Out of the Frying Pan into the 21st Century!
The Frying Pan has been a family run business, serving the locals and tourists in Southend on Sea in Essex, for over 20 years - at present it is run by husband and wife team Steve & Julie Keen. Steve has been involved at the shop since he was at school and Julie has now given up her job in London so they can run the shop together full time.
Rumour has it that the original shop even had a coal fired range - thankfully technology has now made frying much easier and Steve and Julie are well renowned in their area for serving quality fish and chips. They are both passionate about fish and chips and are actively spreading the word about the healthy, wholesome and nutritional value of their product as loudly and as often as they can, they also only fry fresh fish and cook in ground nut oil.
In November 2006 Steve and Julie contacted Robert Furey from Florigo UK to design a range that would suit both the takeaway and restaurant area of their premises, Robert also recommended John Regan from Design Mach Limited to complete the shop fitting they also needed - Robert advised that a counter range, with a serving area at both ends would continue to work well for both the takeaway and restaurant - and John worked with both Steve and Julie to create a functional design that would suit the local area and compliment the limited edition beach landscapes by a local artist in the restaurant area.
'Its nice to see a couple who have fried successfully for over 20 years', said Robert. 'but who still have the vision and passion for fish and chips that they had when they first started. When it came to changing their range they realised that technology had moved on a pace and also took their time to see what was available on the market and perhaps most importantly how they could continue to grow the company'.
The bespoke range they chose was hand crafted at the Florigo Factory in Holland and included High Efficiency pans with Amber Touch Screen Controls, built in scrap box, a chrome plated griddle and hand crafted stainless steel counter both ends of the range.
In March 2007 The Frying Pan held a 'Cheap as Chips Day' when the shop was officially opened by James Duddridge, the local MP whose office is just down the road! Steve & Julie also arranged for the local radio station to broadcast live from the shop and goodie bags were handed out to all those passing.
'Its been fantastic since we re-opened', said Steve, 'Mark Petrou from Petrou Brothers even came down to the opening and gave me some valuable advice on how to get the best from our range. Since the shop has reopened the feedback from customers has been great, they love the new look and best of all lots of customers have said the food tastes better then ever!'.
The new upmarket 'Frying Pan' has raised the game in the local area, the décor of the shop looks great, the food is fantastic - in fact there has never been a better time to eat fish and chips in Southend on Sea!
I used to really like frying' said Julie, 'but since we installed the Florigo and changed to basket frying - I love it!' | 
