What's Happening

Miranda doing their bit to cook healthier chips!

Posted:April 16th, 2012 by glenda.gourley in General, Training & Events

The dynamic Mother-and-Son team at Kiwi Taste Café in Miranda are working hard to cook better chips for their customers. The little Café can be found within the Miranda Hot Springs complex and has been known to provide some of the best Fish and Chips New Zealand has to offer. The two recently attended the “Best Practice Frying Workshop” in Thames in March, so we decided to pay them a visit and see how they were getting on.

Rhonda and Max both thoroughly enjoyed the workshop and despite cooking chips for years learnt some awesome new tips! Taking more care with drainage and not overloading the fryer were major points they took away from the session. Ever since the team at Kiwi Taste have been diligent in ensuring they filter everyday and that their vats are thoroughly cleaned every few days. Holiday-makers, tourists and local customers were loving the improvements and chowing down on their tastier chips.

Following the workshop Rhonda and Max found themselves more aware of portion sizes, had noticed a profit and saw major improvements in the taste and quality of their chips. It was inspiring to see how excited they were that by refining the way they cooked their chips they had the power to improve the health of their customers. Rhonda shared a great tip of her own: When she knows that her chips have to travel before they are eaten she chooses not to salt them, and instead provides customers with salt sachets. She says it keep the chips crisp and fresh and stops them going soggy.

This year we are hoping to hold many more of these ‘Best Practice Frying Workshops’ throughout the country, and Max and Rhonda have already signed their staff up for the next session. The name of their Café sums them up very nicely “The Little shop with the Big Taste.” So if you are heading south from Auckland, take the small detour out to Miranda and treat yourself to some tastier and healthier hot chips. Or check them out on Facebook.

We are really excited to find more great people like Max and Rhonda who are doing their bit to better the taste and nutritional quality of hot chips in NZ! For more info about The Chip Group, Online Training and Industry Standards have a look through our website.

Success at the ‘Best Practice Frying Workshop’ in Thames

Posted:March 19th, 2012 by glenda.gourley in General, PRESS RELEASES, Training & Events

The latest of our ‘Best Practice Frying Workshop’ was held at Te Korowai Hauora O Hauraki in Thames on Monday 12^th March. We had two great sessions run by Aaron Mok and co-rodinated by local Dietician/Iwi Health Promoter Sue Milburn.

The morning session was carried out in Cantonese to cater for our International members with the afternoon session in English. Participants from both sessions represented over 10 different businesses. Some travelled from as far as Whitianga, Miranda, Paeroa and the rest locals from Thames.

New Zealanders eat around 7 million servings of chips every week, and part of the aim of The Chip Group is to lower that fat content of each serve of chips by 20%. Each workshop consisted of nine modules, covering everything from serving size to fryer maintenance. Everyone took some very valuable information away from the session and even those who had been cooking chips for years picked up something new. The training also gives participants advice about ways to improve their business and make more profit.

The Chip Group Director Glenda Gourley came along to present attendees with their certificates which are to be proudly displayed on their shop walls.

By following these best practice frying tips, without knowing it these guys are all taking a small step towards improving the health of their community. Our research has shown that chips cooked according to these guidelines taste way better, which means happy customers and repeat business.

To find out more about ‘Best Practice Frying Workshops, for online training or to read more about our industry standards have a good look through our website, or go to our Facebook page.

Champion Chip Shop gets a fresh new-look!

Posted:March 11th, 2012 by glenda.gourley in General

Winners of the ‘Best Chip Shop Competition for 2011‘, Oppies Takeaways-Rotorua are very pleased with their flash new uniforms. Owner Michael Huang has been a proud member of The Chip Group for a number of years now, taking out the Best Chip Shop back in 2008 and 2009.

He and his staff are extremely committed to following our industry standards and ensuring they serve up the tastiest and healthiest chips possible. His attitude is exactly what The Chip Group is all about, and we hope he inspires you to get cooking better chips! Oppies Takewaways are also winners of the Westpac-Rotorua Business Excellence Awards, a very impressive achievement.

So if your passing through Rotorua, stop in and check out their chips for yourself! You won’t be disappointed.

From Paddock to Plate

Posted:March 6th, 2012 by glenda.gourley in General

Did you know?! Fresh Potatoes have only 0.1-0.2% fat, which is virtually nothing. Earning themselves a ‘Fat free’ label. However it all depends on the cooking technique. Deep frying potatoes adds fat and once cooked, some potato chips can contain up to 20 grams of fat per serve.

