What is a Yorkshire fishcake? Sheffield's oldest fish and chip shop Two Steps settles debate

BBC Radio Sheffield present Toby Foster put his neck on the line by daring to suggest that a proper fishcake consists of mashed potato and fish dipped in breadcrumbs and fried. Toby, who lives in Rotherham, said Sheffielders ‘like to be awkward’ by sandwiching a piece of fish between two slices of potato, dipping it in batter and frying it.

His comments sparked a huge debate, generating nearly 1,000 comments on Facebook, the vast majority of which were standing up for the Yorkshire fishcake. One person wrote: “I'd just like to point out to you a cake is generally in slices with a top and a bottom slice and Sheffield fishcake obviously (has a) slice of fish in the middle, not like a c****y rissole full of regurgitated mush.”

Another person wrote: “We're not awkward. Sheffield does a fishcake right. A rissole is that mushed up c**p in breadcrumbs. Toby, you know nothing.”

Even Toby’s fellow townsfolk from Rotherham took exception, with one writing: “I’m from Rotherham. The fish in breadcrumbs is called a ‘rissole’.” Summing up the mood in the room, one person added: “Don't knock our Yorkshire fishcakes. They are the best.”

What better way to settle the debate once and for all than by visiting Sheffield’s oldest fish and chip shop, and one of the oldest in the world, Two Steps, on Sharrow Vale Road? It’s been going since 1895, with the current owner ‘Laggy’ at the helm for the last 20 years, so it must be doing something right.

Yorkshire fishcake is ‘to die for’

Laggy demonstrated how to make a proper Sheffield fishcake, showing how he squeezes a generous portion of fish between two slices of potato, gives it a thin coating of ground rice, then dunks it in batter and fries it for 12-15 minutes. The finished product is to die for, with the golden brown coating encasing the soft potato and incredibly tender fish. It’s remarkable that something so simple can taste so good. All it needs is a sprinkling of salt and a dash of vinegar, though some fans would be reaching for the Henderson’s Relish and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Laggy says his fishcakes are ‘quite popular’, with customers there ordering anywhere between 10 and 30 a day. But he said: “Most people think the ones with the breadcrumbs on them are the fishcakes. When they come and ask for a fishcake, a lot of the students who are not from Sheffield expect a rissole, as we call it over here, which is factory made mashed potato with barely any fish in it. As you can see, the Yorkshire fishcakes are about 40 per cent fish and 60 per cent potato. I prefer these ones, most definitely.”

So that’s fairly conclusive then, except someone had to go and start another linguistic debate entirely, asking: “And what do you have a fishcake on? It's a breadcake.” Or is it a barm, a roll or a cob, as some would argue?