The Ashvale
# The Ashvale

The Ashvale is a chain of fish and chip restaurants and takeaways in the north-east of Scotland.

The main restaurant, which opened in 1979, is on Great Western Road in Aberdeen. There are other restaurants and takeaways in Banchory, Portlethen, Brechin, Dundee, Elgin, Ellon and Inverurie. By the mid-1990s the restaurant complex in Aberdeen had 300 seats and was open 7 days a week. In 2004, the chain served about 30,000 customers each week, selling approximately 18,000 fillets of fish.

Its successful strategy is to buy fish of the best quality but to sell it at the same price as the competition. Its margins are therefore lower but it makes up for this with high volume, staying open from noon to 1 am, seven days a week, and being fairly busy throughout.

## Awards

The Ashvale won a few awards in the 1990s before it retired from competing:

* Scotland's Fish and Chip Shop of the Year 1989/1990
* Scotland's Fish and Chip Shop of the Year 1990/1991
* Scotland's Fish and Chip Shop of the Year 1993/1994
* UK's Fish and Chip Shop of the Year 1990/1991
* UK Enterprise Award 1989/1990
* UK Enterprise Award 1990/1991
* UK Enterprise Award 1996/1997

The operations director, Stuart Devine, supports the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen and was awarded an MBE for his services to the seafood industry.

## The Whale

The Ashvale's most famous dish is The Ashvale Whale which is a 1lb haddock fillet. To those who successfully complete the challenge of eating a Whale, a certificate is awarded, a commemorative mug may be purchased and another "Whale", or alternatively a dessert, is offered free of charge.

## Celebrities

The Aberdeen restaurant has had many celebrity customers including:

* Annie Lennox, and Denis Law, who were born in Aberdeen
* Elaine C. Smith, who would travel there especially with her mother
* Gregor Fisher, who ate there regularly and whose son was employed by the business when studying at Aberdeen university
* John Major, whose order of a hundred fish suppers was intercepted by police security at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre
* Mel Gibson, who ate there while filming Hamlet in 1990
* Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee, who arrived in a bright-red Rolls-Royce
* Numerous footballers and staff associated with Aberdeen FC, including Liam Brady, Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness and Barry Robson.
* Other celebrities including Lewis Capaldi, Buff Hardie, Sir Elton John, Gerard Kelly, Su Pollard, Sir Rod Stewart, and Ralph Steadman

In 2010, the Scottish Seafood Training Association used the Aberdeen restaurant as a location for a dinner to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the fish supper.

