Scottish Fried Party – Liberation

The culture of deep frying, the art of frying anything and everything – even the Mars Bar – is a culinary phenomenon in Scotland that goes far beyond fish and chips. A “tradition” that breeds passionate debate and nurtures regional divisions.

Under the blue neon lights of the Blue Lagoon, a fish and chips (or uninteresting) from Glasgow Central Station, Scotland, hated by some and essential to others: Fried Mars. There the famous chocolate treat covered with a shiny layer of fat is sold. This culinary quirk—which may have been invented in the ’90s at a restaurant in Stonehaven in the country’s northeast—appears on the menus of many establishments across the country, with the label “seen on the Internet.” At the Blue Lagoon, she rubs shoulders with pizza, onions, sausage or minced steak at the customer’s convenience… fried, in an accumulation of faux fat, quickly seasoned with salt and vinegar. Tasted on a solid base, the chocolate treat is served cut in half in a delicate take-out dish, sometimes accompanied by ice cream and a scoop of melted chocolate. Between fond and crunchy, this preparation tastes superlative and evokes the Canadian web series epic meal time – Popular in the early 2010s – where a hipster with the makings of a rugby player ventures into extreme cuisines: hamburger lasagna, candy pizza, giant protein bars… In his hands, the calories add up to make you nauseous.

More politely, Fried Mars (or DFMB for “deep-fried Mars bar”) is the beloved sin of Darren Dowling, the Scottish YouTuber known by the nickname Dazza, who created a…