To come from the North of England to live in north London and to find the number one fish and chip restaurant on your doorstep is a Northerner's dream.
When Toff 's opened it was perfect. The fish was the size of the table and the chips were perfectly cut. We had a takeaway at least every couple of weeks. My husband Jack would never buy a piece of fi sh already cooked. He'd ring up and say we were coming. He liked to see it cooked and watch it go from fryer to table in the flick of a beaver's tail.
When we had posh people over after the theatre Jack would make eggs and chips. He would wait with the blanched potatoes hovering over a pan until he heard the key in the door then plunge them into the hot fat. Jack made a big production number out of it. I haven't done it since he died.
The best fish and chips in the world came from Hull Fair. The first thing you'd do was lick the salt off the chips. They were like Proust's madeleines. This is a close second. I think halibut is my favourite fish but if I were to have fried fi sh, which I am not really allowed, it would be cod. When we first came to Muswell Hill there was one restaurant. The other day I made a count and there are 31 but they're all the same. The streets around here are paved with mezze. If I'm going to eat locally I would have an Indian takeaway or come here. You can't beat a family-run business. They care. They get to know the people who come in.
Jewish people eat a lot of cold fried fish. Once a week my mother would do fried fish and fish balls and serve them the next day with salad. On a Friday night you will still fi nd Jewish families - especially at funerals - serving cold fried fish and beetroot salad. We would never have had cheese or a pudding, although my mum was never without a jelly in the fridge.
I'm a patient and cautious cook. I would do the things my mother did, roast chicken, braised steak, meatballs and fish. When there's just you, you tend to eat baked potatoes, eggs with soldiers and chicken. I suffer from migraines and now I've got a nutritionist who monitors my diet. I shouldn't eat fried fish, for example. And she looked at my charts and said: 'You'll never eat another banana as long as you live.' I've been much better since seeing her. It still lays me out for a couple of days a month. It's a combination of stress and tiredness. You can't lead the kind of life I do and not get something chronic. We're old school; we go on and perform whatever's happening. We don't make excuses and take days off .
This kind of food is something to do with comforting your soul, like Horlicks. If I made fish and chips at home, which I haven't done since Jack died, I'd also make a rice pudding. And when you have a dog you realise what food means to them; it breaks up the day. It's something to look forward to after the last meal.
I understand that feeling. I mean, I limit myself to one cigarette a day and I really look forward to it. OFM
· Maureen Lipman is currently starring in Glorious! at the Duchess Theatre History
A history of Toff's
The Toff ali family set up Mr Toff 's in 1968 and in 1999 Greek brothers Costa and George Georgiou shortened the name when they arrived at the helm.
Their three fryers have over 100 years of experience between them. Popular dishes Rock eel in batter with chips, £9.75; haddock fried in an egg and matzah batter with boiled potatoes, £11.50; grilled halibut steak with mashed potato, £14.95; Dover Sole and chips, £17.75; Greek or mixed salad, £3.50.
Famous customers have included Victoria Wood, Stanley Baxter, Martine McCutcheon, Les Dennis and Norman Wisdom.
· Toff's, 38 Muswell Hill Broadway, London N10 (0208 883 8656) Open Monday to Saturday 11.30am-10.30pm. Special lunch offers 11.30am-5.30pm.
