SHOP WATCH Sheppards Fish & Chips Bar, Newport, Wales

Sheppards delight

There can’t be much more of an incentive to work hard than the knowledge that your grandparents remortgaged their house to raise the money needed to open your fish and chip shop. Well, 18 years on and the debt paid back some time ago, Julian Allen has created a chippy his grandparents would be proud of in the form of Sheppards in Newport, Wales.
Getting through around 300kg of cod and 40 bags of spuds a week, it’s easily one of the busiest shops in Wales. And after a complete front to back refurbishment, it’s arguably one of the most modern environments in which to eat fish and chips.
With sleek white walls, floor to ceiling windows and an array of modern materials and finishes, standing in Sheppards takes me back to the late 90s when the new wave of coffee culture was taking its grip on the UK. Just walking along holding a Starbucks takeout coffee cup suddenly made people cool – everybody wanted to be part of this new click – and that’s exactly what it feels like here. It’s exciting being part of this new era of modern fish and chip shops and customers want to be associated with it, they want to be standing here in Sheppards and they want to be seen eating its food.
“We’re certainly attracting a lot of new customers,” says Julian, who reports a 30-40% increase in trade since the refurbishment. “People are pulling up outside in their Rolls Royces and BMWs now rather than driving on to a restaurant in the evening.” In fact the shop has been so busy Monday through to Saturday that Julian’s currently not had to open on a Sunday, something he had done for many years.
With its fresh new look comes an immaculately presented shop where almost every aspect of the process is on show. Customers can, for example, stand at the newly opened up window to the side of the shop and watch the friers as they work. The counter is also completely open, which means there’s no hiding place for even a single grain of spilt salt. Even the batter mixer, which is pristine, is on show to waiting customers. “If it’s visible it has to be clean,” says Julian, “and that’s something that runs through the entire shop.”
As I’m speaking to Julian he asks to be excused for a minute and quietly asks a member of staff to wipe away two tiny fingerprints on the glass hot box. Half an hour later he’s asking another member of staff to swap the takeaway box at the top of the pile because of a slight stain. This isn’t OCD, it’s Julian’s passion to be at the top of his game.
“It’s one of the reasons I went for a refurbishment because I wanted to be up there with the best and not be left behind,” explains Julian. “Looking through Fry Magazine I saw all these fantastic shops and it just made me think about how far the industry has come.”
Julian, who initially trained as a chef, has always had an appetite for being the best. “In my experience I’ve found that the busiest shops are the ones that use quality ingredients. If that means paying an extra 10 or 20 pence then so be it because then you’ve got a customer whose going to keep coming back.”
Julian buys skin on, frozen at sea cod and haddock, which he prepares himself, and markies potatoes which are peeled and chipped on site every day. “I normally buy maris pipers, but I’ve found recently that they aren’t frying too well – they are browning a little bit – so I’ve switched and now the chips are coming out much better. I will always buy the best and because my suppliers know we are a busy shop, they will always source the best for me. Sometimes that costs a little bit more but it’s worth it. Come on, I mean £1 extra on a bag of potatoes, that’s not even a portion of chips, is it?”
When it comes to batter, Julian is just as particular, but unlike the potatoes there’s no switching. He uses Henry Jones Gold Batter Mix (www.kerryfoodservice.co.uk) and he has done so for that past ten years. “When I was younger I never really liked fish and chips that much, but I went into this one shop, which was extremely busy, and the fish was absolutely lovely. I asked them what they used and they said Henry Jones, so that was enough for me.”
I certainly wouldn’t say Julian is a narrow-minded sort of guy. In fact, if he came across a better way of doing things I think he would be one of the first to embrace it, but with a formula that’s clearly worked for the past 18 years there’s certain elements that he refuses to change, and his batter is one them. “We are such a busy shop, why would I risk changing something that clearly works so well for us? Henry Jones is quick and easy to use, it’s always consistent and the texture and colour are just right for my customers.”
It’s Julian’s strong belief in his winning formula that has seen his menu stay consistent over the last 18 years. Even with his cheffing credentials he’s not been in the slightest bit tempted to get carried away and add exotic twists or diversify into other fast food favourites.
“I think the best fish and chip shops are the ones that stick to fish and chips, sausages, burgers and perhaps chicken. We’ve not gone along the lines of offering pizza, kebabs, sandwiches and the like because if you do the staff are running around and the customer is left waiting for ages. At lunch time, people only have half an hour so they want to be in and out. They don’t want to be standing in a queue for half an hour.”
With a new four pan high efficiency island range replacing the shop’s previous three pan one, waiting is something customers no longer need to worry about. Sheppards is able to cook food more quickly and keep up with demand. “The extra pan means I have the capacity for about 14 more fish, and where we’ve moved over to basket frying we’re able to cook a basket of chips at a time, which has meant cooking to order is much more achievable.”
Basket frying was something that Julian admits he felt quite nervous about initially, but he’s been won over by how easy it is and also the extra capacity it offers. “Before I used to tip a bucket of chips into each pan, but now with the three baskets I can get a bucket and a half in each pan,” he explains.
With the team working at full capacity since the shop opened, Julian’s had little time to contribute to marketing the business, but what small steps he has taken are highly commendable.
For example, the shop offers its own branded vinegar for £1.70 a bottle, which customers can bring back to be refilled at just 50p. Despite selling an impressive 50 bottles a week, the shop makes little profit, but that wasn’t the objective as Julian explains: “It’s purely for the advertising it gives us. If a customer is at home and they go to the cupboard thinking what do I fancy for dinner, they’ll see our vinegar and say ‘I know fish and chips from Sheppards’.”
Since the refurbishment, the shop has also introduced a specials board, something Julian wanted to do for some time. Again, Julian has listened to his head and kept the offering simple with just two choices – today it’s a large battered sausage and chips for £1.49, which is a deal timed perfectly for the school

children on their half term break, and fresh hake.
“Before the refurbishment we just didn’t have the capacity to offer specials but now with the new range we can. Every couple of days we offer something different, for example on Thursday it will be monk fish and then next week I’m looking at Dover sole.”
Whatever it is that appears as the special, that’s exactly what it is, something that’s aimed at delighting the customer and not something that’s coming to the end of its use by date. “It’s something the restaurant trade is notorious for doing to shift stock, but I won’t have any of that. I might put a product on there that I’ve got at a special discount, but I’ll always pass that saving on to the customer by selling it cheaply to them,” says Julian.
So far the board has been a resounding success with at least 20 items a day being purchased from it. More importantly, however, is the impact its had on repeat business as Julian reports a steady stream of customers coming in specifically to see what’s on that day, asking what might be available the following day or finding out when a particular product might be back again.
The refurbishment, combined with the strong foundations Julian had already built, have given him the confidence to consider recreating his shop elsewhere – and he has his eye on the more trendy streets of Cardiff. In fact, many new customers to the shop have even enquired as to whether Sheppards is already part of a chain. And I can see why because the attention to detail and the sleek modern appearance certainly resemble some of the big names on our high street today.
“I feel like I’ve finally hit the nail on the head and got every aspect right, including the branding,” Julian remarks.
“I went to Edinburgh recently and I noticed a lot of really good fish and chip shops, but here in Wales people don’t seem to be spending the money upgrading their shops, so I think a chippy of this standard in Cardiff is exactly what is needed.”