Oh how I love those juicy breasts and succulent thighs! No … no, it’s not what you’re thinking, for I am not describing some vixen with voluptuous gifts, but the humble chicken whose universal appeal has been nutrition for the body and soul for centuries.
The chirpy bird’s anatomy has been ripped apart and dissected to the core in a culinary annihilation, providing global succour to hungry mouths and empty stomachs.
From gizzards and feet, drumsticks, hearts and livers – it’s all there for the taking. From crunchy nuggets, fingers and pops, to steamy chopsuey and chowmein; from fiery curries and exotic casseroles, pot-roasts and stews to grills and pan-fried versions – all will agree that chicken is the world’s favourite food.
SA-owned chicken fast food retailer Nando’s was “cock-adoodle-do” this past week as it announced the expansion of a further 14 stores in the bustling and competitive UK market. Started in 1987 in Johannesburg by Robert Brozin and Fernando Duarte, it is a corroboration of Portugal’s influence over Mozambique and the fiery African bird’s eye chillies – the hand grenade of heat that resulted in a cathartic peri-peri sauce which the chicken is marinated in and then flame-grilled.
By 2018, Nando’s had over 340 stores in SA. It has over 1 000 stores spanning 30 countries. The processed chicken segment remains the most dominant segment in the South African fast food industry.
Besides the British having the cockerel on the flags of beloved football teams Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspurs, their other love is chicken tikka. Pakistani, Ali Ahmed Aslam, who passed away last year, took his invention of chicken tikka to Britain. A curry doyen, he initially opened a restaurant – Shish Mahai – in Scotland where he created a yoghurt-based tomato sauce to accompany the chicken.
The British, through their history with India, have an unparalleled penchant for Indian curries.
Back home, KFC remains the biggest brand, with over 25% market share, followed by McDonald’s with 14% and Nando’s at 7%.
Another local brand to continue to survive is Chicken Licken, the brainchild of a Greek, George Sombonos, who started his “soul food” journey in 1981. His strategy of taking fast food to the townships has kept him afloat in a sea of ferocious competitors.
And like Britain, the ubiquitous Pakistanis brought chicken tikka to South Africa, where they have swamped the informal sector with an alternative to established fast food retailers – and cheaper, too.
While fast food and take-out joints are the de rigeur of modern society, many South Africans still cannot afford it. Currently the price of chickens and eggs are going through the roof and likely to remain high into the new year.
The local poultry industry has been ravaged by an outbreak of bird flu which has led to the culling of over 8 million chickens.
And turkey farming has never proved successful in South Africa by the brave few who tried it. A festive bird of seasonal demand, it has to be imported and has become too costly for the Christmas lunch menu for many.
* Kevin Govender, Umhlatuzana.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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