HipChips crispery is not your average eating place

HipChips takes the culinary classic "chip and dip" to a whole new level. Photo / Instagram

Chef Scott Davis may have hit on the food gimmick to end all gimmicks.

The UK chef, who has trained alongside culinary legends including Gordon Ramsay, Marco Pierre White and Jean-Gorges Vongericheten, opened HipChips last year - which serves just chips, reported news.com.au

Yes, as in those things we normally find in a packet. Except his aren't from a packet and are handmade fresh.

And while the notion of a crispery might sound strange at first, Davis reckons when the chips are down punters are all over it.

Davis, who is visiting Australia for the launch of Tyrell's new veg crisps, said gimmick was the big thing in food at the moment.

"Australians are so adventurous when it comes to food," he said.

"The range and quality of food here is phenomenal. And Australians are generally more into food than the Brits."

He said a concept like a crispery would really take off anywhere.

"I reckon Australians would embrace it," he said.

"Even if it was a pop up concept, Australians are really open to trying different things."

Davis said it was his time spent working at renowned Japanese restaurant Nobu which really made him focus on getting simple things right.

"When I started I was on the soup line for ages," he said.

"As an accomplished chef this didn't do my ego any favours but it did teach me to retrain my pallet and how to get those subtle flavours perfect."

It's partly this keep it simple thinking which helped convince him to open the crispery in London's trendy Soho.

With a wide variety of chips and dips customers are spoiled for choice. Photo / Instagram

With prices ranging from $7.75 to a small portion with two dips to a large portion with six dips for $20, Davis is drawing them in.

And with four varieties of chips and 16 dips, diners aren't exactly stuck for choice.
"People love to sit and have some crisps and a beer after work," the chef said.

"At 11am it's not as busy but generally it's really crowded."

Davis said he thinks part of the reason restaurants such as these work is because people are looking for something simple and different.

"We really focus on using seasonal ingredients too so there's always something different," he said.

"Crisps aren't the most conventional ingredient so to create more from something unexpected really excites me."

The crispery serves freshly cooked crisps to diners on a conveyor belt.

They are then paired with a range of savoury and sweet fresh dips.

The homemade crisps are delivered to customers on a conveyor belt. Photo / Instagram

And Davis said sweet tastebuds were also catered for with one option for dessert fans being a freshly cooked chip with cinnamon.

Davis told news.com.au the idea was two years in the making after HipChips co-founder David Morris and friend Simon Wright talked about setting up a restaurant which only served the potato favourite.

He was then convinced to come up with some ideas using different types of potatoes and in September last year their idea became a reality.

While it's hard to say how Davis mentors would better this idea, the 39-year-old has certainly drawn inspiration from what he's learned from them.

"Gordon is really passionate about food and what he does," he said.

"He's incredibly focused and is all about quality.

"When I worked with him he was a little conservative with his food but his strength was keeping things simple.

"And Marco has a lot of heart and that really shows in his cooking and his approach."

And while he admits all chefs have egos Davis said that's what often drove them.

"All really good cooks have a bit of genius in them," he said.