Newfoundland man's quest to find the best fish and chips has gone viral

Paradise, N.L. -

The debate has raged for years on the streets of St. John’s: Maybe Ches’s, or Leo’s, serves up the best fish and chips in town.

And, of course, there are the out-of-town entries too: Chafe’s Landing in Petty Harbour, N.L., or By the Beach in Portugal Cove-St. Phillips.

But as Geoff Meeker is now finding out, there are a lot of solid contenders from around the world. His once-small Facebook group dedicated to finding the best fish and chips in Newfoundland and Labrador has seen a huge spike in interest — from Ireland and the U.K. to mainland Europe and beyond.

“It took me a year to maybe add a thousand members,” he said, “And now I’m adding a thousand a day. So it’s gone nuts.”

It’s not all just fun and games, Meeker said. Facebook users, especially those from England, he said, take their fish and chips seriously.

“I think because it’s part of their regional identity,” he said. “In Newfoundland, we see fish and chips as being ours… where they do feel that way, they feel strongly that way, especially in the U.K.”

“They tend to dump on each other too — my God, they really make it hard,” he added.

So far, according to Meeker, it seems like the Yorkshire region in England may have a claim to having the most fans.

His group, however, has members from all over the world. There’s representation in every continent, including, he believes, a member who is posted to a scientific research position in Antarctica.

Trevor Whelan serves an order of fish and chips in his restaurant kitchen in Paradise. (Garrett Barry)It’s a combination of coincidence and online algorithms that have pushed so many people to his group. He’s averaging 50 posts a day, with 1,000 new members a day.

His group has gotten so busy, he’s had to outsource some of his moderating, he said. Even still, he’s deleting about hundreds of comments a day, and has taken steps to lock old posts.

“Literally, it can be overwhelming,” he said. It could be a full-time job, he added, if he let it.

“But I don’t. I’ve got not to take it too seriously and have fun with it and let people have their fun too.”

The debate can get a bit heated.

“I delete probably 200 comments a day, just because they’re over the top,” he said. “They use bad language. I’m trying to run a respectable joint here, you know?”

What sets British fish and chips apart is the classic side of mushy peas — unknown in Newfoundland and Labrador. Meeker said after seeing it a few times he’s starting to warm up to it.

“It's been fun to learn about what they do with it,” he said. “I assumed it was canned peas that had been mushed. But no, it's made out of a peameal, something like peas pudding and that, I want to try that! I could eat that!”

At Tiny’s Bar and Grill in Paradise, fried cod is one of the most popular orders.

Manager Trevor Whelan said he finds it best lightly battered — not too much to distract from the product — and served with a generous side of fries.

“You’re paying for fish, not batter, right?” he said near his deep fryer in his restaurant.

While there’s no question that fresh is best, some of the frozen products on the market have gotten better, too, he said.

Meeker’s been increasing his fish intake over the past few months to try to supply his growing Facebook group with lots of interesting content.

He’s developed what he thinks is a pretty good test for the fish.

“When they serve it to me, I will pick up a piece, and if it doesn’t bend in the middle, that means it’s not too greasy,” he said.

“If it’s one of the ones they serve in England, which are that long, that’s going to break in half.”