Townsville-based shop Tobin’s Fish Tales has taken out the title of Australia’s best fish and chips for 2019.

Now in its third year, 2019 saw over 2,000 shops compete in The Fish and Chips Awards, which translates to around 40 per cent of Australia’s fish and chip operators taking part in this competition.

Almost 40 thousand consumers cast their votes for their favourite in the People’s Choice category. With the leaders established from that pool, judges then traversed the country tasting the people’s choices in each state and territory before settling on their final decision for this year’s winner.

Despite being a smaller shop, Tobin’s Fish Tales punches well above its weight and really stands out from the crowd, according to the judges.

Owners Andrew and Renae Tobin both have a PhD in fisheries and Andrew is a commercial fisher with over twenty years’ experience.

According to the judges, “Their staff were not only friendly but knowledgeable and really helpful, guiding us with suggestions for the best fish for each cooking method. They also had some of these suggestions up on their menu,” commented one of the judges (judges aka John and Jane Dory will otherwise remain anonymous).

“The fish really tasted fresh and the cooking method did not overpower the actual taste of the fish,” said another of the judges.

“Their flyers say “Tobin Fish Tale’s - every fish has a story - Tobin Fish Tales brings you first class fish & chips and fresh seafood. We are a complete chain - we catch it, we slice it, we cook it, we sell it. We are commercial fishers. Our seafood products are sustainably sourced and processed instore.” This clearly shows!

“Their food tasted great. The service and store was welcoming and friendly. And they provided choices with information on all of them.”

Starting with the basics, the fish was cooked to perfection, the chips crunchy and seasoned well. The range of seafood is local with some of it even caught by the owners. The staff are attentive and knowledgeable and provide a wealth of information to customers about the seafood they sell.  

Peter Horvat, General Manager Communications, Trade and Marketing says “one of the driving forces behind running the Fish and Chips Awards is helping educate consumers about seafood, the industry who supply it and to help other fish and chippers improve what they do.

“The Tobin’s whole philosophy is what we hope all stores will aim to do. Obviously not everyone is going to get a PhD in fisheries science, but they can always improve on how they do things. The shop won the best fish and chips award because they got the basics right.

The Fish and Chips Awards 2019 also named the following businesses as State and Territory Winners:

State and Territory Judges Choice Award Winners

NSW: Pelican Rocks Seafood Restaurant and Café
NT:     Frying Nemo Fish and Chippery
QLD: Tobin Fish Tales (Townsville)
SA:    Stunned Mullet and Fish Out of Water
TAS:  Tasmanian Gourmet Seafood
VIC:  The Golden Flake
WA:   Ocean and Paddock

State and Territory People's Choice Award Winners

NSW:   Pelican Rocks Seafood Restaurant and Café
NT:       Frying Nemo Fish and Chippery
QLD:    Costa's Seafood Cafe
SA:        Dolphin Fish Shop and Take Away
TAS:      Fraggles Fish and Chips
VIC:      Trident Fish Bar
WA:       Pinjarra Fish and Chips

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