The Ashvale is a

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...

fish and chip Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...

restaurants and takeaways in the north-east of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The main restaurant, which opened in 1979, is on Great Western Road in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

. There are other restaurants and takeaways in

Banchory Banchory (, sco, Banchry, gd, Beannchar) is a burgh or town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is about west of Aberdeen, near where the Feugh River meets the River Dee. Prehistory and archaeology In 2009, a farmer discovered a short cist ...

Portlethen Portlethen (; gd, Port Leathain) is a town located approximately 7 miles south of Aberdeen, Scotland along the A92. The population according to the 2011 census was 7,130 making it the seventh most populous settlement within Aberdeenshire. To ...

Brechin Brechin (; gd, Breichin) is a city and former Royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Traditionally Brechin was described as a city because of its cathedral and its status as the seat of a pre-Reformation Roman Catholic diocese (which continues today ...

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

, Elgin,

Ellon Ellon may refer to: *Ellon, Aberdeenshire Ellon ( gd, Eilean) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, approximately north of Aberdeen, lying on the River Ythan, which has one of the few undeveloped river estuaries on the eastern coast of Scotla ...

and

Inverurie Inverurie (Scottish Gaelic: ''Inbhir Uraidh'' or ''Inbhir Uaraidh'', 'mouth of the River Ury') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland at the confluence of the rivers Ury and Don, about north-west of Aberdeen. Geography Inverurie is in the vall ...

. 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 An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award ...

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 Fishermen's Mission - the full name of which is The Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen - is a British charitable organisation founded and run on Christian principles. The mission also welcomes the participation and support of persons of ...

and was awarded an

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

for his services to the seafood industry.

The Whale

The Ashvale's most famous dish is ''The Ashvale Whale'' which is a 1 lb

haddock The haddock (''Melanogrammus aeglefinus'') is a saltwater ray-finned fish from the family Gadidae, the true cods. It is the only species in the monotypic genus ''Melanogrammus''. It is found in the North Atlantic Ocean and associated seas where ...

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 Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the New wave music, new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician D ...

, and

Denis Law Denis Law (born 24 February 1940) is a Scottish former footballer who played as a forward. His career as a football player began at Second Division Huddersfield Town in 1956. After four years at Huddersfield, he was signed by Manchester City ...

, who were born in Aberdeen *

Elaine C. Smith Elaine Constance Smith (born 2 August 1958) is a Scottish actress, comedian, and political activist. She has starred in the BBC Scotland sitcoms '' City Lights'' (1984–91), ''Rab C. Nesbitt'' (1988–2014) and '' Two Doors Down'' (2016–), ...

, who would travel there especially with her mother *

Gregor Fisher Gregor Fisher (born 22 December 1953) is a Scottish comedian and actor. He is best known for his portrayal of the title character in the comedy series ''Rab C. Nesbitt'', a role he has played since the show's first episode in 1988. He has also ...

, who ate there regularly and whose son was employed by the business when studying at Aberdeen university *

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...

, whose order of a hundred

fish supper Fish and chips is a popular hot dish consisting of fried fish in crispy batter, served with chips. The dish originated in England, where these two components had been introduced from separate immigrant cultures; it is not known who created t ...

s was intercepted by police security at the

Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre The Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (also known as the General Electric Exhibition Centre and often shortened to the AECC) was a large exhibition and conference complex, in the suburb of Bridge of Don, in Aberdeen, Scotland. The compl ...

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocaly ...

, who ate there while filming Hamlet in 1990 *

Paul Daniels Newton Edward Daniels (6 April 1938 – 17 March 2016), known professionally as Paul Daniels, was an English magician and television presenter. He achieved international fame through his television series '' The Paul Daniels Magic Show'', whic ...

and

Debbie McGee Debra Ann McGee (born 31 October 1958) is an English television, radio and stage performer who is best known as the assistant and widow of magician Paul Daniels. McGee is a former ballet dancer and for three years was artistic director of her ...

, who arrived in a bright-red

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

* Numerous footballers and staff associated with

Aberdeen FC Aberdeen Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen, Scotland. They compete in the Scottish Premiership and have never been relegated from the top division of the Scottish football league system since they were ...

, including

Liam Brady William Brady (born 13 February 1956) is an Irish former footballer. He found success both in England with Arsenal, where he won an FA Cup in 1979, and in Italy with Juventus, winning two Serie A titles. Brady was capped 72 times for the Irelan ...

Kenny Dalglish Sir Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish (born 4 March 1951) is a Scottish former association football, football player and manager (association football), manager. During his career, he made 338 appearances for Celtic F.C., Celtic and 515 for Liverpoo ...

Graeme Souness Graeme James Souness (; born 6 May 1953) is a Scottish former professional football player and manager, and current TV pundit. A midfielder, Souness was the captain of the successful Liverpool team of the early 1980s, player-manager of Ranger ...

and

Barry Robson Barry Gordon George Robson (born 7 November 1978) is a Scottish football coach and former player who currently works for Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership. Robson played as a midfielder for several clubs in Scotland, England and Canada and r ...

. * Other celebrities including

Lewis Capaldi Lewis Marc Capaldi ( ; born 7 October 1996) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. He was nominated for the Critics' Choice Award at the 2019 Brit Awards. In March 2019, his single "Someone You Loved" topped the UK Singles Chart where ...

, Buff Hardie,

Sir Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Gerard Kelly Gerard Kelly (born Paul Kelly; 27 May 1959 – 28 October 2010) was a Scottish actor who appeared in many comedies, including ''City Lights'', ''Rab C Nesbitt'', ''Scotch and Wry'' and '' Extras''. He had more serious roles as well, includin ...

Su Pollard Susan Georgina Pollard (born 7 November 1949) is an English actress and singer. Her career has spanned over 45 years; she is most famous for her role in the sitcom ''Hi-de-Hi!''. She also appeared in '' You Rang, M'Lord?'' and ''Oh, Doctor Beec ...

, Sir Rod Stewart, and

Ralph Steadman Ralph Idris Steadman (born 15 May 1936) is a British illustrator best known for his collaboration and friendship with the American writer Hunter S. Thompson. Steadman is renowned for his political and social caricatures, cartoons and picture b ...

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.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashvale 1979 establishments in Scotland Companies based in Aberdeen Fish and chip restaurants Restaurants established in 1979 Restaurants in Scotland Scottish restaurants

Awards

The Whale

Celebrities

See also

References

External links