But if you just can’t resist the taste of a good chip, then look for chunkier cuts or potato wedges with the skin on. These soak up less fat than shoe-string or crinkle-cut chips and with the skin on they retain all their good nutrients. If your baking them at home some pre-made chip brands are better than others and can be relatively low in fat with only 3-5%, even lower when oven-baked instead of fried.

The Chip Group was created with the goal to serve the tastiest and healthiest chips possible. The Industry Standards are set in place ‘To improve the nutritional quality of chips sold in NZ.” Our standards include advice on which oils to use, keeping the oil in top condition, appropriate serving size and adequate drainage time. By following these guidelines you can reduce the fat content by around 10%.

Straight from the paddock a potato is just about free of fat, and our goal is to keep it as low as possible. Members of The Chip Group are dedicated to serving up chips that are better for both you and your family. So make sure you support those retailers that are doing the right thing by your chips.

Chipping in for Better Chips

Posted:February 20th, 2012 by glenda.gourley in General

This week marked ‘Chip Week’ in the UK, February 20th-26th, 2012. So help celebrate by checking out their collection of funky chip recipes through the decades, like these ones Here. Or have your hand at cooking or eating some of your own tasty Chips at home!

There is no doubt about it, us Kiwi’s love our hot Chips. Around 7 million serves of chips are cooked up and consumed here in NZ every week. With their high fat and salt, content, eating these every day can be very problematic to your health. A few years back a bunch of guys at The Chip Group came up with a solution: To produce healthier potato chips in the hope to improve the health of this country.

The Chip Group is a New Zealand association which includes everyone involved in the production of a Potato Chip. From those growing the potato, to chip and oil manufacturers, to equipment suppliers right through to the cooking. Their main goal is “To improve the nutritional status of deep-fried chips served by the New Zealand food service, by reducing fat (total and saturated) and salt content.” Read more about some of the great stuff we are doing here.

2011 Champion Chip Shop Announced…

Posted:January 21st, 2012 by glenda.gourley in General, Training & Events

Word is out! The Winner of the Grand Prize for the Best Chip Shop of 2011 was awarded to:

Oppies Takeaways in Rotorua. After being judged on: taste, quality, fat and salt content, shop cleanliness, customer service and their ability to follow ‘Tips for Better Chips’ they came away with top prize. Support the winners in your region, and check out the Best Chip Shops here. If your going to have chips, you might as well eat the healthiest ones.

Michael Huang, owner of Oppies Takeaways in Rotorua, was very happy about taking out the National prize for 2011, after being a regional winner in 2008 and 2009. He can’t believe how busy he has been since the award was announced. “People who have not eaten fish and chips for years come here because they know we use the healthiest cooking methods.” says Michael.

Speaking about his prize-winning chips, the Chip Group Chairperson Glenda Gourley say, “They are fluffy on the inside and crisp and golden on the outside and they are also low in fat.”

At Oppies, Michael chooses to use rice bran oil and makes sure his staff stick very closely to the industry standard guidelines to craft his famous chips.

REGIONAL FINALISTS NAMED IN NATIONAL CHIP SHOP COMPETITION

Posted:September 6th, 2011 by glenda.gourley in PRESS RELEASES

Eighteen chip shops from around the country have been named as being amongst the country’s best chippies in the 2011 Best Chip Shop Competition.

As regional finalists, the shops are now in the running to take out the top spot in the national Competition which hunts for New Zealand’s tastiest and best quality chips.

The Chip Group Chairperson, Glenda Gourley, said a combination of public text voting, mystery judging and laboratory analysis determined the top 18 shops.

“After the public text voting, the top shops were visited by a mystery judge who assessed them against a range of criteria including: the quality of chips on offer, adherence to key Industry Standards, customer service, and fat and sodium (salt) content of the chips.”

In order to participate in the Competition, chip shops had to have completed The Chip Group’s online training which teaches operators how to cook chips according to the Industry Standards.

“These guidelines cover chip size, oil temperature, cooking/deep-frying, basket drainage, oil maintenance, filtering and cleaning, salt, frying oils and chip portion size. By completing the training, shops are able to serve up healthier chips that consumers also really enjoy.

“A chip sample from each shop was collected by a judge and sent away for analysis at an independent laboratory.”

Glenda said fat analysis is a core component of judging and reflects one of the aims of The Chip Group which is to reduce the level of fat in chips.

With the Competition almost complete, judges are now deliberating on who the six regional winners and overall Grand National winner will be. Details are expected to be announced in October.

