All aboard the Black Pearl!

Written by Seyma Fish and chips- England’s favourite food on Fridays. Did you know, there are around 10,500 fish and chips shops in the UK alone? The first fish and chips shop opened in the 1860s by Joseph Malin. In fact, fish and chips was originally brought over from Spain and Portugal refugees; when the Jews were facing persecution, they migrated here and brought their own foods and ideas over and they originally called fish and chips ‘Pescado Frito’.

Around three years ago (2018) in Surrey, England, Mustafa (the owner) came by the Black Pearl Fish Bar, with his wife, Belgin (a solicitor) and two children, and bought it from its previous owner. “At first, it was a bit difficult to get used to the area as we weren’t from around here when we decided to move. However, once we got started, we were welcomed with loving arms from the customers and before we knew it, our business hit off!” said the wife. Luckily for this family, they were able to go a full year of settling into this lovely town, Chobham before the pandemic hit at the end of 2019. I also talked to the husband and his thoughts about working during the pandemic. He said “To be honest, I thought business was going to be bad. I thought many people wouldn’t come. At first business was very slow, but eventually many people started coming back again, and even though we were still in lockdown we still had smiles on our faces.”

Today, this fish and chips shop is still thriving and growing in number of people who have said they ‘loved the food’ or ‘friendly staff’ and that they ‘will definitely be back’. This little family has built up their business from the little things they had and now they are attracting many people from neighbouring towns, who are looking for a delicious, fresh meal and a good laugh every now and then. So why don’t you come aboard the journey of The Black Pearl Fish Bar and experience the great taste of fresh fish and chips yourself!