Fish and Chips in Oxford

 
 
 

Vocabulary

elite	residential	best known
mere	chip (3)	come/came/came
fry	deep fried	sell/sold/sold
peel	deep (3)	think/thought/thought
fresh	de-bone	preservatives
cod	nonsense	get/got/gotten
scale	scaled (2)	wholesome
enjoy	aim (2)	make/made/made
flour	hospitality	made-to-order
size	portion	ready made
price	waistline	make/made/made
flavor	coat (2)	come/came/came
sickly	show (3)	know/knew/known
batter	attitude	straight (3)
filling	customer	put together
gallery	interact	conferences
outing	go berserk	keep me going

 
 
 
 
 

Video: Fish and Chips in Oxford

 
 

 
 
 
 

Transcript

The English city of Oxford is best know for its elite university. It’s one of the oldest in the world, and have just under twenty-four thousand students.

A mere two kilometers away is the other Oxford. This residential neighborhood is home to Kazem Hakimi’s fish and chip shop.

Born in Iran, Kazem Hakimi first came to England in the 1960s. And since 1988, he’s been selling that most British of fast-food, deep-fried fish and chips.

He says it’s a lot healthier than many people might think.

Kazem Hakimi, Fish and Chip Shop Owner: “Well, it’s wholesome food. We peel fresh potatoes in the morning; there are no preservatives or nonsense in that.

We get scaled cod, the best cod I can get. Filet of cod. I take the bones out— de-bone it.”

It’s then coated in a batter made of flour, salt and water. And put straight in to the deep fryer.

Kazem Hakimi, Fish and Chip Shop Owner: “Five to ten minutes maximum, made-to-order; we don’t have them ready-made.”

The portion sizes are certainly not for anyone watching their waistline. The price: eight pounds; that’s nearly nine euros.

Many of his customers have been coming here for years.

Female Customer One: “I don’t know. It’s just that no one is going to just not like it though, are they, because of it’s flavors and everything. There’s nothing to not enjoy. And it’s not too sickly or too filling.”

Male Customer One: “It’s cheap, it’s good. You can’t tell if it’s healthy or not— probably not, but it’s delicious.”

Male Customer Two: “Always nice hospitality. Make you a cup of tea if you ask him. Hahaha.”

Kazem Hakimi aims to do more than sell fast food. He says it’s about an attitude to life.

A few years ago, he started photographing his customers, putting them together in a large book. Many of his photos have gone on shows and galleries in Oxford.

Kazem Hakimi, Fish and Chip Shop Owner: “I interact with people here. So we have conference. So it’s just like an outing really. I come to see my friends. Also, it happens that I work here.

So it’s good. That’s what gives me going. Otherwise I would have gone berserk, just cooking and cooking.”

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Questions

1. The most famous establishment in Oxford is a fish-and-chip shop. True or false?

2. Is the owner and operator of the fish-and-chip shop a native-born Briton?

3. According to the owner, Kazem Hakimi, is fish-and-chips healthy or unhealthy? What are the ingredients of fish-and-chips?

4. How is fish-and-chips made? Are the ready-made or made-to-order? Are they cheap or expensive?

5. Do the customers like Kazem Hakimi’s fish-and-chips? What do they say?

6. Kazem Hakimi only prepares, cooks and sells Kazem Hakimi. Is this right or wrong?

7. What has happened to him and his enterprise?

 

A. I have been to the UK. I have visited England. Yes or no?

B. Have you eaten fish-and-chips? What meals, fast-foods and snacks have you tried?

C. What meals, fast-foods and snacks are popular in your city?

D. I would like to own and operate a food or snack stall.

E. What might happen in the future?