Posts Tagged ‘chicken’

We were not in love with Bird & Beast, Leeds the first time we visited. It was just chicken, and we can go to Nando’s for that.

However, I visited for lunch a few weeks ago and I am pleased to report that they have really upped their game. The chicken now comes with a variety of delicious sauces and toppings, and they have expanded their menu too. I assumed I was the beast on their original menu, but now they have options for red meat-lovers and vegetarians alike.

Spicy chicken marinade. This is a total winner. Make it in the morning and leave tour chicken to sit in it until dinner time. It is slightly spicy, but mild enough for pretty much everyone’s taste.

Red wine marinade. Great for red meat.

Given the amount of discussion regarding BBC’s new documentary about KFC, I felt I had to give the first episode a watch. Having worked in the industry for years, nothing on the documentary surprised me.

Obviously, there was good and bad. There is a culture of recognition and many of the senior people were talking about how they had been there 20 years and started as a crew member. As for the chicken itself, are you comfortable that your friend chicken was grown in a shed for 35-42 days and then put into a gas chamber? It turns out, that I am.

Here are some of the best quotes…

The thing is, it’s chicken, so it’s healthy

Scientifically proven.

I don’t any meat on the bone. It sort of puts me off because it’s like that was the animal.

There is nothing I can add to this.

Unless you’re really clever, then you’ll end up in Pizza Hut

That’s my highest aspiration too.

Who will buy a house that is opposite a KFC?

I’m sure she meant to say who wouldn’t.

Last week, Viv had organised an evening at Nation of Shopkeepers, which, while far too hipster for my personal taste, does do some nice southern fried chicken. It was mouthwateringly good, but that isn’t what this post is about.

At one point in the evening, one of those attending began talking about how oppressed women are, describing going rape as an “occupational hazard” if they want to leave their house.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Two rhetorical questions that were asked were not met with the expected response. Firstly, who was most afraid of going out in Leeds on a Friday night (turns out the women weren’t, but I said I would be a bit nervous, because fights do happen, and normally to my gender) and secondly, what the distribution of personal attack alarms was (turns out there was both one male and one female present who had a personal attack alarm).

What was more interesting though, was how much offense the women present took to the suggestion that they were a beaten down minority that needed both liberating and protecting.

They certainly didn’t feel that way, and were extensively vocal about it.

It is interesting, because the same people who make such comments, and end up getting shouted down by women who object to them speaking in their behalf, are the same people who would object to me speaking on equality, because as a white male, I’m not considered entitled to have an opinion.

Last month, I wrote to KFC to let them know that some of their customers do in fact want genetically modified products in their food. They wrote back.

Dear Mr Worfolk,

We would like to thank you for your interest in KFC.

Whilst we are certainly interested in new ideas, suggestions and information that will enhance our products we are unfortunately unable to accept unsolicited ideas and suggestions from the general public. This is partly due to the fact that a majority of ideas submitted by the public have already been considered by KFC and partly because they are not useful given the limitations of our particular field of business. Also, experience has shown the practice of considering ideas can give rise to misunderstandings as to the origin and ownership of particular ideas and lability in relation to them.

We nevertheless appreciate your interest, thank you for taking the time to correspond with us here at KFC and we look forward to your continued custom.

Yours sincerely,
Customer Careline

Basically, it says thanks for your opinion, but we’re not going to read it lol.

The continued spread of unethical meat throughout the UK is of particular concern to those of us who try and avoid it for such reasons. Over time, this is likely to place increasing restrictions on what we can and cannot eat.

KFC are currently running a “Halal” trial but I was pleased to read on their website that they have adopted a version of Halal, which is less Halal and more ethical. Here is what their website says…

9. Is KFC’s halal chicken stunned before slaughter?

Yes, due to our strict animal welfare standards, we insist that all our poultry is stunned before slaughter. Our halal chicken has been accredited by the Halal Food Authority, one of the most widely recognised bodies in the UK and overseas. It allows the use of a technique called ‘stun-to-stun’ – a pain-free process that makes the animal insensible to pain and suffering.

That’s probably a tune that we can all dance to.

Having found an interesting note on KFC’s website, I decided to write to them.

Dear KFC,

I was recently browsing your website, when I found the following statement at the small print at the bottom of the page:

“Our research shows that UK customers don’t want genetically modified foods in KFC products; so naturally, we have ensured none of our products contain genetically modified ingredients.”

You seem to be pointing out that this is what we as consumers want, presumably rather than what is the sensible thing.

Therefore, I just wanted to write and let you know that I DO WANT genetically modified ingredients in KFC products.

Genetic modification is nothing new – we have been adapting plants to suit our needs in agriculture for thousands of years. Using GM crops allows us to reduce the amount of agricultural chemicals used, and is therefore be better for the environment. The EU maintains strict controls over GM foods to ensure they are safe.

For all these reasons, I wanted to inform you that some of your customers do want genetically modified ingredients in KFC products, and hope that you will re-consider your position.

Yours faithfully,
Chris Worfolk

Why not contact them about it too?

Sunday was our last Sunday outing with Felix for a while :(. Indeed such a special occasion such that it was I had to reschedule my previously arranged date (ha, it just couldn’t fit togethey any better could it :p ) so see Felix off.

Then we went to Nando’s.

Just Nando’s.

It’s a sad state, but the excitement has gone. Living 100m from Nando’s means that it is still very much enjoyable but not quite as magical as it once was. I am only one more stamp away from being able to claim my free whole chicken!

Felix himself is off to go on to bigger and better things. Or he was when he was planning to go to Cardiff University, now he’s going to Hull so arguably it’s more of a sideways movement from McDonald’s 😀 . I love you Felix, come back soon!

Lil was working the night shift on Saturday and with myself and Norm both accidentally having the weekend off, I headed over to Seacroft for a beer or two.

I stopped off at Nando’s on my way to get some food and claim my free half a chicken :D. Of course I had to spend £5.80 to get the stamp and Tom didn’t want anything so I ended up with a chicken pita meal with chips and coleslaw as well as half a chicken.

Needless to say, I dined rather well that night :D.

By last Sunday that time of year had rolled around again so we headed out to Nando’s for a meal Sunday evening. It being Sunday night and all with a lot of people having work Monday morning, turn out was limited to those really hardcore people, a select group of myself and 18 of my good friends.

We arrived at The Light at 7 as planned to find that Nando’s had in fact run out of food.

I’m not kidding.

Apparently, they were closing for a week to refurbish so rather than maintain a sensible stock level and transfer any remaining food to a different restaurant they just let it run out. So we headed down to the one at the bottom of Briggate. I like to think of it as a surprise party as we didn’t tell them we were coming.

Having got down there they said it would take us an hour to get a table and to come back then. They also asked for an exact number of people, which I gave them based on how many people we had there at the time. After that, we headed off to the Hog’s Head around the corner for a quick drink while we waited.

Problem was, people started turning up faster than they could seat people. By the time we had got back we had another two people and by the time they had found seats for those two we had another two people! Needless to say the staff at Nando’s were not amused. But I was 😀 .

The food was excellent as usual, although we did find a chicken brain in Kate’s meal.

Afterwards, we headed up to Bourbon which was of course closed – it’s like an A-Soc event all over again. So we ended the night at the Cuthbert Broderick next door drinking until kick out time. Good times.