Fish and chips, the quintessential British takeaway, is often celebrated as our national dish.

Many tuck into fish and chips exclusively on Friday nights - a tradition which has led to an impressive 10,500 chippies springing up across the UK.

But how much do we really know about what goes on behind those sizzling fryers? Express.co.uk spoke to Jordan Luxford, a former fish and chip shop employee with five years experience to find out.

Having worked at various chippies on the country's south coast, Jordan's experience includes a stint at none other than Wimbledon, where he served fish and chips for tennis fans in 2019.

In a revelation that might surprise many customers, he shared: "Most people wouldn't know that after we cook battered products in our oil we would follow it with a batch of chips."

He explained further: "The chips help to clean the oil of the smaller batter particles that do not get removed by sieving the oil."

The former Wimbledon chef declared no foods off-limits when it comes to deep-frying; from traditional favourites like cod, haddock, and sausages, right down to chocolate bars.

However, his insider experience has made him more wary about certain offerings. Speaking previously to Express.co.uk, he admitted: "I would never order a fried beef burger! If you want a decent burger get it from a shop with a hot plate to cook it on."

Jordan continued: "If you want a freshly cooked item go for something that isn't in the glass top under the lights but we would cook anything fresh if a customer asked anyway."

Other surprising insights into the UK's much-loved fish and chips trade included the considerable amount of effort exerted in preparing the staple menu items - particularly the chips.

"The amount of preparation time needed to get everything ready before opening was a huge surprise!", said Jordan, adding that it "takes hours" to prepare enough food for the Friday night rush, with 20 bags of potatoes to get through.

Christian Motta, owner of the Grosvenor Fish Bar in Norwich, told of the same intensive efforts in a previous interview with Express.co.uk.

He explained that his award-winning chippy opens to staff at 7am when they begin peeling 300 kilos of spuds before storing them in a large tank.

The business owner elaborated: "On busy days we will have to do another 300 kilos after lunch. The fish needs to be cut, sauces made and stock taking and ordering are all done before we open at 11.30am."

Of course, the job is made somewhat easier with the help of a chipper machine, but when this fails, Christian noted that they have to do everything by hand; a process he likened to "filling a bucket with sand, one grain at a time".