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Trethomas chippy Ship Deck is among the finalists at the annual Fish and Chip Awards for the second consecutive year.

The shop, on Newport Road, finished inside the top ten last year in the Fish and Chip Takeaway category, having battered competition from all over the UK.

Now confirmed as top 40 finalists, Ship Deck has ambitions of making it back to London for the final in February 2024.

Partners Ryan and Kimberly Hughes opened Ship Deck four years ago after working in various chip shops in Rhondda Cynon Taff.

Ryan is more involved in the food part of the shop, winning Young Fish Frier of the Year in 2019. He has been in the industry since the age of 15 and was described by Kimberly as the “bread and butter” of the business when she previously spoke to Caerphilly Observer.

On what makes their business different, Ryan said: “We’ve made a lot of changes in the months since being nominated last year.

“We’ve obviously kept providing high quality fish and chips, but now we have greater focus on sustainability and customer service.

“For example, we closed the shop yesterday to train the staff through roleplay, some were customers and some workers. We think this helps improve the experience for everyone.”

Ship Deck now has 15 members of staff, with one, Bethan Jones, having worked there since the shop opened in 2019.

The 30-year-old continued: “We’ve been very good at adapting since we opened. If we hadn’t have changed our business model during the pandemic to suit customer needs we wouldn’t be here today.”

The National Fish and Chips Awards is due to celebrate its 36th year, but Ryan explained how they change the judging system each year.

“Last time we were told there’d be a top 20 and a top ten stage, but this time they’re keeping it under wraps. We suspect there’ll be a few mystery diners but I like that; it keeps staff on their toes.

“Either way we’re extremely pleased to get this far and think this is a great thing for the area.”