Equipment for a Fish and Chip Shop

A chippy runs on a handful of stations doing one job each, over and over, at speed. Get one wrong — too small a fryer, no dedicated fish storage, nowhere to hold cooked chips — and the whole counter slows down. This guide works through it station by station: potato prep, frying, holding, fish storage, and what goes alongside it — sauces, drinks and backup stock.

Potato Prep

Before anything hits the fryer, potatoes need peeling and cutting. At any real volume, doing that by hand eats into the hours you’d rather spend serving.

Sammic potato peelers — Sometimes called potato rumblers: same machine, different trade name. These come in bench, floor-standing and compact formats with varying outputs per cycle. There’s a size to match a single-shop operation right up to higher-volume sites.

IMC VQ3.5 Potato Peeler — A medium-output peeler suited to small to medium kitchens, and versatile about where it sits: worktop, sink-top or pedestal-mounted.

IMC VQ7 Potato Peeler — Takes up to 7kg per cycle for around 50kg/hour output, for sites peeling in larger batches.

Avamore/ChefQuip AVAM.10DB and AVAM.14DB — UK-manufactured peelers in 10lb and 14lb capacities. Both use a fine abrasive chamber lining and replaceable stainless steel liners built to withstand daily commercial use.

Metcalfe EC20 Electric Potato Chipper — Once potatoes are peeled, this handles the cutting. A 20kg hopper delivers a rate of over 25kg of chips a minute. It’s built from 304-grade stainless steel for continuous use at pace.

Frying

The fryer is the piece of equipment a chip shop is built around. The right choice depends mostly on gas supply and expected volume.

Infernus countertop fryers — A broad range from £220, covering electric and gas, single and twin tank, 5–28L capacity. As a rough guide: 5–10L suits small cafés and sandwich bars. 10–17L suits busier pubs and small restaurants. 20L+ moves into high-volume territory.

Blue Seal FastFri FF18 Single Tank Gas Fryer — An 18L single-tank fryer with a 25kW multi-jet burner for fast heat recovery. At just 400mm wide, it fits where a standard-width fryer can’t. That makes it a genuine option for replacing a single unit in an existing line rather than a full refit.

Lincat DF66 Twin Tank Electric Fryer — Two independently controlled 9L tanks produce up to 24kg of chips an hour. It runs on standard single-phase power with two 13A plugs. That makes it a practical choice for sites without three-phase electrics, including mobile catering setups.

Lincat J10/N Silverlink 600 Twin Tank Natural Gas Fryer — A free-standing twin tank unit with 2 x 12L capacity. It produces up to 46kg of chips an hour, for fast-paced service in busier cafés, pubs and takeaways.

Lincat J10/P Twin Tank LPG Gas Fryer — The LPG equivalent of the J10/N above, with the same 2 x 12L twin tank capacity. Suits sites without mains gas — chip vans, market stalls, and standalone units without a gas connection.

Infernus 5 Burner Gas Fryer — At the top of the range for genuinely high-volume sites. Five cast iron burners drive a 37-litre tank with twin baskets. It’s built for rapid recovery between batches during a sustained rush.

Imperial IFS-2525 Twin Pan, Twin Basket Free Standing Gas Fryer, 2 x 14L — A heavy-duty twin tank fryer with independent controls on each 14L tank, so one side can run alone during quieter periods to cut energy use. Available in Natural Gas or LPG. We do sell graded versions of this model when stock allows, at a reduced price with a shorter warranty — call to check current availability.

Holding & Serving

Once fried, chips need to stay hot and crisp rather than going soft while they wait to be served.

ACE EN68 Floor-Standing Chip Scuttle — A high-capacity floor-standing chip dump for sites frying continuously through service, supplied on feet or wheels.

ACE EN724 Table Top Deluxe Chip Scuttle — A countertop option with an angled draining plate for easy scooping, six heat levels and a maximum temperature of 80°C. A practical fit for smaller sites, or as a second station alongside a floor-standing scuttle.

Both styles are also available with a heated gantry, which adds warming from above as well as below. Worth considering if chips tend to sit for more than a few minutes before serving.

