Fraggle's in Invermay has once again been named the state's best fish and chips.
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The Great Australian Fish & Chip Awards are organised each year by the Seafood Industry Australia and ask towns across each state and territory to vote up their favorite spot for fried fish and hot chips.
The 2021 voting tally reached almost 300,000 and Launceston residents once again rose above the other towns in the state to hold Fraggle's aloft as the state's best fish and chip shop.
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The award was not run last year due to COVID-19 restrictions, meaning Fraggle's remains the state champion after winning previously in 2018 and 2019.
The much-loved Invermay chip house is helmed by husband and wife team Chris Fragoulis and Rania Bourdouvali.
Mr Fragoulis, who previously worked for Rio Tinto in Bell Bay before setting up Fraggle's in 2015, said he learnt his craft at his parents' fish and chip shop in George Town.
When asked why he thought Fraggle's continues to place first in the statewide awards, Mr Fragoulis brought it back to the quality and care with which he and his team prepare the food.
"We still do it all the old fashioned way - we use local fish and local potatoes. We still hand cut the chips - which not a lot of people do - we do everything the same way my parents did in George Town," he said.
Adding to the eatery's fame, Fraggle's also won a public poll put on by The Examiner in 2019, with 19.17 per cent of readers voting it their number one choice.
SIA chief executive Veronica Papacosta was eager to encourage the public to get out and support their local eateries, following a difficult couple of years for the hospitality industry.
"After a hard 18 months for Australia's foodservice industry and our commercial fishers, we encourage everyone to take a night or two off from the kitchen, get together with your friends and family, and support your local takeaway store and your fishers, while you enjoy some great Australian fish and chips," she said.
Ms Papacosta went on to use the awards as an opportunity to champion local producers and restaurants, as well as impress the benefits of buying sustainably.
"The awards also highlight the importance of buying fresh, local, Australian seafood. It's important to always ask for Aussie seafood; even why you're buying fish and chips," she said.
"Close to 70 per cent of seafood eaten in Australia is imported so it's important you chat to your server about where your seafood is from. Buying Australian seafood supports Australian fishing families and regional communities they operate in."
Other winners of this year's awards include Something Seafood in Callala Bay, New South Wales, Trident Fish Bar in Queenscliff, Victoria and Pinjarra Fish & Chips in Western Australia.
Queensland residents proved themselves avid fish and chip lovers by casting more votes than any other state or territory and named Costa's Seafood Cafe in Capalaba as their pick of the bunch.
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Meanwhile, the Australian Capital Territory made its first ever appearance on the awards list and crowned The Fish Shack in Civic as the winner.
Voting was tight in the land-locked territory with The Fish Shack reeling in the win by just 10 votes.
Fraggle's joins Pinjarra Fish and Chips, Costa's Seafood Cafe and Trident Fish Bar in securing the award again after winning in 2019.
Looking forward, Mr Fragoulis and his wife told the eatery's fans further north to keep an eye on George Town for another operation led by the successful couple in the near future.
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