David Beckham is a fan, as are a multitude of footballers, soap stars and rock legends - so we headed to give the fish and chips a try
Dianne has written for the Manchester Evening News for almost 20 years across a variety of subjects. Formerly Diary Editor covering showbiz and events in Manchester, Dianne is now Lifestyle Editor, covering travel reviews, food and drink news and reviews and attending many of the biggest gigs across Manchester. Dianne loves a farm shop, and writing about all the great places for families to take children across the North West and beyond.
We tried out Fosters Fish and Chips in Alderley Edge - a favourite stop off of David Beckham, and a whole roster of celebrities who live in the area
(Image: MEN)
David Beckham's glory days at Manchester United may be long gone (more's the pity) but football is not the only thing that lures the Reds legend back to familiar turf these days.
Last time I popped in to Fosters Fish and Chip shop in Alderley Edge, it turns out I'd just missed Becks - who had popped in after a return trip to the area earlier this year.
He's been a long-time fan of this chippy - ever since he and wife Victoria first settled in to married life in the posh Cheshire village back in the 1990s, and by all accounts always nips back when he's in town for his fill of chips and curry sauce (more on that later).
And now that Fosters is celebrating a special anniversary of its own this month, an epic 30 years of frying, David makes an appearance on a roll call of all the famous folk who have frequented this chippy over the years on display on its tiled wall.
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He sits in happy company on the footballer front as a Fosters fan, with the likes of fellow United greats Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick, Lou Macari, Steve Bruce and Rio Ferdinand, as well as former Man City playes Raheem Sterling, Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish, Mike Summerbee, Alan Ball, Shay Given - and even Bobby Manc gets an honourable mention.
As he's Sir David these days, he makes it onto the "Knights of the realm" list at the chippy, alongisde Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Geoffrey Boycott, while there's also a dedicated cricket section with Michael Vaughan, Freddie Flintoff, Michael Atherton and Paul Allott.
When you add in the likes of pop stars who've been in - a motley crue of Kerry Katona, Sinitta, Noddy Holder, The 1975's Matty Healy, Take That's Howard Donald and New Order's Peter Hook and Bernard Sumner (presumably not together), Corrie stars like William Roache, Samia Longchambon, Helen Flanagan, Simon Gregson and Alison King, just generally famous folk like Jason Manford, The Krankies and Tyson Fury... well you start to get the impression that this is the most celeb-frequented chippy in the entirety of England.
So what exactly is so good about this place that it has lured all these stars? I mean, it helps that it sits in the most fertile patch of celeb land in the north west in the millionaire village of Alderley Edge I suppose.
Fosters Fish and Chips in the village of Alderley Edge, Cheshire
But you don't weather the brutal hospitality headwinds of the past 30 years by relying on celebrity custom alone now do you?
Naturally, it was time for me to head and give it all a try for myself. I headed down on a midweek lunchtime with my kids in tow, and the first thing I noticed is there are lunchtime specials which seemed like good value to me, as you could get cod, chips and two sides all in for £10.50, or sausage and chips with one side for just £6.95.
If you're not heading at lunchtimes, there's lot of different offers here too, including fish suppers of haddock, cod or scampi as either a lite bite for £7.95 or £8.50, or regular for £12.95 or £13.50. I liked that you can ask for a lighter batter if you prefer, or for those with big appetites you can go for a whopper of an extra large cod for £12.95.
Keen to replicate whatever Becks himself orders, the one guaranteed thing he likes is chips and curry sauce. As to what protein he adds in there, well, there are conflicting reports on whether he likes a bit of fish or a saveloy.
So to cover all bases, I opt for both. And you can't review a chippy without testing their mushy peas so that went on the order too.
Happily for my gut, when I opened up my box I saw it was a rather small fried fish, so I didn't feel too bad about adding the extra sausage on there.
Dianne ate her fish and chips on a bench on the main street in Alderley Edge, where supercars roar by
Especially as my oldest son also pinched the banger while I asked him to hold it while I took photos so I only got a little nibble - enough to know that was a damn fine chippy sausage though.
Now, back in the old days I seem to remember there was the option to sit in at Fosters, but they've changed things up since Covid with a "street food" section where the seats used to be.
So I had to resort to finding a bench on the main London Road to sit and scoff the fried food haul with my kids.
Sitting in front of a designer clothes store, as Lamborghini and Ferraris roared past, while trying not to let curry sauce dribble all down my chin was a grounding experience, let me tell you.
That curry sauce though.... (Image: MEN)
But tucking in to the fish and chips, some of the finest I've eaten in a long while, made me realise one very important thing.
And that's that It doesn't matter how rich or famous you get, how many Bentleys you own or Cartier jewels drip from your limbs, you still cannot beat a good tub of curry sauce slathered all over freshly-fried chippy chips.
And oh my goodness, what a curry sauce it was.
Rich, smooth, sweet... I don't think I've had a finer chip shop curry pot ever.
The fish was excellent. It all was.(Image: MEN)
The fish, though it be small, was great.
A hefty crunch on the batter, giving way to smooth flaking chunks of the fish.
It also tasted wonderful doused in the curry, a cheeky little blob of the mushy peas on top too.
Anyway, I know you all know what a good fish and chips taste like, so you don't need me to wax too lyrical on this subject.
But just let it be known, this is a really great chippy. Becks knows it, Sir Alex knows it, heck even Tyson Fury and The Krankies know it.
Top of the league you might say.
Fosters Fish and Chips opens Monday to Sunday at 4 Chorley Hall Ln, Alderley Edge SK9 7EU