Ocean and Paddock snatched back the mantle of WA’s best takeaway chippy from their cross-town rivals Hooked this year, securing the title thanks to the machinations of the owner’s 10-year-old daughter.

The Middleton Road venue is no stranger to success at the WA Seafood Industry Awards having won three in previous years.

Owner Trenton Brennan said that despite the already full trophy cabinet, he was “ecstatic and humbled” to receive this year’s best takeaway fish and chips recognition at a ceremony Fraser’s Kings Park on May 8.

“This is really a meaningful one,” he said.

“I think the industry, I’ll be honest, is really experiencing a lot of struggles at the moment, both in the broader terms of hospitality and particularly those that are relying on fish with a reduction in the demersal catches.

“We are having a particularly hard time.

“Good stories, positive news, moments of success that we can all look towards I think are really important.”

The gong was a near miss however, with Mr Brennan saying he didn’t originally plan to nominate for the awards.

It was his young daughter Annabelle, 10, who has been working in the shop, pushed him into it.

“Annabelle has been a big driving force — I’m not just saying that flippantly or for cuteness,” he said.

“When the awards were coming up, Annabelle was the big push, saying ‘daddy, we have to do it’.

“She’s part of the business, as is my son, and she works in the business a lot, and she takes it very seriously.

“So honestly, a lot of the award goes to Annabelle and our amazing staff.”

For the the young prodigy, who is eyeing a career in politics rather than in the family fish and chip shop, it was both a point of pride and practicality for her future endeavours.

“I want to be a really good fish and chip shop, so then we get lots of customers, and then I can practise talking to people,” she said.

“If we don’t get an award, we don’t get that much customers and I’m a bit of a chatterbox so I want to talk to people to practise for when I’m older in government or Parliament for Albany.

“Also, a lot of kids at my school say that Hooked is way better than the Ocean and Paddock and that we would even be lucky to win.

“Now I can bring the trophy into school.”

With 2024 winners Hooked on Middleton located only down the road, Mr Brennan said the award backs up what everyone already suspected.

“These awards just showcase how great the seafood is in Albany — the best,” he said.

We’ve got such great product to work with that we can really showcase it, not just to WA, but to Australia and the rest of the world that when you want great seafood, Albany in the Great Southern is the place

Ocean and Paddock is now in the running to be Australia’s best takeaway fish and chips, with the national awards being held in Sydney on July 30.