A fish and chip shop has revealed its secret for success after winning a Good Food Award.

The Village Fish and Chips in Petts Wood, owned by husband and wife duo Serena and Andy Pybus, is loved in the Orpington community and has fought against all odds to thrive since it opened 15 years ago.

The 2024 good Food Award adds to the shop being named one of the best fish and chip shops in the country by making the top 50 in the Fry Awards earlier this year. 

Serena said that consistency is the key to producing high-quality food that people love day in and day out.

She said: “Andy and I have had the shop for 15 years this year. It’s the same chefs and the same staff that have been here basically from when we had it.

“I manage the shop, and I’m in their every day behind the scenes, but with regards to face to face customers, there’s two ladies up the front that all the customers know and I think they’ve been with us ten years.

“The chefs have been with us for the full 15 years. The good food comes from consistency and them always doing the same thing week in week out.

“And people know, the chefs speak to customers as they come in.”

Back in December 2022, The Village Fish and Chips was broken into, and one of the things stolen was the tip jar.

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However, Serena said the community came together and raised the money stolen and more so that the beloved staff didn’t have to miss out.

She added that it was “a really lovely thing” and that it “gave the staff a little boost”, showing them that they build relationships with customers every day without even realising it.

It’s not just the burglary that has made things hard for this Orpington chippy over the last year.

As a result of the war between Ukraine and Russia, Serena said fish prices soared earlier in the year and it became increasingly difficult to get hold of Norwegian seafood.

Even now, the price of potatoes is up because of heavy rain, which Serena said has “turned the potatoes to mush” making them all the more expensive to get hold of.

She added: “So, there’s always a battle to try and overcome but luckily we are quite fortunate that we are a busy little shop in the heart of the community.

“We put our heads down and ride the storm and hope we will see through another turbulent time.

“We are keeping all of our staff in jobs and taking each week as it comes and we seem to be doing okay. So, we’re happy for that reason.

“There’s a lot of shops in the UK across different sectors having to close for different reasons so we’re happy that we’re still open and supplying good food.”

The chefs at this fish and chip shop make everything from scratch from the fishcakes to the tartare sauce, with fish and potatoes delivered fresh every day, a factor Serena thinks sets them apart from other chippies in the area.