slosh some Sarson’s generously on your favourite chippy dish, snap a picture of your meal with a Sarson’s bottle and upload it alongside your receipt to www.sarsonsfryday.co.uk.
Chris Christou, owner of much-loved Barry chippy Fryer Tuck, said: “The fish and chip industry has survived countless challenges over the last decade, but these last few years have been extremely hard from an operational perspective.
It’s alarming to see the industry in such decline and initiatives like Sarson’s Fryday really shine a light on the challenges myself and other operators across Barry, and across the country are facing.
As a proud third-generation fish and chip shop owner, I am delighted to be taking part in the Sarson’s Fryday campaign and look forward to giving back to the community and welcoming customers old and new to join Sarson’s Fryday at Fryer Tuck”.
Katy Holder, Brand Manager, Mizkan Euro adds; “Now in its second year, Sarson’s Fryday has one aim; to support the Fish & Chip shop industry during unequivocally challenging operational conditions – a result of which has seen many operators having to shut their doors and switch off their fryers in droves.
So far, we’ve reimbursed hundreds of free meals to households who are feeling the pinch themselves, whilst putting money directly into the tills of the hard-working Chippy operators who keep this iconic British culinary institution alive.
This summer, we plan to go one step further, by giving away one tonne of free chips to the nation. From Barry, to Blackpool, Newquay to Newcastle, however Brits plan to slosh on the Sarson’s, we urge them to visit their local chippy…with the added incentive that their chippy tea, might just be free! Together we can batter this crisis, one chip at a time”.
