Don’t miss a thing! Sign up to the Daily Star’s newsletter
We have more newsletters
Fish and chips have become almost like a trademark of Britishness.
They are one of the first dishes on a pub menu and foreigners have been known to cite it as the first thing that comes to mind when asked what they think of Brits.
In fact, King Charles III himself is known to be impartial to a chip or two, and the late Queen was very particular about she liked hers.
Chippies are synonymous with Fridays due to Britain’s Christian past.
Although it is largely becoming a lost tradition, Christians have historically refrained from eating meat on Fridays, making the dish a popular choice.
Queues outside chippies continue to be common sights at the end of the working week.
The Queen's funeral is not on a Friday, but on Monday September 19, with the occasion being declared a bank holiday.
Takeaway owners will have to decide whether they want the day off themselves or to open to the public.
Will chippies be closed for the Queen’s funeral?
Fish and chip shops are privately-run ventures in the main, so it will be up to owners of the fryers as to whether they stay shut on Monday.
The UK Government has said that there is "no obligation to suspend business" during the national mourning period following the Queen's death on Thursday (September 8).
Given that most of the major supermarkets are closed throughout the bank holiday, takeaways might find it is a good time to open for business.
The likes of Aldi, Lidl, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Iceland and M&S have said most of their regular shops will be closed on Monday.
Other brands, such as Tesco and Co-op will close certain stores early or open after 5pm.
It could mean there are hungry Britons with bare cupboards who could fancy venturing to their local chippy on Monday.
How did the Queen like her fish and chips?
The Queen is said to have liked her fish and chips cooked in a "refined" fashioned.
Darren McGrady, who worked as the monarch's chef for 11 years in the 1980s and 90s, said he would prepare her cod fillets baked and bread-crumbed, rather than deep-fried and battered.
She particularly enjoyed the coating with a bit of extra bite by having panko breadcrumbs on her white fish, Mr McGrady suggested on his YouTube channel.
Another way the Queen had posh fish and chips was that her chips were cut into very neat rectangles so that each one was the same length.
In his 2020 video, Mr McGrady is seen stacking the chips almost like in a game of Jenga.
To accompany the crispy baked fish, instead of tartar sauce, Elizabeth II enjoyed some tarragon hollandaise sauce.
It is a classic rich French sauce, made with 90% butter.
Mushy peas are nowhere to be seen on the plate prepared in the video by the chef, with the fish instead finished off with a decorative flower.
During his time working at Buckingham Palace, he would have fish and chips on the menu every Friday lunchtime.
But despite being known as a quintessentially British dish, McGrady said, because the Queen’s menus were always written in French, classic fish and chips would be listed as: “Cabillard et Pommes Pont Neuf”.
After staring at his alternative take on the dish, Mr McGrady said to viewers: “Does the Queen eat fish and chips? Sort of, I guess.”
READ MORE:
- King Charles' unusual habits from skipping lunch, staying up late, and strict bath rule
- 'Good omen' for King Charles as he's licked by corgi during Northern Ireland visit
- Will schools and shops be closed for Queen’s funeral? What the bank holiday means for UK
- Queen feared baby Charles 'sausage fingers' as they spark health fears from fans
- Queen's funeral guidance for VIPs 'leaked' – with Joe Biden 'forced to take bus'
- Queen
- The Queen’s funeral
Source: Read Full Article