Women in Fish & Chips: Why the Industry Needs More Female Leaders
Posted by Sarah Heward on 8th Mar 2025 Reading Time:
Welcome to this edition of Trade Talks, where we bring you insights straight from the fryers of the fish and chip industry. In this column, Sarah Heward, founder and co-owner of The Real Food Café, shares her perspective on the trade.
Lately, I've been thinking a lot about people—the role they play in our industry, the challenges we face as employers to recruit and retain talent, and the adjustments we need to make to become the kind of employers people choose to work for.
The fish and chip industry has long been male-dominated, but that doesn’t mean women haven’t played pivotal roles in shaping its future. One remarkable example is Briar Wilkinson, who was Sales & Marketing Director at Drywite and a female leader before it was even a thing. Not only was Briar a great ambassador for her company, but she also championed the industry as a whole. Her tireless work and enthusiasm made her a beacon for the sector, inspiring many along the way. In 2018, she was recognised with the Outstanding Achievement Award at the Seafish Awards—a testament to her impact. Sadly, she passed away that same year, and the glass ceiling she broke has yet to be breached again.
Last week, I attended the glitzy National Fish & Chip Awards. It is a fantastic industry event celebrating the best in our industry that I thoroughly enjoy attending, not least for the networking opportunities. But as I scanned the list of previous winners for the Outstanding Achievement Award, the fact that only one woman had ever achieved the ultimate accolade really struck me. And yet, looking around the room, that didn't seem to reflect reality. Women are working in Fish & Chips. They're showing up, contributing, and playing a vital role.
Now, don't get me wrong— every single one of the Outstanding Achievement Award nominees and winners absolutely deserves recognition for their hard work and dedication to the industry. I also want to emphasise that I'm not one to advocate for positive discrimination. Career progression and recognition should be based on skills, experience, and actual achievements.
But it does make me wonder: Is this just the way things are, or is there room to even things out? And if so, what can we do about it? More importantly, How could the role and prominence of 'Women in Fish & Chips' be an opportunity for our industry and what benefits could having more women in influential roles bring to our industry?
These are the kinds of questions I want to explore in my first opinion piece—one that feels particularly timely as we celebrate International Women's Day today.
Who am I:
Before I delve into the questions, you might be wondering—who am I, and why do I have something to say about this?
By way of a brief introduction, my name is Sarah Heward; I'm the founder and co-owner of The Real Food Café, a roadside diner in a remote part of Northwest Scotland.
Nearly two decades ago, in 2005, I took a leap of faith and bought a derelict Little Chef on the A82 at Tyndrum, a key stop on the West Highland Way walking route. What started as a bold (some might say slightly mad) venture has since grown into a thriving business that serves locals, tourists, and weary travellers year-round.
Despite being based in a village of just 150 people, where secondary school children travel 100 miles daily round trip to attend classes, our café operates seven days a week, all year round, closing only for Christmas and essential maintenance.
We've built a team of 28 (and growing!), providing accommodation for half of them. At the height of the season we can serve up to 2000 people a day, and turn over more than £2.3M net/annually.
Over the years, we have won 5 awards at The National Fish & Chip Awards, including Field to Fryer, The Quality Accreditation Champion, and the Training & Development Award. Additionally, one of our young team reached 2nd place in the Drywite Young Fish Fryer of the Year competition.
We are proud to have been placed on The Caterer's prestigious list of The 30 Best Places to Work in UK Hospitality in 2023 and again in 2024.
Beyond running the café, I'm deeply engaged with the broader industry as a proud member of the National Federation of Fish Friers, UK Hospitality, and the Institute of Directors.
In the 20 years existence of my business and my many year's of prior hospitality experience, I've seen first-hand the challenges our industry faces—from recruitment and retention to evolving customer expectations and ever increasing costs.
So, while I don't claim to have all the answers, I am a passionate hospitality professional who knows a thing or two about running a business, building a strong team, and navigating the challenges of our industry.
Women in the Industry: Key Questions
I was delighted to accept when I was invited to contribute to the Ceres trade talks. Given the opportunity, I am usually more than happy to share my opinions!
It was agreed that the main tenor of my contribution would be around People, as this is a vital part of any successful business. In my experience, it's one of the hardest aspects to get right, and it represents a significant and increasing overhead.
However, I am not going to talk about profit margins or product performance—Stelios has those areas more than covered with his panel of industry experts, the same experts we use to train our team and challenge our thinking at The Real Food Café!
I am, however, offering a female perspective on an industry often dominated by men. I bring a unique perspective to these discussions. I won't talk about the numbers on paper—I'll talk about the soft skills: the building of relationships, the care for employees, and the things you can't always quantify but that make a significant difference in the long run.
Could this be one of the possible answers to one of the questions I posed in the introduction? (what benefits could having more women in influential roles bring to our industry?)
Which brings me to some important questions:
What can we, as individual business owners (that's you and me), do to encourage more women into leadership roles? And what are the key barriers—both for women and the businesses trying to support them?
At The Real Food Café, we're grappling with these same questions. Currently, we have three women (myself included) in senior roles, but we've noticed a lack of younger female candidates applying for positions with more responsibility. And it makes me wonder—why is that?
Are they not interested, or is it a confidence issue?
One thing I've noticed, time and time again, is how much confidence impacts career progression. I often encounter incredibly capable women who, for whatever reason, hesitate to speak up or take on new opportunities (in contrast to men).
This leads me to ask: What can we do to empower more women in our industry to step up and lead?
At The Real Food Café, we've introduced personal coaching (that we pay for) to help bridge that confidence gap and encourage employees to express their desire to progress. We've also embraced more flexible working conditions for employees in senior roles and adjusted traditional role descriptions to help attract and retain top talent.
But what other barriers are at play? Do we, as employers, need to be more agile and support women (and everyone) in balancing work and family life? Is it time we rethink the traditional work-life balance in an industry where it's often been a challenge?
And that brings me to another critical question:
Why wouldn't we want to create conditions that encourage the other half of the population to be involved in leading our industry at the highest levels? And if we do, are we making it clear enough?
A great example of progress here is the recent transition at KFE. This year's well-deserved winner of the Outstanding Achievement Award, Paul Williams, has been succeeded at the helm by his daughter, Tanya Henderson. It's a perfect example of how we can actively encourage and support women stepping into leadership roles.
So, should we be taking a more strategic approach as a sector? Is there an opportunity to create an industry-wide initiative that supports women in Fish & Chips? And what role can the government and the NFFF play in this?
These are all important questions, and I believe they deserve quality time and thoughtful consideration. If we want to strengthen the future of our industry, we simply can't afford to ignore them.
In the next opinion piece, I hope to pose more thought-provoking questions about the people working in the industry. Questions that need to be asked to spark discussions, challenge perspectives, and help shape the future of our industry. Because, at the end of the day, the people in this industry are what make it great and it's essential we continue to talk about how we can support and uplift them.
Did you enjoy this Trade Talks column? Have industry insights or thoughts to share? We'd love to hear from you! Drop us a line at info@worldofceres.com.