The 2011 Best Chip Shop Competition is the country’s only national chip shop competition and this year is supported by: Potatoes New Zealand, The Heart Foundation, McCain Foods, Mr Chips, Bakel’s Edible Oils, Groenz, Food & Beverage Today, Catering Plus and That’s Life.

The 2011 Best Chip Shop Competition Regional Finalists are:

Northland to North Shore Region
OCEANZ SEAFOOD ALBANY	5/50 GREVILLE ROAD, ALBANY
OCEANZ SEAFOOD SILVERDALE	51 ARKLES STRAND, ARKLES BAY, WHANGAPARAOA
IVAN’S TAKEAWAY	575 GLENFIELD ROAD, GLENFIELD, ALBANY
*HIGHLY COMMENDED*
ADRIATIC FISHERIES – 91 KAMO ROAD, WHANGAREI KIPPER’S TAKEAWAYS – 292 HIBISCUS COAST HIGHWAY, OREWA
Rest of Auckland Region
BIG J’S TAKEAWAYS	4/1 MELTON ROAD, MT WELLINGTON, AUCKLAND
OCEANZ BOTANY DOWNS	451 TI RAKAU DRIVE, AUCKLAND
FISH STOP	4 GLENDALE ROAD, GLEN EDEN, AUCKLAND
*HIGHLY COMMENDED*
THE CHIP SHOP – 711 MANUKAU ROAD, ROYAL OAK, AUCKLAND WESTGATE TAKEAWAYS 579 DON BUCK ROAD, MASSEY, AUCKLAND
Waikato to Hawkes Bay Region
OPPIES TAKEAWAY	259 FENTON STREET, ROTORUA
HOT STUFF TAKEAWAYS	92 GREAT SOUTH ROAD, NGARUAWAHIA
THE FRYING DUTCHMAN	NELSON QUAY, AHURIRI, NAPIER
*HIGHLY COMMENDED*
PIRIMAI CHIPPY – CNR ALLEN BERRY AVE & BILL HERCOCK STREET, PIRIMAI, NAPIER HALFWAY HOUSE TAKEAWAYS – 130 MAIN ROAD, CLIVE, HAWKES BAY
Manawatu to Wellington Region
SO FINE SEAFOOD	2 TENNYSON AVEUNE, AVALON, LOWER HUTT
FISH SPOT THE PLAZA	SHOP 45B, THE PLAZA, CHURCH STREET, PALMERSTON NORTH
MAC’S FRESH FISH AND CHIPS	41 QUEEN STREET, MASTERTON
*HIGHLY COMMENDED*
FISH – 308 QUEEN STREET, MASTERTON THE GROPER – 168 BROADWAY NORTH, STRATFORD
Nelson to Christchurch Region
VICTORY SQUARE FISH & CHIPS	176 SAINT VINCENT STREET, NELSON
THE SANDS FISH & CHIPS	SHOP 1/623 ROCKS ROAD, TAHUNANUI
SEABREEZE CITY TAKEAWAYS	51 VANGUARD STREET, NELSON
*HIGHLY COMMENDED*
CODFATHERS TAKEAWAYS 151 HIGH STREET, BLENHEIM COOPERS CATCH 9 WESTEND, KAIKOURA
Timaru to Southland Region
HASSALL STREET TAKEAWAYS	18 HASSALL STREET, TIMARU
RIC’S GALLEY / PORTOBELLO	1 HARINGTON POINT ROAD, DUNEDIN
GOLDEN COBWEBB RESTAURANT	55 TARBERT STREET, ALEXANDRA
*HIGHLY COMMENDED*
MORNINGTON TAKEAWAYS – 3 MAILER STREET, MORNINGTON, DUNEDIN

For further information

Christine Meads

P: 09 525 0060

M: 027 294 0823

BEST CHIP SHOP COMPETITION BACK ON

Posted:June 15th, 2011 by Wholenineyards in General

The search for the nation’s top chippie is back on with registrations now open for the new look 2011 Best Chip Shop Competition.

The Chip Group Chairperson, Glenda Gourley, said this year the competition had been ‘turned on its head’ with chip shops now needing to be good enough to enter.

“Shops that are registered for the Competition must have completed all nine online training modules which are aimed at improving the nutritional quality of hot chips.”

The guidelines cover chip size, oil temperature, cooking/deep-frying, basket drainage, oil maintenance, filtering and cleaning, salt, frying oils and chip portion size.

“Consumers who walk into a shop that is registered to take part in the Competition can now have a high degree of confidence that the chips they are buying have been cooked by operators who have completed the training.”

