May 6, 2022 2.00 pm This story is over 22 months old

‘No longer cheap as chips’ – rising energy costs impacting local chippies

A chippy in Cleethorpes has spoken out about the situation

An award-winning family run chippy in Cleethorpes is feeling effects of rising costs as it was left with no choice but increase its prices.

Ocean Fish Bar & Restaurant is located on St Peter’s Avenue in Cleethorpes and its menus are back at the printers again as prices have been revised.

The conflict in Ukraine is among the reasons forcing the prices, with the cost of every ingredient that goes into making the classic dish going up in price.

There is a shortage of sunflower oil, which is largely produced in Ukraine and the replacement of palm oil has more than doubled in price from £14 last year to now being £29. Cod has also shot up in price going up from £7 a kilo last year to being £15 in 2022.

The chippy’s co-owner Gareth Dursley told BBC Look North: “Fish prices are going up, [it’s] considerably more expensive, energy is the same, energy is about 35% predicted, potatoes [have a] 10/15/20% rise. It’s [a] bad time for everybody in hospitality, especially fish and chips.

“
A cheap chippy tea that now is turning into sort of £10, £12, £15 a time. We still want people to come through the door, we still want people to enjoy it, but unfortunately people aren’t going to be able to.”

Co-owner Kathryn Jaram added: “We have to deal in pence, so our price increases are like 20p, 30p on a meal, we couldn’t do a 40% price increase to pass that on.”