Fish loving Victorians will rejoice to the news that Australia’s best fish and chips shop, according to a country-wide competition, is right at their doorstep.

The Golden Flake at the coastal township of St Leonards, near Geelong, won the top gong at the 2019 National Fish and Chips awards, and yes you guessed right… the owner is Greek.

Theo Tsavaris has operated the shop for the last 6 years, but is not a newbie in the industry, having also received recognition in 2009 for a previous business he ran on the Bellarine peninsula.

Organised by the Fisheries Research Development Corporation (FRDC), the annual competition is coordinated in partnership with the state and territory fishing industry councils and includes two award categories.

People’s Choice State Award gives consumers the opportunity to vote for their local favourite, while for the top accolade, National Fish and Chips Award, an FRDC appointed panel ranks the top shops from each state and territory, with judges then deciding on the national winner.

Fish and chips are rated against a set of five criteria: taste, service, choice (menu diversity), information (origin labelling, source and quality) and presentation.

Not a surprise given the shop’s name, golden crispy flake is said to be Theo’s speciality.

But if you ask him, the key to success is sourcing fresh ingredients, which he says has become harder for owners over the years.

“I like to think we do a good job […] Everything goes. We have the fresh whiting, fresh flake, fresh scallops, fresh flathead tails and all these thing make people happy.”

Congratulations Theo and team!

Neos Kosmos

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