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Cheap as Chips: Principles of a Fish Supper

Milton Stavrou

Profile picture of Milton Stavrou

Milton pays tribute to the cherished food he serves at his family’s fish and chip restaurant. He utilises the humble yet iconic meal to make the mundane more whimsical. Moreover, his playful designs alter the recognisable imagery, transforming it into a celebration of the place as a cornerstone of the community. This supposedly cheap and accessible food has been recreated here using contrastingly expensive materials like amber, gold and silver with the intention of redefining what is traditionally deemed as valuable.

Milton pays tribute to the cherished food he serves at his family’s fish and chip restaurant. He ...

My father’s fish and chip shop has been a staple to our community for over 54 years. The shop, which previously belonged to my grandfather, has endured many financially difficult times. Today is no different. The current recession, commonly referred to as the cost-of-living crisis has resulted in immense economic instability. Cheap as Chips: Principles of a Fish Supper is representative of the fact that in today’s economy, a historically economical item such as chips is no longer ‘cheap' or affordable. On the contrary, for many, they are perceived as a small indulgence. This rise in cost has a compounding effect on customers, ultimately altering the interaction between the people and the place. The fish and chip shop has become a place to visit occasionally rather than frequently.

My collection is informed by these contexts. It highlights the struggle between a small business, troubling economic landscapes, and public perception. Traditionally working-class places are forgotten. Communities become localised. Areas become bubbles. In turn, this collection hopes to illuminate overlooked relationships, places, and communities. Encouraging people too ‘keep it local’ and find the value within the simple yet ritualistic act of consuming fish and chips.

INTERPRETATIVE TEXT BY NICOLE JIANG BA (HONS) CULTURE, CRITICISM AND CURATION

Final work

Man in a fish and chip restaurant holding a cod fish with a necklace on.

Principles of a Fish Supper

Sterling silver, Mother of Pearl, Cotton cord.

This outcome is based on the process of descaling, deboning and cutting fish. One side having cod skin etched onto silver and the other having panels of Mother of Pearl representing the flakes of fish. The piece shows the movement process of readying fish as it is flipped from skin side to flesh side in a repetitive fashion. This is something my father takes great pride in doing.

Photography: Freddie Losel-Lingham

Man in a fish and chip restaurant wearing a brooch

Give us Five Minutes

Stainless steel, Baltic Amber

The heart of any Fish and Chip restaurant is the fryer. This piece looks at the tool used to take food out of the fryer, slightly abstract in its form, this piece is a celebration of the person that mans the fryer. Arguably the most important part of any ‘chippy’.

Photography: Freddie Losel-Lingham

  • 3 product shots. First having a silver necklace with cord.
  • gold ring with a piece of jadeite on it shaped like mushy peas
  • chip fork half's gold plated copper. each half if riveted together to form a chain like link
Man with chip fork ring on attempting to bite the amber chip.

Cheapest Chip

9 Carat Gold plated Copper, Baltic Amber, Coral.

Imitation being the key aspect of this piece. Hardly the ‘Cheapest Chip’, this piece highlights the reality that things are no longer cheap that once where, a reality especially in the cost-of-living crisis that has effected the majority of people. The small business suffers as a result. 

Photography: Oliver Bell

Research and process

Open PDF

A man using a stone carving machine, with protective equipment on.

Processing and Making

During the making process I was carving, cutting and polishing all the stone elements myself. As well as all the silver sections being recycled from old silver cutlery obtained from my family.

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Cheap as Chips: Principles of a Fish Supper

My father’s fish and chip shop has been a staple to our community for over 54 years. The shop, which previously belonged to my grandfather, has endured many financially difficult times. Today is no different. The current recession, commonly referred to as the cost-of...

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