Food content creator Toby Inskip, known online as Eating with Tod, was left baffled by a popular northern food combination during a visit to Rock and Sole Plaice in Covent Garden, one of London's oldest fish and chip shops. Accompanied by professional mixed martial artist Tom Aspinall from Salford, the duo debated the merits of adding gravy to chips and fish.
Gravy on Fish? A Northern Controversy
In a TikTok video documenting their experience, Toby introduced the historic chippy, which has survived two world wars and been operating for 150 years. The pair set out to answer the question: which chippies are better, northern or southern? The northern tradition of chips and gravy soon became the focal point of the debate.
After sampling the London sides—pickles, coleslaw, and a pickled egg—Tom Aspinall deemed the pickled egg “not great.” The focus then shifted to the battered cod. Toby expressed dismay as Tom began pouring gravy over the fish, exclaiming, “Come on, mate, what you doing? Not on the fish, surely. The batter is gonna get all soggy.” Tom retorted, “Bonus points for that,” and later criticized the gravy as “not that good” and “not proper” northern-style, lacking sufficient thickness.
Mixed Reactions from TikTok Users
Toby decided to try the gravy himself but confessed, “I don’t get it.” The video sparked a lively debate in the comments, with users divided on whether gravy belongs on fish or should be reserved solely for chips. Many also praised chip shop curry sauce as an alternative. Tom concluded, “This was good, but it’s not a northern chippy. A northern chippy takes it, easy.”
