STARGAZY Fish Bar in Tetbury has been named as one of the UK's top 10 fish and chip shops as part of the 2017 National Fish & Chip Awards.

Stargazy Fish Bar will now fry for glory in the race for the Best Newcomer Award.

It will be contending against Quays Fish and Chips in Lancaster, Lancashire; The Mayfair Chippy in Mayfair, London; Eric's Fish and Chips in Thornham, Norfolk; Edwards Plaice in Hereford, Herefordshire; Longsands Fish Kitchen in Tynemouth, Tyne and Wear; MyChippy.com in Enfield, Middlesex; Catch Seafood in Halifax, West Yorkshire; Frydayz Fish Bar in Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, and North Beach Fish and Chips in Bridlington, East Yorkshire.

To get to this stage in the competition, businesses have been judged across criteria including innovative approaches to running a new fish and chip shop, promotional activity undertaken and approaches to sustainable and responsible sourcing of fish and other ingredients.

Over the coming weeks, the Tetbury fish and chip shop will be subjected to mystery shopping assessments by industry experts, evaluating product quality and customer service levels.

Three finalists will then go on to compete for the award at the 2017 awards ceremony.

Marcus Coleman, chief executive at Seafish, the awards organiser, said: “Being shortlisted in this award is a fantastic achievement for newly opened fish and chip businesses. It demonstrates their incredible talent, dedication and commitment to thrive; traits that are to be applauded.

“I’d like to offer up my congratulations to the shortlisted shops and wish them the best as they prepare to continue their quest towards becoming one of our finalists. I also want to thank them for upholding our high industry standards and helping us to reinforce the UK’s reputation as the home of the world’s best fish and chips.”

Sponsored by Frymax, the Best Newcomer Award is open to independent fish and chip businesses that have been operating no earlier than October 1, 2014 and recognises those that are excelling in upholding the high standards of fish and chip the trade.

Cyril Solomons, Marketing Consultant for Frymax commented: “Frymax are pleased to once again sponsor the Best Newcomer Award which recognises the excellence of new friers joining our industry.

"All the entries showed great passion and commitment to our trade, and there were some great innovative ideas which bode well for the future of the fish and chip trade. It has been a pleasure to witness such high quality entries and I wish our semi-finalists all the best for the next stage of judging.”

Culminating in an awards ceremony in London on January 26 next year, the National Fish & Chip Awards are recognised as one of the most prominent and respected seafood industry events in the UK. There are 13 different award categories.

For further information, visit www.fishandchipawards.com or follow @FishnChipAwards on Twitter.