On Sunday the 9th of September Isle of Ely Produce and Chippy Chat hosted the annual open day. Attended by around 60 fish and chip shop owners this even gives valuable insight into the potato supply chain, the costs farmers have to deal with and any issues that we can expect going forward.

I was pleased to be given the chance once again to do the welcome on the day and update the room on some of the projects the NFFF are working on currently.

We also had an inspirational question and answer session with Geoff Whitehead who owns this years winner of Fish and Chip Takeaway of the Year, Whitehead’s of Hornsea.

We then had a talk from Sarah Hewerd of the Real Food Cafe, talking about a gluten free initiative followed by Mike Neaverson of Neaverson Growers who gave an insite into the status of this years harvest. Oliver Boutwood of IOE also gave a detailed presentation about how he sees prices going this year.

Sarah once again returned to the stage to talk about winning the Field to Frier category at the National Fish and Chip Awards before we heard from the fabulous Victoria Braathen with details of promotional activity planned by Seafood From Norway.

In the afternoon we had the chance to visit a working farm harvesting potatoes and see some of the equipment used. This really is a fanastic event with some amazing photo opportunities for businesses to show their industry knowledge to their customers via social media. I would certainly recommend that you look to attend this event in 2024.