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Christmas is nearly here, and to celebrate we’re giving you a rundown on what to expect over the seasonal period. From mouthwatering treats you’ll want all year round, to never missing out on a fish and chips meal, we’ve got you covered.

Welcome back tattooed Father Christmas!

Have you noticed that our favourite tattooed Father Christmas is back? Just like last year, our Simpsons Santa has made his grand appearance on our website. Want to see him for yourself? Check out our homepage today – he’s ready and waiting!

A day at the fair!

Last weekend, we attended the Crippetts Christmas Gift Fayre in Cheltenham. There was a vast array of brilliant stalls (including our own!) which offered up festive gifts, delicious food, stocking fillers for your kids and wonderful art! And, after a rainy start on the Saturday, the sun was soon shining and it made for a really great weekend in our van.  

Festive treats

Christmas at Simpsons wouldn’t be the same without our mouthwateringly good festive treats. As always, we’ll be bringing back our battered Christmas puddings, which are perfect for when you fancy something naughty! Plus, this year we’re introducing Christmas dinner patties, which are full to the brim with roasted turkey, bacon, and stuffing with sautéed sprouts and cranberries – drool.

Ho, Ho, Ho-pening times!

What’s the worst thing that could happen over Christmas? How about missing out on some amazing fish and chips because you didn’t know our seasonal opening times? It’s a pretty grim prospect, but don’t worry as we have the full list below:

Friday 23rd 11.45-21.30

Saturday 24th 11.45-19.30

Sunday 25th Closed

Monday 26th Closed

Tuesday 27th Closed

Wednesday 28th 11.45-21.30

Thursday 29th 11.45-21.30

Friday 30th 11.45-21.30

Saturday 31st 11.45-19.30

Sunday 1st Closed

Monday 2nd 16.45-21.30

Tuesday 3rd 11.45-21.30

Don’t forget: last entry into restaurant is half an hour before closing – so don’t miss out!

Feeling ready for Christmas? We definitely are, and hope that you, your friends and family all have a brilliant Christmas and New Year!

As part of our role as the UK’s No.1 Fish and Chips Takeaway 2016, James and his brother (Grant) were asked to visit Japan and serve up fish and chips to the lovely locals over a 3 week period. From Fukuoka to Tokyo, James and Grant got to really experience the weird and wonderful that Japan had to offer. Want to learn more? Read all about their time there with James’ Q&A.

Q: Where in Japan did you visit? Which was your favourite destination?

James: We fried at the British Fair in Fukuoka for 5 days, then in Osaka for 7 days. After that, we spent one day in Kyoto and 5 days in Tokyo to enjoy the sights.

Q:  What was the main highlight of your trip?

J: So many to choose from! But probably going up the Tokyo Skytree – it’s twice the height of the shard! At the top, we got to enjoy incredible views of Tokyo – a definite wow moment.

Q:  Did you learn any Japanese?

J: Yes! More than I expected to. We learned words for fish and chips, yes, delicious, cute, wonderful, hello, thankyou, goodbye and many more! Konichiwa!

Q: What did you do during the day?

J: In Fukuoka the pace was much slower, say 300-400 fish and chips in a day. It was a great opportunity to meet new people and I do think we’ve made some friends for life while we were there. In Osaka our record was over 1200 fish and chip in a day, people ran into the store and the queue was 70 deep from 10am until closing at 8 or 9pm! Those days we couldn’t even take a break so my brother and I just kept each other watered and ploughed on through. It’s crazy how much the Japanese love Britain, and fish and chips!

Q: Did you try any Japanese food? If so, what was your favourite dish?

J: We loved ramen and okonomiyaki. Not so keen on fried cartilage. Needless to say, they don’t waste anything! We also drank a lot of sake – our favourite was the plum flavour!

Q: What did you think of the Japanese people?

J: They’re the most polite people I’ve ever had the pleasure in dealing with. They were also very respectful and sweet.

Q: Will you return to Japan in the future?

J: I’d love to! It’s such a cool place to visit, and it’s so different to anywhere else I’ve been. The buzz of the busy cities, the amazing temples and the country’s history make it a very unique country. I’d go back in a heartbeat!

Have you got any more questions for James? Get in touch via Facebook or Twitter, or simply swing by the shop for a quick chat!

That’s right, we’re now on Snapchat! Why, you ask. Well it’s to ensure we fully immerse you (our lovely customers) into our Simpsons Fish and Chips world – whether that’s with the team pulling silly faces or with clips from behind the frying scenes!

Your reaction

Although we were initially nervous of the type of reception we’d get, we’ve been overjoyed by how many of you have been checking out our pictures and videos! We’ve also noticed that many of you have been sending us Snapchats back! Keep ‘em coming, we’re loving the ‘waiting for your order’ photos.

Who’s the brains behind it?

