Fish and chips is a British staple - with scores of people flocking to their local chippy each week for their fix. And now the UK's have been revealed.

The top 40 shortlist includes an array of businesses from across the country with the The Takeaway of the Year gong handed out by the National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF).

They put fish and chip shops through challenges, interviews, test their product knowledge, evaluate their customer service and other tasks to judge who comes out on top.

Experts from the fish and chips industry judge the restaurants on these categories before announcing the winner.

The full list of restaurants that made the top 40 shortlist is as follows...

Cornwall

Kellaway's Fish and Chips, Truro

County Durham

Yarm Road Fish and Chips, Darlington

Devon

Taffs Fish and Chips, Torrington

Dorset

The Forum Frier, Blandford Forum

Essex

The Hook of Clacton, Clacton-on-Sea

Greater Manchester

Taylors, Stockport

Hampshire

Mike's Traditional Fish & Chips, Eastleigh

Kent

Newington Fish Bar, Ramsgate

Lancashire

Farington Chippy, Leyland

Westend Fish and Chips, Oswaldtwistle

Leicestershire

Frydales (Hinckley Road), Leicester

Lincolnshire

Elite on the Bail, Lincoln

Linfords Traditional Fish and Chips, Market Deeping

London

Brockley's Rock, Brockley

Stones Fish and Chips, Acton

Norfolk

French's Fish Shop, Wells-next-the-Sea

Nottinghamshire

Angell's Fisheries, Newark-on-Trent

Oxfordshire

Harrison's Fish & Chip Co., Oxford

Somerset

The Oyster Shell, Bath

Surrey

Seafare Guildford

Teesside

Robinsons Traditional Fish and Chips, Billingham

West Midlands

Hawthorn Fish Bar, Birmingham

Yorkshire

The Fish Bank, Sherburn-in-Elmet

Locker's Fish & Chips, Redcar

Mister C's, Selby

The Scrap Box, York

Two Gates Fisheries, Barnsley

Aberdeenshire

Carron Fish Bar, Stonehaven

Garioch Fish Bar, Inverurie

Lows Traditional Fish & Chips (Berryden), Aberdeen

Mike's Famous Fish & Chips (Blackburn), Aberdeen

Redcloak Fish Bar, Stonehaven

Sea Salt + Sole, Aberdeen

Ayrshire

The Fish Works, Largs

Fife

The Wee Chippy, Anstruther

Perthshire

McKays Fish & Chip Shop, Pitlochry

Inverness-shire

Hilton Chip Shop, Inverness

Anglesey

Finney's Fish and Chips, Benllech

Glamorgan

Posh Fish and Chips (Llandaff), Cardiff

Zero Plus Fish & Chips, Cardiff

President of the NFFF, Andrew Crook, said: "Fish and chips is such an iconic British staple and it takes huge amounts of skill and hard work to not only perfect the dish and other menu offerings but to also overcome challenges and sustain the business while keeping employees motivated and fulfilled.

"There's a lot to it and each awards season we see greater depths of talent, expertise and business acumen and this trend has continued this year, too.

"Takeaway of the Year is the big one, so it goes without saying that the journey it takes contenders on is very intense. At each stage learnings and recommendations are provided to encourage the hopefuls to keep pushing forward and that's why the National Fish & Chip Awards is seen as the competition for chip shop owners that want the additional steer to become better than they were before.

"We're off to a brilliant start and we're excited for the next rounds and to honour these deserving people."

Tickets for the National Fish & Chip Awards are available More information can be found here: www.thefishandchipawards.com.