The Chip Group is on the look-out for the best chips in the land, and the owners of Pirimai Chippie and Serious Burgers, Ian and Prue Hunter, aim to get this one in the bag.
The pair came close as regional finalists in 2009, but this year are hoping to go one step further.
"Of course we think we've got a shot at winning," Mrs Hunter said. "We aim to win, but we aim to continue to do what we do anyway."
The store had built a reputation over the last four years for its extensive menu of homemade burgers, but its chips were certainly no sideline act. "We weigh every scoop that goes out, we watch our temperature very rigidly and how we cook it," Mrs Hunter said. "We have the vats filtered so we keep them nice and clean. We take it really seriously."
The competition was open to takeaway shops registered with The Chip Group and, unlike previous years, was only eligible to those who had completed the group's online training in industry standards.
The Chip Group chairwoman Glenda Gourley said the tighter rules raised standards to ensure consumers received better quality chips and also limited competition to the "cream of the crop".
Chinese takeaway owners in the Bay had a heads up when The Chip Group business development manager Aaron Mok flew in from Auckland during the week to run a three-hour training course in making better chips.
More than 30 local takeaway owners completed the course, which was run entirely in Chinese.
Mr Mok said the course was an opportunity to extend the reach of The Chip Group training to Chinese nationals who, nationwide, made up 60 per cent of takeaway owners, but through language or technological barriers were often unable to complete the online course.
Chip lovers could vote for their favourite participating shop throughout July by texting the store's unique four-digit code to 3399. Mystery judges would then visit the top chippies in each region and announce an overall winner in October.
Chips would be analysed in a laboratory to deduce the fat content, which Mr Mok said had a huge impact on taste. "If your chips are all greasy, it generally doesn't taste very nice," he said.
The 2011 Best Chip Shop Competition is the only national chip shop competition and is supported by Potatoes New Zealand, The Heart Foundation, McCain Foods, Mr Chips, Bakel's Edible Oils, Groenz, Food & Beverage Today, Catering Plus and That's Life.
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