Stewarton's Chip Box, on Rigg Street, has made it through to the next round of the Seafish 'Fish and Chip Shop of The Year' competition by winning their Scottish area heat.

To get this far in the competition The Chip Box has already been voted for by its customers, had a mystery judge visit and sample their food, and now went onto achieve the title of area winner along with 20 other shops throughout the UK.

The next round to whittle the area winners down to 10 shops and go onto the grand final in London involves being visited by a Seafish judge who will spend a day with them checking product quality, staff training, customer service, shop décor and cleanliness, as well as staff hygiene and food preparation techniques. All shops also face questions regarding their policies on sourcing seafood from sustainable stocks.

The chippie is up against the only other Scottish finalist, Anstruther Fish Bar & Restaurant, Fife, but Chip Box owner, Ronnie McCulloch is confident that the Chip Box will hold its own as he states "Our fish products are top class, as we never compromise on quality. we source our seafish from sustainable sources throughout the UK. We offer a wide variety of seafood, including traditional battered haddock, or you can choose from lemon sole, scampi or prawns cooked to order in golden breadcrumbs, served with onion rings and delicious fresh side salad, we also offer a great kids selection of meals to get the youngsters enjoying fish at an early age"

Ronnie has owned The Chip Box in Stewarton for 26 years. It's a proper family business with his wife, Margaret, and daughter, Donna, working alongside him. Grandson, Ross (aged four), seems keen to be a part of the team too."I think he's wanting to take over when I retire." jokes Ronnie.

Ronnie oversaw a major refurbishment of the shop three years ago and since then the shop has won several awards. It was the first business in East Ayrshire and the first chip shop in Scotland to win the Eat Safe Award given by the Food Standard's Agency for excellence in food hygiene.

Last year the shop reached the top five in the same chip shop competition, which covers several thousand chippies from Lothian, Strathclyde, Borders, Dumfries & Galloway and so are delighted to have progressed further in the competition this year. He states "our fresh, good quality produce and excellent staff have a large part to play in us achieving the area winner stage, the staff are welcoming, friendly and trained to the highest standards in hygiene and customer service"

It is also good to know that they offer home delivery from Thursday to Sunday between 5pm and 9.30pm - a service particularly appreciated by the senior citizens among their customers.

Ronnie and his staff are confident that they will not only win the Scottish title but also go onto win the national title, and be crowned best chip shop in the UK.