Lincat LPW/LR Seal Counter-top Heated Pie Cabinet — Marketed primarily for pies and pastries, but genuinely useful for fried fish too. The humidity feature stops food drying out under display, holding a minimum of 72°C with thermostatic control up to 95°C. Its compact, illuminated design suits counters where space is tight and presentation matters.

Fish Storage

Fresh fish needs its own dedicated cold storage rather than sharing space with general chilled stock. It has different humidity and handling needs.

Sterling Pro Cobus SPR601FISH Single-Door Fish Storage Cabinet, 7 Drawers, 600L — Built specifically for fresh fish rather than adapted from general refrigeration. Fan-assisted cooling keeps airflow even across all seven drawers. The -2°C to +8°C range and R290 refrigerant preserve fish without freezing or drying it out. At 600L gross capacity, this suits busier fishmongers and chip shops working through volume daily.

If you need a different capacity or price point, we also stock the Tefcold RKS600 FISH (560L) and the Williams Z18-SS Zircon (323L). Worth comparing against the SPR601FISH before deciding, since capacity and budget vary meaningfully across the three.

Frozen Backup Stock

Separate from fresh fish storage, a chest freezer covers bulk backup — pre-cut chips, frozen fish fillets, and anything else worth holding a week or two of stock on. That reduces how dependent you are on daily delivery. Many fryers can cook straight from frozen, so this doubles as a buffer against supplier delays as well as a menu-planning tool.

Vestfrost SB300 Low Energy Chest Freezer, 296L — A mid-size option suited to most single-shop operations, with A+ energy rating and static cooling to keep running costs down.

HOSTY Chest Freezer Double Top, 650L — A higher-capacity option for busier sites or those wanting more headroom between deliveries, with a lockable double-lid design and adjustable temperature control.

Sauces & Sides

Curry sauce, mushy peas, gravy and beans all need holding at temperature alongside the fryer. Round pots suit this better than gastronorm pans, since they’re built for exactly this kind of sauce and side.

ELITE 4-Pot Round Wet Well Bain Marie — Four 4L round pots with a drain tap and adjustable thermostat. Sized well for the classic chip shop line-up of curry sauce, gravy, mushy peas and beans.

If you’d rather run dry heat instead — faster to heat up, no water reservoir to maintain — our range of dry bain maries covers the same round-pot format. Available across several capacities.

Drinks

Cold drinks are an easy add-on next to fish and chips, and a glass-fronted bottle cooler by the till sells them on sight rather than relying on someone asking.

Koldbox Graded KBC2SL Double Sliding Glass Door Bottle Cooler — Holds up to 202 x 275ml bottles, with fan-assisted cooling, LED lighting and digital temperature control. Sold as graded stock at a reduced price, professionally reconditioned and tested, with a 1-year parts warranty.

Hosty Black Single Door Drinks Fridge, 900L — A larger new-stock option with an LED canopy box for branding and fan-assisted cooling, suited to sites wanting higher capacity than the Koldbox offers.

Things to Consider Before Buying

• Match fryer capacity to your busiest expected service, not your average day. A fryer that copes on a quiet Tuesday can fall behind on a Friday night.
• Confirm gas supply before choosing between LPG and natural gas models — converting after the fact adds cost and delay.
• Check chip scuttle capacity against how long chips typically wait before serving.
• Keep fish storage separate from general refrigeration, since fish needs a different humidity balance to stay fresh without drying out.
• Factor in delivery days and stock turnover when sizing your fish cabinet.
• All gas appliances must be installed by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and electrical appliances by a qualified electrician — non-compliant installation invalidates the warranty.
• Graded stock moves quickly and carries a shorter warranty than new equipment. That includes the Koldbox bottle cooler above and graded versions of models like the Imperial fryer when available. Correct at time of publishing — call to confirm current availability before ordering.

Ready to Choose?

Setting up a chip shop or upgrading an existing one, we can help. We’ll match the right combination of fryer, prep and storage to your space and volume. Call us on 01379 641223.