Taylors Fish and Chips – Where are they now?

Image looking into Taylor's Fish and Chip Shop

Our fantastic customers at Taylors have won multiple awards ranging from the South Wales Echo Food & Drink Awards to the Welsh Regional Winners of the National Fish and Chip Awards 2007/08 and a Finalist in the British Awards, since winning they haven’t entered any further awards, they now like to spend time concentrating on their food and business developments.

Our fantastic customer Taylors Fish and Chips, have valuable experience in the industry and we wanted to chat with them to find out more.

Taylors have an island range with 3 High-Efficiency Pans, Active Triple Filtration, a chip box, scrap box,  tube downlighting, bain maries & cup dispensers.

What inspired you to first open a Fish & Chip shop?

I have always been in the food trade and 17 years ago I was running a pub-120 seater restaurant when a regular of the pub who happened to be a retired fryer suggested that I should open a fish and chip shop, I already owned a shop which was an empty bakery so I converted that shop into a fish and chip shop that year, that’s why and when it started.

You’ve got an impressive history in the food trade, has running the fish & chip shop been the best part for you, if so why?

Yes, it has been, I believe its down to the constant changes we have to make, the world is constantly changing from customers lifestyles and demands, and the environmental change and we must constantly change to keep up with it.

What’s your favourite part of the job?

My favourite part is developing new ideas and products, last year we started to make all our own pastries from all steak pies, minced beef and onion pies, chicken pies and homemade corned beef pasties. This month we started producing our own rissoles and fish cakes.

What’s your least favourite part of the job?

Honestly, I don’t have one but if it were to be any it would be hearing a customer complain about our product, thankfully that is rare.

Describe your shop in 3 words.

FAMILY RUN BUSINESS

What made you choose Florigo?

When I refurbished the shop, I decided that I should change the frying range, so I researched ranges and range companies, I had several companies involved but everything from design, quality and advice, Florigo came out on top. They weren’t the cheapest but with the savings on oil and energy consumption the range has paid for itself.

How does frying on a Florigo differ from equipment you’ve used in the past?

It differs significantly, my old range was a standard 3 pan range and was to slow to keep up with demand, now with the high efficiency basket fry range and computerised timers and temperature controls it’s so easy and so fast with a consistent product every time, since the installation trade has increased by 10/15% and it’s down to the speed of the frying and no lengthy waiting times.

What other items do you fry on your Florigo? Do you have anything special on the menu?

We don’t fry anything out of the normal, but we do various items such as chicken wraps, fish and chip wraps, scampi wraps and a wide range of homemade products.

Can you tell us a bit more about you and your day to day life?

I am 53 years of age, been in business with my wife Tracy for the past 35 years, we have a son Mitchell who has been in the business from day one at the age of 14 and is now a big part of the business and runs day to day things, we have a daughter Carly who works in the business but doesn’t want any responsibility. I have been in university for the past 2 years studying the beautiful Spanish language and have a holiday home in Spain where these days Tracy and I spend a lot of time.

What advice would you give to someone thinking of starting up in the Fish & Chip industry?

Think hard about it and be prepared for hard work, the industry is getting tougher with great competition from the big food chains and eateries opening everywhere and the constant rising costs of ingredients and energy, I believe only the best will survive and don’t forget you are only as good as your last meal.

What do you see for the future of Taylors Fish and Chips?

I see a great future for Taylors while some are closing down we are increasing we have bought a second shop which was actually one of our competitors and Mitchell has two young sons and knowing him, they will soon be in the business, so who knows we may be looking for the third shop.