Fasfa accompany the National Fish & Chip Takeaway winners 2025 on their study trip to Iceland, including Fishermen’s Day.

This year’s visit to Iceland with the 2025 Top three fish and chip takeaways, Yarm Road, Darlington, The Fish Works Largs and Kellaways Truro, were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime visit to Iceland to experience first-hand the country’s fishing culture and heritage courtesy of one of the award’s consortium sponsor Seafood from Iceland.

We started in the north of Iceland, in Akureyri, and stayed at the fabulous Hotel Siglo in Siglufjörður near the Artic Circle. In the evening, we were joined by FASFA members and owners of Ísfélag.

The next day, Jón Páll Kristófersson from Ísfélag welcomed us on board the vessel Sólberg ÓF 1for a full tour of the fish processing process. It was a great highlight to visit the frozen at sea vessel. This was followed by a visit to the state of the art Samherji Whitefish Plant in Dalvík.

We drove to the North East of Iceland, taking in the breathtaking views of the mountains and water falls. We stopped at the Fish & Chip shop at Fish&Chips Lake Mývatn and ate their delicious fish and chips. The evening stop took us to Eskifjörður for Dinner at Randulf’s Sea House, which serves locally produced delicacies and freshly caught fish. The owners, Berglind and Sævar, were great hosts.

We then spent the remaining time at Neskaupstaður, including an unsuccessful but fun fishing trip with rods at midnight. The sky remained daylight throughout the night. At the weekend, the celebrations started for Fisherman’s Day. We were guests onboard Blaengur for a vessel race with all the families of the crew on board. Lunch was a stunning Fish Pan whilst we watched the village rowing competition

We were extremely lucky to be VIP guests at the Sailors’ dinner at Hildibrand hotel and then partied hard at the Fisherman’s Ball. The band were incredible playing Icelandic and classic hits. The generosity of the owner of Sildarvinnslan, GunnÞór Ingvarsson was second to none.

Time to start our journey home but not before we had a packed day fun. The children of Neskaupstaðu were enjoying an angling competition.

You cannot visit Iceland without a visit to Vök Baths, Egilsstaðir. A full two hours in heated pools with a dip in the cold lake for the bravest in the party.

Time to fly home but not before a farewell meal at Nielsen Restaurant, located in the oldest house in town and met the owners and chefs Kári and Sólveig. Their main focus is on local and seasonal ingredients.

Björgvin Pór Björgvinsson, project manager at Seafood from Iceland, sponsor of the award, says:

“This Iceland trip with our National Fish and Chip Award Top 3 takeaways and a media team from the UK and America was very special. Our guests were extremely interested in the visits and were great fun to host,It was not possible to have a better group of inquisitive participants.”

Josette Foster from the Award’s team,

“In our visits we met a lot of interesting characters and all of them were so open to share their knowledge, experience and passion with us. Their generosity was in abundance. As valued guests we have returned to tell the story about Icelandic frozen at sea fish, how delicious it was, how responsibly sourced it is and how important the UK fish and chip sector is to the Icelandic fishing industry. Thanks must go to Björgvin Þór Björgvinsson and Alisa Catherine Silveira for organising this sensational experience.”

Graeme Burrell winner of the Fish and Chip Takeaway 2025 says:

“Our hosts made sure we had an unforgettable time, totally immersing us in their culture and within a stunning environment. The highlights were definitely spending time on a sea trawler to see the hard work put into the fishing process, as well as being fully integrated into an authentic Icelandic fishing village, offering a real glimpse of what a fisherman’s life is like in Iceland.”

Julie Waites from FASFA Julie said, “ This trip was a great opportunity to see my members, their vessels and the crew. We were able to showcase to the winners the Icelandic fleet’s commitment to supply the UK with high quality, sustainable products for the UK fish and chip shops . The delegation were able to engage face to face with our overseas partners to learn about processes and fully experience the fishing culture. I would like to say a huge thank you to Business Iceland for coordinating and organising the itinerary. Thank you to my members for the generosity with their time and their wonderful hospitality. It surely was a most memorable visit.”