It’s a joint effort between the whole team, with every member getting involved when they can. A special thanks goes to Grant, one of our young friers, who does a fantastic job of managing our Snapchat account.

What you can expect

There aren’t any real rules when it comes to our Snapchat, we just pick up the camera and start posting! From the Chippylympics, where we hosted an activity every day and got our staff competing against each other, to our interpretation of gymnastics (don’t ask) it’s been a lot of fun.

The future of Simpsons Snapchat

We’ve got a lot planned in the upcoming months, from exclusive competitions to even more entertaining Snaps, so make sure you keep up-to-date with all our recent posts by adding us to your Snapchat feed: simpsonschippy

Last week, James was asked to join the judging panel at the Young Fish Frier of the Year award, one of the biggest events in the fish and chip industry’s calendar.

The award

The Young Fish Frier of the Year award was established in 1995 by the directors of Dyrwite Limited, in memory of their dad, a man who truly believed in the industry’s young talent. Since then, it’s gone on to highlight the work achieved by young friers, with many of the competition’s past winners and finalists really making a difference.

The way it works

The competition calls for talented friers, under the age of 25, to enter the competition. The competition begins with one round, where friers are asked to complete a written questionnaire. The people who make it past the first round, then get to enter the second round, where they partake in a telephone interview with one of the competition’s judges. After this, the semi finalists are then chosen and asked to present a practical demonstration, with the best in that round making it to the final. All of the finalists are then invited to London where they find out who’s won the title prize.

James’ role

It was James’ first time on any kind of judging panel, and he loved having the shoe on the other foot for a change. Since James has been in the trade, he’s had several years of experience being judged by the pros – so it was now his turn! 10 semi finalists took part in the practical over two days and James was very impressed at the standard of these young fish friers. James’ role as a judge was to observe the frying skills and the quality of the food, including: preparation, presentation and finally the proposal for a media/PR plan. Once the judges had collected the scores, they were able to decide on the five finalists, who will be going to the final in January.

The final

James will be there at the final to cheer on the young friers, and congratulate the winner. Until then, we want to wish all of the finalists lots of luck, and a big congratulations to all ten of the runners up – you did brilliantly!

Are you a young fish frier? Learn how you can apply next year, here. 

Summer is officially here (even if it doesn’t feel like it just yet) and we’ve got plenty of exciting plans – including the launch of our latest venture, Simpsons on Wheels! Simpsons on Wheels is the name of our outdoor catering business, and we can’t wait to get our brand new van (nicknamed Vanessa) out on the road to our next big event. To help keep you guys in the loop, and to tell you all about our next big adventure, we’ve put together a handy article on how, what and why Simpsons on Wheels began.

Why outdoor catering?

Over the years we’ve often been asked to help out with outdoor catering, from birthday parties to weddings. Originally we were spending around three days on one event, with us prepping the food at the restaurant, setting up on the day, and clearing up after the big party. It ended up being a bit uneconomical, so along came our pop-up, swiftly followed by Simpsons on Wheels.

How it all began

Awkwardly we never really wanted a van, but it made complete sense to invest in one, so we were soon perusing the aisles of eBay. Once we’d found the one, we got in touch with artists behind our restaurant’s mural, asking them to hand paint an original design on our van. Check it out for yourself, and be sure to give us a beep if you spot us on the road.

The equipment inside our van

To ensure the food we produce out and about is just as amazing as it is back home, we’ve introduced some top quality equipment into our van. From our 5 pan traditional style frying range to a hot holding box – we’re ready to go when you are!

What’s on the outdoor menu?

Our outdoor menu is completely flexible, and down to what the host or event wants us to provide. Obviously, fish and chips will be the highlight, but in the past we’ve supplied tasty veggie options, and even hosted a completely gluten-free menu for a wedding where the bride suffered from Coeliac Disease.

Exciting events coming up

2016 is set to be a busy one, and we can’t wait to get stuck into the festival season. Our first and main event is the Cheltenham Food Festival, something we got involved with last year. Not only will there be plenty of amazing food and drink, as well as a great atmosphere, it also provides us with an opportunity to spread the Simpsons word – simple fish and chips taste great!

Time to get on the road

This is just the beginning of something really exciting, and we both can’t wait to see where it leads. But until then, we’re quite happy hanging out with Vanessa, serving all of you lovely customers some mouth-watering, quality fish and chips.

Got a big event coming up? To book Simpsons on Wheels, contact us here for more information.

Back in March, I was invited to the Food Made Good Awards (FMGA), which are hosted by the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA). We’ve been members of the SRA for a couple of years, and it’s fair to say you get out what you put in! The awards teach people that there are so many things you can do to help the environment when it comes to sustainability – something we’re keen on learning more about.

