The owner of one of the most highly rated fish and chip shops in the area have given their top tip on how to improve your takeaway experience.

Helen Coon, owner of China Chef in Royal Wootton Bassett has seen her' shop's popularity grow and grow over its 44-year history.

The chippie is ranked as the number one ‘restaurant’ overall in the Swindon area and won a Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice 2023 award.

And Helen said she has been thrilled by all the compliments she gets with some customers telling her everything they read online was true.

“I have a lot of commuters that have read the Google or Tripadvisor reviews, and then after having dined they’ll come in and say ‘That was really nice and really everything I read online was true’," she said.

“That’s really nice to hear.”

And now she has given her simple but genius top tip to maximise your next fish and chip takeout.

She says that if you are taking the food home, then you need to 'open' the food so the collected moisture doesn't make your fish and chips too soggy.

“If people are going to come to eat with us, especially if you are coming in the car, they should have the food open so that the food does not spoil on the trip," she said.

"This should avoid the chips and the fish batter going soggy during the journey, with plastic bags being the worst culprit for catching the steam and giving you damp chips."

Helen added that she is especially proud of her curry sauce, which is made fresh in-house from raw ingredients.

The recipe is a secret, but she did reveal that it contains apples, and requires to be ‘brewed’ for a whole day.

Helen is thankful for all the local support she has had, serving up to four generations of the same family in some cases.

She said: “I'm really lucky because we've been here so long that we have generation after generation of customers. 

So we're not brash about advertising. We're just a humble business. 

We just keep going and use a lot of premium products.”

The shop is celebrating its 44th year in business on May 1.