A few weeks ago, we saw in the new long queues outside Burdock’s in Howth, as people anticipated a full lock-down and went in hunt of their last salt-and-vinegar-soaked fix before we were told to stay indoors. I, like most people, have a long-established love for fish and chips. My grandparents used to bring my cousin and I to Bray as kids, where we sat on the low wall at the seaside, eating our plunder straight out of the greasy paper. Long summer evenings, with the smell of fresh-cut-grass in the air have long been known as ‘chipper days’ in our household – thankfully for our waistlines, we don’t get too many long summer days in Ireland!
This week has me thinking though, who was the genius who invented this delicious deep-fired marvel? In Ireland, we have an Italian named Giuseppe Cervi to thank! Giuseppe landed in Cobh, County Cork in the 1880s. He was on board a US-bound ship, but when it docked in Cobh he disembarked and walked all the way to Dublin. He worked as a labourer in Dublin, until he earned enough money to buy a coal-fired oven and a cart, from where he sold fish and chips outside the pubs of Dublin. Giuseppe soon found a permanent home for this delicacy on Great Brunswick Street, now known as Pearse Street and our love of Italian chippers has been part of our history ever since. Giuseppe ran the shop with his wife, Palma. Palma would ask customers ‘Uno di questo, uno di quello?’, meaning ‘one of this and one of the other?’ In this way, Palma helped Dubliners to coin the phrase ‘one and one’ – a common phrase for ordering fish and chips today.
So, this year, on National Fish and Chip Day – June 2nd – raise a toast to Giuseppe – the father of the much beloved fish supper.