Scottish chip shop owner beats council over 'ban' on deep-fried Mars bar sign
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Version 0 of 1. Aberdeenshire council has been forced into an embarrassing climbdown after a community rallied to save a sign proclaiming a chip shop to be the originator of the deep-fried Mars bar. Council officials had ordered the removal of a two-metre long banner advertising the Carron fish bar in Stonehaven as the “birthplace” of the world-famous snack in a sharply worded letter. The shop’s owner, Lorraine Watson, has told the Guardian that the official who wrote to her had now called to apologise and assured her that the council would not insist that the sign be taken down. “He was back-tracking from it, and said that he hoped he hadn’t caused me any inconvenience. In fact, he’s done me a power of good. I’ve even had the Financial Times on the phone this morning and people passing the chip shop have been hooting their horns in support,” she said. The deep-fried Mars bar, now copied in chip shops across the country, was first attempted by the Carron’s fryers in 1992, at the behest of a local schoolboy, and draws thousands of tourists to the seaside town every year. Chris Stirk, chair of Stonehaven Business Association, described the council’s edict as “ludicrous”. “There is a regeneration plan to tidy up the town centre and remove eyesores, but I personally don’t consider this one of them and it does bring so many visitors to the town,” she said. “This morning, there were two Austrians in there, who had come to get their Mars bar and have their photo taken with the banner.” She said the community was strongly in favour of the banner staying: “It’s been there since 2006, which is plenty of time for people to have come up with objections if they had any. [The council’s letter] really does have Stonehaven up in arms.” Related: Deep-fried Mars bars are a fine Scottish tradition | Shelagh McKinlay “The townspeople love it,” Watson confirmed. “You get the odd person mumbling about obesity but I say, ‘everything in moderation’.” The Carron, which primarily serves fish and chips using locally sourced haddock, can batter up to 200 Mars bars in the tourist season. A spokesperson for Aberdeenshire council insisted the chip shop had only been asked to consider removing the banner and that it would be happy to discuss the matter further. While the deep-fried Mars bar has become a cultural shorthand for Scotland’s basic eating expectations, the culinary landscape has changed significantly in recent years, with 16 Michelin-starred restaurants across the country and the food and drink tourism sector worth an estimated £2.5m a day. Sue Lawrence, Scotland’s leading food critic, says there has been a move away from unhealthy eating. “People are concerned so much more now about provenance of ingredients. And local is so much more important. People are definitely cooking more for themselves.” Meanwhile, Watson remained adamant after the commotion over her signage. “There’s no way I’m taking it down.” |