Glenda said the new requirement and new look Competition was all about raising standards generally and ensuring consumers get better quality chips.

“When a potato leaves the paddock they are virtually fat free and when it leaves a food processing company in the form of chips, it typically has 3-4 per cent fat,” Glenda said.

“It’s during the cooking process at a chip shop that the most amount of fat can end up being added to it with amounts typically ranging from 7-18 per cent fat.

“The Chip Group’s goal is to help shops to cook chips in the best way possible so that the fat content is nine per cent or less.

“Consumers need be aware that the bigger the chip the lower the fat content, for example thick cut chips can have significantly less fat than shoestring chips. The combination of shops cooking the chips following The Chip Group Industry Standards and consumers asking for thick cut chips really helps us enjoy healthier chips,” Glenda said.

Aside from a requirement for this year’s competitors to complete the online training, chip shops must also become a member of the Chip Group.

“In doing so, they are able to access the training as well as a host of benefits that will ultimately help shops as they go about their daily business.”

As with previous years, a combination of public text voting, mystery judging and chip fat analysis will determine the grand national winner, plus regional winners and finalists.

Public text voting runs from 1 July to 31July 2011, with mystery judging of shops taking place in August and the overall winner being announced in October.

Entrants will be judged on strict criteria including: display of training certificates, chip taste and quality, fat analysis, adherence to the Industry Standards, cleanliness and customer service.

Chip shop operators who would like to register for the Best Chip Shop Competition can do so by visiting www.thechipgroup.co.nz.

The 2011 Best Chip Shop Competition is the country’s only national chip shop competition and is this year supported by: Potatoes New Zealand, The Heart Foundation, McCain Foods, Mr Chips, Bakel’s Edible Oils, Groenz, Food & Beverage Today, Catering Plus and That’s Life.

MEDIA CAMPAIGN STARTING…

Posted:June 11th, 2011 by glenda.gourley in General

THIS IS OUR FULL PAGE AD FROM THAT’S LIFE! MAGAZINE… the first of many…

…your customers are going to start seeing our messages now… you can’t afford to miss this amazing advertising campaign…

All shops who enter the 2011 Best Chip Shop Competition will receive FREE copies of That’s Life! Magazines during voting period. Great reading for the customers while they wait for their chips to cook.

Finalists are GUARANTEED copy in this magazine… you don’t get any better free advertising than this…

That’s Life is running a competition to drive customers to YOUR SHOP!

All finalist shops will be named and a customer from each of the 18 finalist shops will send in a photo and say why they love your chips!!!

MAKE SURE YOU ARE ENTERED!

THE GRAND NATIONAL WINNER WILL GET A DOUBLE PAGE SPREAD ON WHY THEIR SHOP IS THE BEST!!!!

ONLY 20 DAYS UNTIL VOTING BEGINS

Posted:June 11th, 2011 by glenda.gourley in General, PRESS RELEASES

ARE YOU READY???

Aaron here from The Chip Group – I have just joined The Chip Group and am really excited to be working for you.

Part of this is getting you signed up as members and trained so you can participate in the Best Chip Shop Competition. There is a bit of urgency to get you on board – there is ONLY 20 DAYS until voting starts.

This years competition is awesome – the guaranteed publicity for the top three from each region is amazing (we have never had this before), the 2011 resources are spectacular – we have even gone as far as having little flyers to go in every pack of chips with your unique shop code on it to encourage voting.

As always there is a bit of resistance to text voting - but we weight the votes so it is a fair competition for shops in rural and urban communities – so no shops are disadvantaged. Any past winners and finalists will vouch how much it boosts business.

This year the shops HAVE to have done our training modules – one person per shop – and this is part of the reason we are able to go out with such strong media that the standard of competing shops being high. You have to be good enough to enter…

You also HAVE to be a member of the Chip Group – there is a cost with this $138 – and this is well compensated in the amazing gifts they get on registering (when you see our resources you will see why we are charging) – awesome Chip Group apron and cap, chip scoop, Kiwi Style sauces (valued at over $155) – plus access to fuel cards, phone deals and a growing range of discounts of products - from a purely financial decision it is a ‘no-brainer’.

Don’t just think about it – do it! Ask your rep or Register on line This is the CHEAPEST advertising you will ever do.

Download your membership forms HERE

Do the online training (lots of you have done most of this anyway)

Send in your $138 – or pay on-line

Wait for your packs to arrive in time for voting on 1 July.

I look forward to helping you grow your business – send me an email if you need help!

amok@thechipgroup.co.nz

media campaign is starting… this is a sample of what you will start to see…