THE owner of renowned Bournemouth chip shop, Chez Fred, has been recognised with a national award.

Fred Capel took the Caterway Award For Outstanding Achievement at the 2014 National Fish & Chip Awards, organised by Seafish, the authority on seafood.

Among the takeaway’s fans is Hollywood star Jack Black, who walked from Boscombe to find it last December and proclaimed its fish and chips the best in the world.

Mr Capel was given his award during a ceremony at the Lancaster London Hotel, hosted by TV chef Jean Christophe Novelli. Mr Capel has worked in the fish frying industry for 29 years. He trained in London and opened his Bournemouth shop in 1989.

He said: “I’m truly humbled to receive this award. It’s an honour to be recognised by my peers as having made a positive contribution to the industry that I love. One of the things that I love the most about the fish frying industry is the willingness of those who work in it to help each other. I’m blessed to still be able to work as a fish frier and hope to continue for many more years.”

Paul Williams, CEO of the competition organisers Seafish, said: “Fred has been raising the bar for fellow fish and chip operators for almost 30 years now and we’re happy to recognise him for the good work that he has done.

“When searching for our outstanding achiever, we ask all members of the industry to put forward their suggestions, so Fred’s nomination is truly one that the whole industry is behind.”