The Best of British Takeaways

This week, Tom travels the country to find out what makes the best fish and chips and the trade secrets behind them, while Cherry discovers that the origins of our national dish aren't actually British at all. Then, three of the nation's top chippies are invited to compete in a contest at one of Britain's oldest fishing ports, Brixham Harbour. Each is passionate about their own style of cooking but they all have very different ideas about what makes the best fish and chips. For one, it is haddock and beef dripping, for another it is cod, and for the third it is a re-invention of the dish itself. So it is down to Tom and his expert judge, fish restaurateur Mitch Tonks, to decide who makes the best takeaway on the day.

This week, Tom travels the country to find out what makes the best Chinese takeaway and the trade secrets behind it, while Cherry explores the fascinating stories that shaped our communities as well as our palates. She discovers how the home washing machine kickstarted the takeaway and how Billy Butlin introduced Chinese food to the masses for the first time. Then, three of the nation's award-winning Chinese takeaways are invited to compete in a contest in the heart of London's China Town. Each is passionate about their own style of cooking but they all have very different ideas about what makes the best Chinese dishes. Each believes their version of the takeaway is the best but it is down to Tom and his expert judge, writer and chef Ching He-Huang, to decide a winner.

This week, Tom travels the country to find out what makes the best Indian curry and uncovers the trade secrets behind our takeaways, while Cherry Healey explores the fascinating stories that helped shape our communities as well as our palates and learns how Queen Victoria put curry on the British menu. Then three of the nation's award-winning Indian takeaway chefs are invited to compete in a contest in the curry capital of Britain, Bradford.