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Green chips? This chef is on to a good thing
By Amar Singh, Evening Standard 04.02.08
Fry this: Tom Aikens has reinvented the traditional British chippie, making sure the food is both ethical and sustainable
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A Michelin-starred chef will today attempt to reinvent the traditional chippie - but one that is kind to the environment.
Tom Aikens's latest venture, an environmentally sustainable fish and chip shop, opens this evening off King's Road in Chelsea.
The fish is sourced from small businesses, the potatoes are organic, the chairs are made of recycled plastic and Aikens has done away with traditional menus to save paper.
Diners at Tom's Place can choose cod and chips for £12.50, or a chip buttie for £3.50, knowing they are doing their bit for the environment.
The 37-year-old restaurateur said he had spent months on research to make sure the food he serves is both ethical and sustainable.
"We know exactly where all the fish comes from," he said.
"You can track our cod all the way from the Pacific to the suppliers and the processes it's gone through to get to your plate.
"It's about getting a better deal for the small fishermen and promoting eco-friendly practices as well as educating-people. I would say 95 per cent of London's chefs don't know where their food comes from."
A film on how the fishing industry works has been made by Aikens and will be played at the restaurant.
The green theme extends to the chips - cut from Maris Piper potatoes sourced from a farm in Lincolnshire. The takeaway boxes are made from recycled cardboard and the cutlery is bio-degradable.
Aikens, who became the youngest British chef to be awarded two Michelin stars in the mid-Nineties, said: "This is not a gimmick. In five to 10 years it will be a given that when a person goes to a restaurant he will expect the chef to be sourcing products ethically. Once we have had this up and running for a few months we may look at doing some more."
Richard Harden, co founder of Harden's Restaurant Guide, said: "There is clearly a back-to-basics trend for good British fare such as fish and chips. There is also no doubt that the more educated end of the market do care about issues such as sustainability. A prominent chef showing explicit concern for eco consideration can only be a good thing."
HARDEN'S 10 BEST CHIPPIES
Ark Fish, Hermon Hill E18, £12.65
Brady's, Old York Road SW18, £9.50
Fish Club, St John's Hill SW11, £8.45
Geales, Farmer Street W8, £11
Olley's, Norwood Road SE24, £13.75
The Sea Cow (branches in N16, SE22, SW4), £8
Faulkner's, Kingsland Road E8, £10.50
Golden Hind, Marylebone Lane W1, £8.40
Toff's, Muswell Hill Broadway N10, £9.95
Two Brothers, Regents Park Road N3, £10.75
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Has anyone else noticed how more and more 'celebrity' chefs are turning to our nation's favourite dish, the humble fish supper, to attract new customers? As for the 'new' sustainability and eco-friendly issues - our favourite chippy in Anstruther in Fife has been informing their customers for years now where their fish was sourced and also have plasma screens showing the fish being caught - nothing new there then!
- Bill, Edinburgh Scotland
This is the way forwards for an industry able to supply fresh food free from additives caught with traditional methods.
- Laurence Hartwell, Penzance UK
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