In this age of local, fresh, healthy and seasonal, I wonder if the time has come to give the good old chippy a makeover.

They've been around for ever and we tend to take them for granted, but in my view a fish supper has more to offer body and soul than, say, a takeaway chicken tikka masala or a cheese-laden pizza.

It is also cheaper. An average portion of chicken tikka masala costs around £7.95, plus around £3 for rice or a naan, and contains about 1000 calories; a medium-sized takeaway pizza can cost around £10, depending on the toppings, and also contains upwards of 1000 calories. Yet a fish supper costs about £6, and even though it's deep-fried contains less than half that calorie count. It seems I'm behind the times, though. In many places, the makeover has already begun.

An indication of the rising profile of fish and chips on the contemporary food scene is the fact the Michelin-starred chef Jean-Christophe Novelli is the main judge for the upcoming National Fish & Chip Awards, due to take place in January.

He claims all chefs worth their sea salt these days have the dish on their menus. At the Ivy in London, deep-fried haddock with minted pea puree, chips and tartare sauce will leave your pocket £17.75 lighter; Roy Brett at Ondine in Edinburgh does a Peterhead haddock and chips fried in batter with minted pea puree for £16.50.

Novelli has been visiting chippies all over Britain, and declares himself "amazed" at the level of technical expertise required compared to when he arrived in Britain from France 30 years ago and had his first supper of Dover cod and chips.

"The equipment being used in chippies these days is as advanced as anything you'll see in hotels and restaurants," he said. And he went further."Fish friers are as sophisticated as a Rolls-Royce or Porsche car."

Now he may have been stretching the point, but he added that fat extraction and temperature control are very, very precise and preparing battered fish is now a culinary art. The result is - or should be - a tempura-like crispness without the grease.

Batter flavoured with chilli and paprika, or fish slicked with garlic, are only the half of it. What really drives the industry these days is the freshness of the main ingredient.

Chippy owners used to buy their fish in frozen blocks, and store it in boxes, but now it's all about cutting down the time between catching and frying. Scotland is particularly strong in this, compared to London where, says Novelli, the fish can be anything from 48 hours to 10 days old.

Fish and chips are more on-trend than other takeaway foods due to their local sourcing, while the more progressive chippy chef will skin and fillet their fish in-house.

The species of white fish available is also changing, as stocks decline and recover and sustainability climbs ever higher up the agenda. Haddock is back to sustainable Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) levels after several years of scarcity due to over-fishing; cod is on a similar upward trajectory although it's expected to take another couple of years for it to attract full certification. In the meantime more unfamiliar species such as hake, pollack, plaice, coley, lemon sole and even Scottish saithe - recently awarded MSC certification - are making more frequent appearances.

Shellfish is also becoming more common. At Gandolfi Fish To Go in Glasgow, the "street food" menu includes salt and chilli squid (or prawns), prawn bhaji or fish cake for around £4; and oyster, scallop, langoustine and even lobster and chips are on offer at around £6.50 alongside haddock, cod and the catch of the day. Battered fresh sardines, anchovies and even frogs' legs are popular in other places. At the Anstruther Fish Bar in Fife, crab, lobster, mackerel and smoked haddock are all on offer.

Healthier options are also appearing. Cafe Piccante in Edinburgh has a special fish supper cooked in foil in olive oil with onion, pepper and tomato for £4.50.

Novelli also points to a noticeable pride in the job that wasn't there before. "A chippy is never going to get a Michelin star, but recognition from customers and being busy is very important in a competitive market, and it's the customers who are demanding the freshest possible."

Another factor that makes traditional chippies unique in his view is that, unlike modern restaurants, they tend to stay within a family, with the business being passed on down the generations.

So what's not to like? Oh, I know, it's the ever-expanding choice of other ghastly, smelly deep-fried foods on the average chippy menu. Smoked sausage, white pudding, steak pie, haggis, pizza and curry sauce for chips are crowding out the fish, and encouraging us to choose the worst offenders in terms of diet and nutrition. Only when we get rid of them will the good old fish supper, in all its modern guises, really come into its own.