Thursday, June 30, 2011

 Largest serving of chips: Britain sets world record (Video)

LONDON, UK -- The Fish and Chip Shopat the Adventure Island fun park in Southend-on-Sea, east of London, cooked up 448 kilos (988 pounds) of chips, piled up inside a giant box , setting the world record for the Largest serving of chips (fried) .

  Photo: Head of catering James Gibbs smiles after breaking the Guinness World Record for the Largest serving of chips. 
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The previous Guinness world record for the largest bag of chips weighed 368.5 kg (812.4 lb) and was made by Alan Williams of Mr Chips, Hereford, UK.

  Guinness World Records also recognized the largest serving of fish and chips: it weighed 35.26 kg (77 lb 12 oz). The chips weighed 43 lb 9 oz (19.84 kg) and the fish weighed 15.42 kg (34 lb 3 oz) and were made by Icelandic USA Inc. at the Black Rose, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

  Five staff took four hours and 20 minutes to cut the potatoes, deep fry the chips and box them up, battering the Guinness World Record of 368.5 kilos (812 pounds) set in 2004.

Gregg Smith, 27, the head of catering for the park, had the idea for the record attempt. He was joined in the feat by his old schoolfriend James Gibbs, 27, the group head of catering for a number of venues in Southend, including Adventure Island.
Barry Campney, 67, Sean Handley, 22, and Mr Smith's brother Tim Rainbow, 18, completed the five-man team.

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   Once cooked, the chips were tipped into a giant replica of the restaurant's chip box - 54in (137cm) long, 46in (116cm) wide, 30in (75cm) high, and weighing 70.5lb (32kg).

  The box had to be a super-sized version of the regular chip boxes to meet food hygiene standards.
    Guinness World Records rules dictated that the chips had to be edible and safe, so the huge container had to meet health and safety regulations.

  "You have to present it in the container that it would normally be presented in," Adventure Island spokeswoman Tracy Jones told AFP.

 "It was hot work. We did it all from scratch. The previous record was done with frozen chips.

 "There was a really good atmosphere. Loads of people turned up. The biggest problem was stopping children putting their hands in and taking the chips before we were finished."

  Visitors to the seaside resort could buy a cone of chips for one pound ($1.60, 1.10 euros), with the money going to charity.

  The new world record was also aimed at raising awareness and funds for the Southend Hospital Charitable Foundation's Bosom Pals Appeal.

 "Having a fish supper on the seafront is part and parcel of a fantastic tradition that we want to celebrate," said Adventure Island chief executive Philip Miller said.

 "I really hope we have reminded everybody how our national dish should and used to taste."