By Jacqueline Elmore

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more quintessential or iconic meal in British culture than fish and chips, and in recognition of its popularity, this month the UK will celebrate National Fish and Chip Day helping to secure its position as the nation’s favourite dish.

The humble fish and chip shop made its first appearance in the UK in the 1860s where it became a hearty staple of the working class. During the First and Second World War the supply of fish and chips was protected by the British government and remained one of the few foods that was not subject to rationing. Author, George Orwell, famed for his depiction of English society described fish and chips as a ‘home comfort’ and one that helped to keep the masses happy.

When Cuckfield’s very own fish and shop Cuckfish first opened in 2019, the business faced a number of challenges including problems with planning and its utilities supply, but eventually in the September the shop began welcoming customers; then, just six months after its launch the first national Covid lockdown was announced.

“It took two years for my brother-in-law; Mustafa to finally get this place up and running. There were many hurdles that he had to climb to finally get the shop fully functioning. We had issues with the gas and water supply and the planning permission took a while to sort out too. And once we were allowed to open the doors, bang, COVID came knocking. You couldn’t have made it up. It was a tough time for everyone involved.”

Mustafa handed over the reins of the business to OJ Guncu (and his wife Rosie) a few years ago, and just when they thought that they had turned a corner Russia decided to invade Ukraine impacting the price of food and energy costs the world over.

“My brother-in-law wanted to keep the business in the family so I decided to take it on. But during COVID it wasn’t easy because we kept the shop open throughout that challenging period, and then the war in Ukraine happened which has affected global food prices, so we had to find other ways of keeping the business going.”

Despite the setbacks the catering industry and the world has endured, OJ is still able to see the positive and much of the success of Cuckfish is down to his tenacity, determination and unwavering commitment to the cause…

To read the full, interesting article about Cuckfield’s Cuckfish, pick up a copy of Cuckfield Life today and turn to page 20.