By Katie Haseldine
FOR MANY people, the best part of Christmas is being able to eat an unlimited amount of pigs in blankets guilt-free.
Or at least, it is for the customers of Penny Hill Fisheries, Hunslet.
Matthew Wilson-Hirst, owner of the increasingly popular Leeds chippy, asked his customers what they loved the most about Christmas.
When they told him it was the delicious dish of pigs in blankets, he decided to do take that idea to the extreme – introducing the foot-long special.
Matthew said: “We always do something gimmicky for Christmas – we’ve done various things like battered Christmas pudding and battered Brussel sprouts.”
This year, Matthew decided to introduce the foot-long battered pigs in blankets and battered stuffing balls to his menu, to mark the novelty of the festive season.
Individually, the sausage and bacon special is priced at £2.30. For the extra side serving of battered stuffing balls, the Christmas dinner is an affordable £3.50.
And the reaction has been immense. Matthew has been getting to the shop at 5am every day to prepare the sausages for the floods of customers travelling from afar, for a taste of the Penny Hill Christmas special.
He said: “We’ve had people driving from miles and miles around just to try them.
“The reaction on social media has been phenomenal. It’s far beyond anything I ever imagined.”
Matthew has worked in the industry for many years, but has only been running Penny Hill Fisheries for seven months.
The battered pigs in blankets will be on sale until Friday December 22nd, when he closes the shop for the holiday period, so there is still plenty of time for people to go and try one for themselves.
And this year there will be even more to celebrate, as in the short space of just one-week, his chip shop has become the most news-worthy in the country.