My wonderful husband patiently supported most of my ideas except one!
While working for Haven Holidays in France many of the English said to me how much they missed fish and chips! I thought that we should buy a motor-home and have it converted to a fish and chip bar! We could get permission to park it on a local beach because I taught Monsieur le Maire’s son to speak English. We knew a retired chef who I felt sure I could persuade to run the bar. There would be no problem about causing litter on the beach because we would have used frizbees as plates. The children would have enjoyed playing with them, and if handed back, their deposit would be refunded. No cutlery, just packs of wipes for hands and frizbees! Finger-licking picnic food.
Guess what I’ve heard today? An Englishman has opened a fish and chip takeaway on the bank of the Canal of St Martin. People are coming to it from all over Paris and he serves an average of 150 people each day. My idea would have worked, and we could have had a chain of such bars all down the coast of France!
Although in England fish and chips are the most popular, there are different take-aways too. It was an English lady who opened the first Indian take-away in London. What’s the connection between washing machines and Chinese restaurants? When Chinese immigrants first arrived her, employment was difficult for them to find. Many of them opened laundries. These proved to offer a useful service and thrived until people could buy their own washing machines. What happened? The Chinese laundries closed and Chinese take-aways arrived!
Recently there was a competition to find the best fish and chip shop. The one that claimed the prize won it mainly because the owners sell only sustainable fish and offer a wide range of sauces! In the north, the town of Whitby is renowned for this dish. Have you noticed that on menus lately twice cooked chips are featured? My father always cooked our chips twice. They say that “nothing’s new under the sun”. You cook the chips gently until soft but not coloured. Remove them from the chip pan. Then turn up the heat until the oil is shimmering. Gently lower the chips back into the pan just for a few minutes until golden and crisp. Drain excess oil onto kitchen paper.
Enjoy! Oh, and follow your bright ideas!
Esmé
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