Fish and Chips general store in Soweto, South Africa. Photograph: Jon Hicks/Corbis
When the first one opened in 2002, South Africans had never seen anything like it. Now they can't get enough. The country has discovered the simple pleasures of the local chippy.
Fish and chip shops are spreading fast and visibly booming. The chain Old Fashioned Fish and Chips, which claims to have got in first, doubled its reach in the past year and plans to keep on expanding.
Others are joining the craze and hoping to trade on Britain's global reputation for crispy batter and golden chips.
Shop signs for the Fish and Chip Company carry the slogan "Traditional English-style food" with the logo of a fish wearing a top hat and waving the union flag.
The meals, costing the equivalent of ?2 to ?3, are up against South Africans' staple favourites biltong, bobotie, boerewors (spicy sausage), bunny chow, pap (porridge made from maize meal) and mopane worms.
Fish and chips are not new here, said Nicolas de Sousa, operations and marketing director of Old Fashioned Fish and Chips, but they were typically sold from a local corner cafe along with other foods. It was only when De Sousa's mother and a colleague opened for business in Elma Park, near Johannesburg, nine years ago that South Africa got its first dedicated fish and chip shop.
"South Africa doesn't have a direct tradition of fish and chips like Britain," the 29-year-old said. "It had the corner street cafe that sold everything, including fish and chips. It wasn't a core product.
"We never had anywhere we could go in terms of a traditional fish and chips takeaway."
De Sousa and his mother started a franchise in 2005 and the business has since grown rapidly, from 150 outlets in 2010 to 300 by the end of 2011, including one at the country's biggest airport, OR Tambo international in Johannesburg. Revenue this year was 250m rand (?19m).
Initially De Sousa believed the product would appeal to lower-income groups but admitted he was surprised by the popularity of fish and chips across the social spectrum. "As time has gone on, the target market has increased," he said.
South Africa already has the London Pie Co, complete with pictures of Big Ben, but De Sousa denied being influenced by the classic British chippy. "The product was South African-based. A lot of British shops start with cod but we stuck with hake. South Africans like soft chips."
In what might appear a case of taking coals to Newcastle, Old Fashioned Fish and Chips is hoping to open shops in Britain within 16 months.
"I lived in Britain for six or seven years and was always a fan of fish and chips, but I think they lack creativity," De Sousa said.
"Harry Ramsden's could do it differently. Playing the batter is part of our success. If we take it to Britain, I think we'll have success based on that."
South Africa is the third fattest nation in the world, according to a recent survey, but De Sousa does not believe he is contributing to the obesity epidemic. "The main thing is it's organic. We use fresh hake, sausages and potatoes. Although it's deep fried, the appeal to the health conscious has a massive role to play. There isn't one product that isn't organic."
On a recent afternoon there was high demand at the Old Fashioned Fish and Chips shop in the Campus Square mall in Johannesburg. Big portions with fat chips and lashings of salt and vinegar were wrapped in white paper and handed to hungry customers, who sat and consumed them on rudimentary blue-painted benches.
Customer Busi Makhubo, 21, said: "It's very convenient and affordable. There are a lot of chips compared to other places.
"I've never been to Britain and don't know what they eat there. These fish and chips are like in the township. In Soweto these shops are packed with black people."
Her mother, Phindi, 50, was less impressed: "They should put it on a plate. People are eatings like dogs on a street. And all the sauces are wrong."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jan/02/fish-and-chips-south-africa
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