Georgia Lye: 22-year-old running family fish and chip shop

A 22-year-old who turned her back on university is frying up success at her family’s fish and chip shop – and hopes to inspire more young people to follow suit.

A YOUNG woman who ignored advice to go to university is proving there’s more than one recipe for success – by running her family’s fish and chip shop.

Georgia Lye, 22, chose fish and chips over university and now manages Seafare in Guildford | Courtesy Georgia Lye / SWNS

placeholder image — Georgia Lye, 22, chose fish and chips over university and now manages Seafare in Guildford | Courtesy Georgia Lye / SWNS

Georgia Lye, 22, manages Seafare in Guildford, Surrey, after swapping the classroom for the fryer. And she’s already making waves in the industry, having scooped Employee of the Year at the 2025 National Fish and Chip Awards.

Georgia, who is now a semi-finalist in this year’s Young Fish Fryer of the Year competition, hopes her story will encourage more youngsters to consider a career in fish and chips. She said: “It’s a great industry with a lot of support. I just knew [university] wasn’t for me because I didn’t really like school or college.”

Georgia began working behind the counter at the family business when she was just 14. | Courtesy Georgia Lye / SWNS

The chippy business runs in her blood. Her dad has worked in the trade for 25 years, while the family’s connection stretches back to her great-uncle, who bought the shop in 1981. Georgia first joined the business aged 14, working behind the counter before learning to fry and eventually becoming manager.

Now working 38 to 40 hours a week, she prepares fish and potatoes, supervises staff and ensures everything is ready for service. Her mornings include carefully removing pin bones and cutting cod portions to the same size. The job has its perks, too, including cheaper rent on the flat above the shop, use of a company car and at least 5.6 weeks’ holiday. Georgia also enjoys working with her team, which includes teenagers juggling shifts with their studies. She says they are paid above the minimum wage.

The young manager hopes to take over the family chippy with her siblings when her dad retires. | SWNS

But it’s not all plain sailing, with rising costs continuing to squeeze businesses across the industry, according to Seafish. Despite the challenges, Georgia says loyal customers keep coming back for familiar faces and reliable food. “They like to come to the same shop that they know, that they know they’re going to get good food, and they know the people who run it,” she said.

Winning her award was a proud moment for Georgia and her dad, while friends were unsurprised she chose the trade full-time. Her ambitions are now firmly set on the future: when her father retires, she hopes to take over the shop alongside her older brother, 26, and younger sister, 19.