FEBRUARY 2007

SOLE MUSIC FROM ORACLE TEAM

UPFRONT, OTW, FEBRUARY 2007, COMMENTS

Leeds operators Stephen Hawkins and Deborah De Vitorris are committed to reinventing the average night out in Leeds, following the success of their BEDA Award winning Oracle venue, with its glitzy burnish and famous burger menu. Indeed, the waterside venue has been so successful at giving the humble burger an upmarket twist that the pair are bringing to Leeds a new gastronomical phenomenon: a pimped-out, gourmet fish ‘n’ chip shop called Battered. The idea is to offer posh variations of the nation’s favourite dish, with a menu offering swordfish, seared salmon and champagne alongside more traditional battered cod and chips. It is the hope of Stephen and Deborah that Battered will herald the end of newspaper packaging, presenting their upmarket fish and chips in cardboard boxes featuring the soon-to-be-famous Battered logo: a half eaten cartoon fish.

“The traditional chip shop has essentially remained the same for over a hundred years, and we think it’s time for an update,” says Stephen. “We’re really keen that Battered is going to be something cool and quirky. What makes it interesting is that like a normal chippy the food is quick and convenient, but ultimately a gourmet dish packaged in a cute, quirky way. The fish comes steamed and grilled, and we’ll offer all sorts of different species. It’s hard to come up with interesting concepts that really benefit a night out, but with our experience of doing similar things with the burger in Oracle, we’re looking forward to getting Battered underway.”

The outlet will be aimed at style and health conscious Leodensians, providing some much needed warmth and sustenance to dispersing Oracle customers as they wait for the taxi home. But it will also run as a charm-heavy and unpretentious 100 capacity restaurant, complete with a DJ and VJ booth from which customers will get a slice of Oracle’s music policy. To complete the fishy theme, a ten by two metre video wall will show various piscine movies - from finding Nemo to Jaws (if you can think of others please email Oracle office), while hand painted fish will adorn Battered’s many bistro tiles.
It is Stephen’s hope that Battered will reignite the British love of fish and chips, and as such will allow fans of the concept to order their own fresh fish and carefully selected wines so that they can recreate the experience at home. The concept will also employ a team of cyclists to deliver the food on traditional bicycles adorned with the Battered livery.

The concept is due to hit Brewery Wharfe centre in the Spring, and while it’s certainly a novel and highly stylised format, the owners insist that Battered will not abandon the traditional associations, or customers, of the humble chippy. Daytime trading will offer lunchtime discounts to OAPs, curry sauce will be available, and the deep frier will be operated by an old school Yorkshire grillman.

“It’s a modern take on a well loved format,” says Stephen Hawkins. “but we’re being careful not to just ‘Londonize’ a chip shop by making it pretentious. It’ll be as traditional as you want it to be, and as unconventional as you want it to be. Quality fish and chips remain at the heart of it, but with a lot of interesting options - like a sword fish club sandwich, Chablis to take away, and you can even order your own fresh fish to take away and cook yourself.”

While Leeds has a ready made market for this kind of concept, and Stephn notes that Yorkshire has more chip shops per capiter than any other UK city, both he and Deborah hope that the idea could take hold in other regional capitals around the UK.

“We’d love to go to Newcastle or Manchester with this,” says Stephen. “We think that there is real scope for Battered to take off, and we’d love to see our logo becoming a part of the nightscape in every major UK city. Otherwise you’ll have to come down to Leeds to check us out - or give us a call. Perhaps one of our cyclists are willing to do a long haul delivery.”

Words: Leo Batchelor

From: February 2006 Issue

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