Seafood
Hake and chips
Also known as Fish and chips, vis en tjips
Harbour fish shops at the Cape fry hake or snoek in batter and serve it with thick, soft slap chips doused in vinegar and salt.
- TraditionCape harbour fish and chips
- Kind of dishSeafood
- SeasonAll year
- OccasionAny day of the week
The story
At the Cape's harbour fish shops, fish and chips usually means hake or snoek fried in batter, with thick, soft slap chips doused in vinegar and salt. At some shops there is vinegar, chilli sauce and tomato sauce on the tables for customers to help themselves.
The South African hake trawl fishery was first certified by the Marine Stewardship Council in 2004, the first hake fishery in the world to be certified, and in 2026 it was certified for a fifth consecutive time. WWF-SASSI lists MSC-certified trawled hake as green, a best choice.
A 2014 TimesLIVE report said that Kalky's, a family-run shop on Kalk Bay harbour, went through 1.2 tonnes of fish on an average day, and that most customers ordered battered hake or snoek with chips.
Stories
Related reading
Sources
Check out these sources
- Harbour fare: all wrapped up in fish · TimesLIVE
- Shallow-water Cape hake · WWF-SASSI
- South African hake trawl fishery celebrates fourth certification to MSC standard · Marine Stewardship Council
- Good news for fish lovers: SA hake keeps its ecolabel · South African Deep-Sea Trawling Industry Association (SADSTIA)
- The world's best slap chips · Woolworths TASTE
