Voting Starts In Chip Shop Competition

MEDIA RELEASE
30 July 2008

Voting Starts In Chip Shop Competition

Chip shops around the country are firing up their vats, as New Zealanders get ready to vote for their favourite chippie in the ‘That’s Life! Best Chip Shop Competition 2008’.

Chip lovers can vote for their favourite chip shop by texting a unique four digit code to 4554 from 1 August – 30 September. Customers will only be able to vote once, therefore, they need to make sure that their vote counts.

Chairperson of the Chip Group, Glenda Gourley, said public text voting will determine 15 regional finalists selected from each of the Competition’s six regions across the country.

“They will then be visited by a mystery judge who this year will be on the lookout for shops that are following the recently launched ‘New Zealand Standards for Deep Fried Chips in Independent Fast Food Outlets’.

Glenda said the Standards include: using thick, straight-cut chips, which absorb less fat than crinkle-cuts or shoestrings; cooking at 175 -180°C and, draining the cooked chips correctly – commonly referred to as the ‘shake, bang and hang’ method.

“Judges will also send a chip sample away for fat analysis, and judge the shops against a range of criteria including customer service and shop cleanliness,” Glenda said.

Heart Foundation nutritionist, Judith Morley-John, said the recently launched internet modules provide training across all areas of ‘The New Zealand Standards for Deep Fried Chips in Independent Fast Food Outlets’.

“The launch of the internet modules puts meaning behind the Standards and makes the Chip Group’s goal of making takeaway chips healthier even more achievable.
“We encourage and support all operators to complete the training modules to increase their odds of being crowned the top shop in New Zealand,” said Judith.
“One of the best ways to improve the quality of cooked chips is to simply take a moment to properly drain the chip basket.

“Kiwis love to get behind their favourite chippie and are increasingly becoming aware of chips cooked according to the Standards.”

The ‘That’s Life! Best Chip Shop Competition 2008’ is the country’s only national chip shop competition and this year is supported by: That’s Life!, ‘Goodman Fielder’, ‘Huhtamaki’, ‘Bakels’, ‘Burns & Ferrall’, Food2Go Magazine, McCain Foods (NZ) Ltd, ‘Moffat’, ‘Mr Chips’, ‘Horticulture New Zealand’, ‘Premo Filtration’, Southern Hospitality, ‘Kauri’, ‘Alfa One’, ‘Eurotech’ ‘Burns & Ferrall’, ‘Groenz’ and, ‘The Heart Foundation’.

The grand national winner is expected to be announced in November.

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