Fish and chips the play makes its stage debut

Britain's love of fish and chips is so great that a play has been written about it.

One of Each is a tale of storms at sea, saucy secrets and sibling rivalry centred around two fish and chip shops who are battling to win the coveted title of "Golden Fish Fork". (BBC News)

Fish and chips is a hot dish of English origin, consisting of battered fish, commonly Atlantic cod or haddock, and deep-fried chips. It is a common take-away food.

Fish and chips became a stock meal among the working classes in England as a consequence of the rapid development of trawl fishing in the North Sea, and the development of railways which connected the ports to major industrial cities during the second half of the 19th century, which meant that fresh fish could be rapidly transported to the heavily populated areas. Deep-fried fish was first introduced into Britain during the 16th century by Jewish refugees from Portugal and Spain, and is derived from pescado frito. In 1860, the first fish and chip shop was opened in London by Joseph Malin.

Deep-fried chips (slices or pieces of potato) as a dish may have first appeared in Britain in about the same period: the Oxford English Dictionary notes as its earliest usage of "chips" in this sense the mention in Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities(published in 1859): "Husky chips of potatoes, fried with some reluctant drops of oil".

A blue plaque marking the first chip shop in Britain, in Oldham

The modern fish-and-chip shop ("chippy" or "chipper" in modern British slang) originated in the United Kingdom, although outlets selling fried food occurred commonly throughout Europe. Early fish-and-chip shops had only very basic facilities. Usually these consisted principally of a large cauldron of cooking fat, heated by a coal fire. During World War II fish and chips remained one of the few foods in the United Kingdom not subject to rationing.

In the United Kingdom the Fish Labelling Regulations 2003 and in Ireland the European Communities (Labelling of Fishery and Aquaculture Products) Regulations 2003  respectively enact directive 2065/2001/EC, and generally mean that "fish" must be sold with the particular commercial name or species named; so "cod and chips" now appears on menus rather than the more vague "fish and chips". In the United Kingdom the Food Standards Agency guidance excludes caterers from this. but several local Trading Standards authorities and others do say it cannot be sold merely as "fish and chips". (in Wikipedia)