For nearly 100 years the Bishopmill Chippy has stood in the heart of the Elgin community serving up hot takeaways and good memories.
Although the name above the door has changed many times, its reputation among locals has remained strong with 150 fish suppers sold every week.
Previously the chippy was also a mini-arcade with slot machines and a pool table through the back in what is now the storeroom and office.
Today long-time care and health worker Allison Birse is manager after initially agreeing to help out friend Donna Royan preparing potatoes.
The Press and Journal stopped by the Bishopmill Chippy to find out more about what has kept the Elgin takeaway going since the 1930s, including;
- What made Allison swap care homes for life behind hot chip shop fryers.
- Why Allison wouldn’t move the takeaway to anywhere else in the town.
- How customers can taste the difference local fish brings to haddock supper.
- The importance of experimenting to ensure you get the batter just right.
Swapping care career for Bishopmill Chippy
Before taking the reins at the Bishopmill Chippy Allison had a long career in the care and health sectors.
Most recently she spent 17 years working at Spynie Care Home in Elgin, but was previously a dietitian and cook at hospitals in Aberdeenshire.
When her six-year stint at the Bishopmill Chippy began, she knew absolutely nothing about running a chip shop.
Allison said: “I used to work with Donna at Spynie and she called me up saying she was struggling, and asked if I could help her with the tatties.
“She said it would be two or three days a week, couple of hours a day. I said ‘Yes, ok, I’ll do it,’ but I didn’t realise she had a machine.
“I thought I was going to be standing there peeling tatties by hand. She said it would take a couple of hours. I thought ‘Wow, two hours to peel four bags of tatties, how quick must she be doing them?’”
Allison helped with the chips and then frying for four years but took on a managerial role a year ago as Donna began to struggle with her health, before she died in August.
A photo of Donna has been hung in the chip shop’s office with a collection box for charities close to her heart placed next to the counter.
Allison added: “Donna was always trying to show me things and I’d say ‘Look Donna, we’ve got years to do that yet,’ but we didn’t know at the time we didn’t.
“So I was kind of thrown in at the deep end with the books and finances, but I’m getting there.”
Why Bishopmill Chippy wouldn’t move anywhere else in Elgin
After taking the reins of the Bishopmill Chippy, Allison wanted to establish how long the takeaway had been in the heart of the Elgin community.
Neighbours told her they believe it has been a mainstay of the area since 1935.
Surrounded by houses and next to the Bishopmill Hall, which was also built in the 1930s, it benefits from thousands of potential customers on its doorstep.
Allison is adamant being in the heart of the community is critical to what has kept the chip shop in business for nearly 100 years.
She said: “In our area, there’s definitely still a place for the traditional fish and chip shops.
“I think because this place has been here so long, it’s part of the community. If you opened up a brand new chip shop, I don’t know if it would do quite so well.
“If somebody came to me and said you could move this place anywhere else in Elgin I would probably say ‘Nowhere else, I’ll stay here.’
“Everyone knows we’re here. If I tell folk I work in Bishopmill Chippy then folk know it’s next to the hall, they’ve been there for gigs or stuff in there.
“We’ve got so many regular customers, you know them by their orders. It just works here.
“We’ve got all the houses round about but people come to us from all over Elgin. We’ve got customers in Lossiemouth too.”
How locally-caught haddock make Elgin fish suppers special
Despite adding to the chip shop menu with meals including homemade curry and homemade macaroni cheese, fish suppers are still undeniably the most popular order.
Every week an incredibly four stone of haddock goes through the fryers to be wrapped up in about 150 fish suppers.
The Bishopmill Chippy has relied on Buckie-based Eat Mair Fish to keep the bellies of Elgin customers satisfied.
With potatoes also coming from Elgin-based Willie Hendry Potatoes for chips, Allison has no intention of changing from local suppliers.
She said: “There’s a few places I know that do use frozen fish, but we wouldn’t.
“Frozen is cheaper, undoubtedly. But it’s just not like a fish supper though, is it?
“You can tell the difference, and I just don’t think it would sell the same way if we made that change.
“It’s always good fresh fish we get from them and they deliver it right to us. It’s so convenient, we wouldn’t be changing the fish we sell.”
Tinkering with the Bishopmill Chippy batter
There’s one aspect of fish suppers Allison has been prepared to experiment with though, and that’s the batter.
After only starting frying in recent years she has been tinkering with the recipe to ensure it works for everyone.
It came after she started doing deliveries with some customers reporting the food had gone “soggy” when it was delivered.
Allison said: “It was fine for those who came in and took it away, but I think if it was in the hot box for a wee while then it was going soft.
“So we tweaked it and tweaked it and tweaked it and I think we’ve got it now.
“For me, I don’t mind soggy batter, but our customers like it crispy and I think we’ve got it down to a fine art now.”
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