Search is on for the best fish and chips in North East Wales!

Does your restaurant do the best fish and chips? Well here’s a chance to show off a little.

North East Wales tourism ‘collective’ has thrown down the gauntlet with a classic dish challenge for our local chefs.

For the third year running, the tourism partnership of Flintshire, Denbighshire and Wrexham will be holding their annual food challenge, this year supporting Visit Wales’s 2018 Year of the Sea marketing theme.

Organisers say;

‘The challenge aims to raise awareness of the great food scene in North East Wales and helps boost numbers in what is a generally quieter time in the food calendar.

Eateries are encouraged to enter either a ‘Fish and Chips with a twist’ dish, or a locally sourced Surf & Turf dish, with the meat being locally sourced.’

Don’t worry Chef, as two thirds of the North East Wales tourism region is landlocked (besides our wonderful rivers) there is no requirement to use locally caught ‘fish from the sea’ – (scrapping the breadcrumbs of a fillet of Findus finest and double dipping it in your homemade batter will tick the box nicely. 🐟)

The Sea Food challenge will be running between 15th January and 11th February 2018, with the dishes advertised on the restaurant’s specials boards.

Dishes from all 3 counties will be judged by a panel of mystery shoppers, and the 3 highest scoring dishes invited to a cook-off at the end of February.

Restaurants who wish to be involved can find out more on the North East Wales facebook page, or by contacting tourism@wrexham.gov.uk.

There will be a launch event on 10th January, after which the list of entrants will be published.

For those thinking the Visit Wales’ themed ‘Year of the Sea’ tourism push leaves Flintshire slightly disadvantaged, fear not, The Welsh Government has handed £40,000 of grant funding to Flintshire, Wrexham and Denbighshire council’s who have joined forces with a ‘Routes to the Sea’ project

No details have been released on how the money will be deployed, accentuating the delights of our stunning arterial road network from the A483 to the A494 and A55 in a bid to woo potential visitors is one possibility. (perhaps)