At Scotland’s smallest chippy, the most north-westerly in the UK, four small fryers take up almost the entire 8 x 4 foot space.

What it lacks in size, Mollans Fish and Chips in the village of Shawbost on Lewis more than makes up for in character, led by a family team that comprises of Julie and Rachel Child as well as their daughter, Shannon.

Starting out with an honesty shed in 2018 that specialized in cakes and bakes, the couple were later encouraged by support from the local community to transform a small hut adjoined to their home into one of the area's only hot food takeaway businesses.

“We’re very into inclusivity here, which means we believe everyone should be able to eat,” Julie Child said after stepping away from the phone briefly to relay a set of cooking instructions to her daughter.

“Almost all of our menu is egg, gluten and dairy free and we make as much as we can from scratch. 

“Today, for example, I’ve been making portions of mushy peas and curry sauce. 

“We make the pastry for our vegan pasties too, because we’ve made the decision not to use palm oil in our food." 

Pictured: Rachel Child takes charge of the kitchen in Scotland's smallest fish and chip shopPictured: Rachel Child takes charge of the kitchen in Scotland's smallest fish and chip shop (Image: Supplied)

Such is the team at Mollans disdain for processed food that even salt offered to customers is made using seawater from the beach just 400-metres away.  

Bread rolls are baked in-house too, providing a sturdier and more nutritious carrier for a selection of quarter pounders and bean burgers to accommodate any veggie visitors.  

Any ingredients that must be bought in are done so from local suppliers like the world-famous Charles MacLeod butchers in Stornoway while all of the fish on the menu is guaranteed to be MSC certified and caught in Scottish water.

“People do comment on the quality of the fish, which is so fresh that you can almost smell the sea, but I think that also has a lot to do with the way Rachel cooks it,” Child continued.

“She takes a lot of care in making sure the fat is at exactly the right temperature and the batter has got to be just perfect.

“That way, when it hits the oil, the batter should create a complete seal that allows the fish to steam inside.

“Even if you have a really nice portion of haddock, you can easily ruin it if you overcook it.

“But if you get it right, you’ll have a beautifully moist piece of fish.”

Pictured: A haddock supper with homemade mushy peas from MollansPictured: A haddock supper with homemade mushy peas from Mollans (Image: Supplied)

This fool proof method for unbeatable batter inspires customers to travel miles each weekend to secure their choice of haddock, black pudding or sausage supper.

Locals have long since learned that pre-booking is wise, although Child says the odd tourist still finds themselves caught off guard with the wait time that comes from cooking fresh to order at peak Friday teatime.  

She continued: “Over here on the West Side of the island, the rural area as they call it, people are really appreciative of somewhere they can find fish and chips.

“Sometimes if people turn up without a booking on a busy Friday night and are told there’s a 25-minute wait, they’ll say ‘Oh, is there anywhere else nearby we can get a takeaway?’.

“The answer is ‘Greenland or Canada one way and Stornoway the other’.”

Pictured: A sign welcomes both locals and tourists to MollansPictured: A sign welcomes both locals and tourists to Mollans (Image: Supplied)

Any grumbles over cooking time are likely to be swiftly assuaged with just a few bites of chef Rachel’s fish suppers served with tangy, homemade tartar sauce.

But there are other obstacles to running an island business that are not as easily overcome.

“Really, the biggest challenge of where we’re located is the cost of everything,” Child continued.

“Like the cardboard takeaway boxes we use: we have to pay for them to be couriered over which ends up costing us an extra eight pence per portion.

“It doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you work out the total at the end of the year it really adds up.

“We ended up going to Stirling for a few days earlier this year and coming back with eight sacks of potatoes in our van because it was so much cheaper.

“Then we found a wholesaler in Inverness and paid for them to be delivered because that was still less expensive than going to our local wholesaler.

“These are all things that businesses elsewhere in Scotland might not have to consider, but we’re always sitting down to think about how we can do this as cheaply as possible so that we’re not passing the cost on to the customer.”

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The remote setting of their business means that the couple also has to make contingency plans for any broken equipment, keeping spare food mixers and fryers in their attic space in case of emergency.

Otherwise, they would run the risk of losing a whole weekend's worth of business while waiting for a replacement to be delivered from the mainland.

Pictured: A seating area which was built using old double glazed windows and palletsPictured: A seating area which was built using old double glazed windows and pallets (Image: Supplied)

No strangers to taking matters into their own hands, Child said: “In everything we do, we’re trying to create as little waste as possible.

“Rachel built the summer house for our customers to sit in, and instead of buying new materials, we went on Facebook to ask if anyone had any old, double-glazed windows or spare pallets going.

“We had a huge response to the post and now we have this lovely area that looks different to anything you would find anywhere else.

“When people take notice of that or mention it in their reviews, it really does fill us with a sense of pride and that’s why we keep doing what we do.

“It’s the same with our food: we could put out rubbish all day long if we wanted to because we’re the only place locally that’s serving hot food in the evenings.

“But we would never do that.

“You’ve got to love what you do.”

The love that both Julie and Rachel Child have for their work shines through each and every online review praising their crisp, golden batter or coeliac-friendly fish suppers.

Still, when asked what her proudest moment at Mollans has been, Child’s answer has little to do with her food: “We once had a young man come up to us and say that his aunt used to own this house and would sit on the step with a glass of whisky in one hand and a cigarette in another.

“He arrived that day with his husband and said that he had left the island when he was young after feeling like it wasn’t acceptable for him to be gay here.

“Driving up the road, he had seen our pride flags flying and the rainbows everywhere which make it obvious that our place is fully inclusive and said how much that meant to him.

“All of the hair on my arms bristled, and I really could have cried, because that’s what we’ve always set out to achieve.

“We say if you can be anything, be kind, because no matter what your race, gender or sexuality, we can all do that.

“Knowing that we might be making a difference in that way feels fantastic and is a real honour.”

Mollans Takeaway Fish and Chips Mollans Takeaway is located on the West Side of the Isle of Lewis, less than a mile off the Hebridean Way between The Callanish Standing Stones and The Port of Ness at 32 North Shawbost.

For more information, visit www.mollanstakeaway.com.