People and Personalities

The shops in the running for this coveted award are Pepe's in Luton; Broughton Fish & Chips in Milton Keynes; Fish N Chick N in Royston; Fish N Chick N in Bishops Stortford and Fish N Chick N in Baldock.

BBC Three Counties spoke to Pepe Martuccio from Pepe's in Luton to find out what makes his fish and chips so special!

"Quality and quantity!" explained Pepe.  "We sell so much that nothing is ever sitting around for long and so our customers get freshly cooked food.

"We make sure our ingredients are the very best - if a sack of potatoes is available for £4, we'll leave it and go for the better quality £6 bag instead - it makes all the difference."

Mystery Judge

The next stage in the bid to win the national title involves a visit from a mystery judge who will assess the chippies on product quality, customer service, hygiene, staff training and approaches to sustainable sourcing. 

The highest scoring shops will be whittled down to 19 area winners in October.  A further round of judging will determine the top 10 shops in the UK who will progress to the grand final, held in London in January 2010.

"Apparently, around 800 shops around the UK entered into the competition, so I'm absolutely ecstatic to have made it through to the last five - it's just amazing really!" said Pepe.

With nearly 276 million meals sold each year from over 10,500 shops across the UK, fish and chips remains the nation's favourite takeaway.