At the awards, I met plenty of passionate and influential people, such as top chefs, Jamie Oliver and Raymond Blanc – I was definitely star struck! It was a totally different vibe to any other awards I’ve been to, and everyone was rooting for each other with it not seeming to matter who won.

When it comes to SRA, there’s a lot of emphasis on local produce, and how much better it can be. This is something really close to our hearts, as we spend much of our time getting in touch with farmers to ensure that the ingredients we use, such as chicken and potatoes, are selected and bought from UK farms. In fact, we’re so dedicated to local that we already grow our own herbs (used for our famous tartare sauce) in our outdoor bath tub. Now that really is local!

Not only that, but here at Simpsons we are incredibly conscious of our waste, and have recently signed up to a zero-to-landfill contract. This basically means that all leftover food, glass, card and other general waste is converted into energy.

The FGMAs not only confirmed that we’re on the right track, but that there’s also so much more we, and the rest of the industry, can do to create more sustainable and environmentally aware UK restaurants and takeaways. And after our big win earlier this year, we’re incredibly excited to get started on our next journey, where we hope to learn even more.

Whether you live in Gloucestershire, or are coming over just for the Easter holidays, there’s plenty to do in our beautiful home county. From munching on delicious treats, to making friends with cute animals, we’ve put together a list of the very best things to do in Gloucestershire this Easter.

Visit CountryTastic 

On 31st March, CountryTastic will be hosting a range of fun activities for the whole family. Upon entry, you and your kids will be given a free goody bag, and will have the chance to meet local farm animals, ride ponies, and pet dogs, rabbits and cute birds. There will also be bouncy castles, plenty of food, livestock shows and even the odd celebrity (BBC Countryfile’s Adam Henson!). So whatever the weather, make sure you head down to CountryTastic for a day your family will love.

Eat deep-fried Creme Eggs with us!

Yep, that’s right, once again we’re deep-frying our all-time favourite Easter treat, the Cadbury Creme Egg.Throughout the Easter period, we’ll offering up this ooey-gooey treat for just £1, with half of the proceeds going to a local charity. So come and bring your kiddies and friends – it’s an Easter indulgence that can’t be missed. Yum!

Burn off the extra choc

Throughout the Easter holiday, Cheltenham’s Leisure Centre will be hosting a variety fun activities for both adults and children. From Zumba classes for aspiring dancers, to junior badminton, swimming and trampolining, there’s going to be plenty to do. Plus, once you’ve burnt off all the chocolate eggs you’ve eaten, you’ll be able to eat some Simpsons fish and chips completely guilt-free.

Mad Hatter’s Easter Fun Day

Enjoy an Easter with a twist at Sudeley Castle’s Mad Hatter’s Easter Fun Day. On top of exploring the owlery and willows maze, you’ll have the chance to take part in a chocolate hunt, flower crafts and a Mad Hatter-themed tea party. Under 15s will also have the opportunity to win their family a 12-month pass to the castle, by taking part in the Mad Hatter’s Bonnet Competition. Phew – sounds like there’s plenty to keep you and your little ones busy.

Feeling inspired?

Gloucestershire is a beautiful part of the UK, and we’re immensely proud of our connection to this beautiful county. If our guide has got you inspired to explore Gloucestershire this Easter, make sure you head on over to our brand new restaurant for a delicious sit down meal of fish and chips.

Back in late December, we began the process of renovating our restaurant, and by 18th January, we were ready to reopen. Little did we know that it would be a double celebration, with us winning Independent Takeaway of the Year at the National Fish and Chip Awards 2016. The end result? A fantastic new restaurant and one heck of a re-launch party.

Cheltenham’s best new restaurant

We wanted to create a space where people could enjoy quality British food, great company and good drinks in an unbeatable atmosphere. To achieve our dream, we hired the very talented interior designer, Kelly James at Shadowplay Design, and utilised their talent to make our ideas a reality.

As well as extending the size of the restaurant, we also added a beautiful Simpsons style fish and chip mural to the back wall, more spacious and comfortable seating, and a rustic bar – for when lemonade just won’t do.

Our glamorous opening night

Our grand reopening was on Friday 29th January, where we welcomed guests from all over the UK to indulge in platters of freshly fried fish, chips, halloumi and frickles (all from our brand new menu) as well as yummy locally-sourced Winstones Cotswold Ice Cream. On top of our scrummy food, guests were invited to enjoy our brand new bar – perfect for when you’ve got that Friday feeling.

After sampling the menu, our guests also got to dance and sing along to the vintage sound of The Femmes – a trio of 1940s-loving singers. These gorgeous ladies transported the entire room with their old style interpretations of modern classics.

Come and pay us a visit

Didn’t make it to our opening night party? Don’t worry, you can swing by anytime, and we’ll cook-up a feast for you, your friends and family. We can’t wait to welcome you, so hurry on over!