Nando’s cuts across global divisions

British Prime Minister David Cameron tucks into half-a-chicken at a Nando's outlet in Bristol. The prime minister says would like to take world leaders to lunch at the chicken chain. Photo: Daily Mail.

British Prime Minister David Cameron tucks into half-a-chicken at a Nando's outlet in Bristol. The prime minister says would like to take world leaders to lunch at the chicken chain. Photo: Daily Mail.

Published Jan 25, 2015

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London - Forget the National Health Service, tax cuts or TV debates.

The way to win British hearts at the next election is through their stomachs.

When David Cameron told a hip youth radio station last week he would like to take world leaders to lunch at south African chain Nando’s – rather than a Harvester or a Gordon Ramsay restaurant – he knew what he was talking about.

Not only has he visited a Bristol outlet of Nando’s – the fast-food chicken chain that is spreading across the country like wildfire – but he also knows that the restaurant crosses class, political and ethnic divisions.

Whoever gets the Nando’s vote at the election will sweep the nation.

There are 333 Nando’s outlets in Britain; 1 000 in all, in 35 countries.

The main markets for Nando’s are Britain, Australia and South Africa.

But Nando’s is big in America, too.

When US President Barack Obama spoke at the University of Cape Town in 2013, he said of the South African chain: “In America, we see the reach of your culture – we’ve got a Nando’s a couple of blocks from the White House.”

What is the special ingredient that explains the chain’s extraordinary success?

The literal answer is its peri-peri sauce.

The ingredients are a secret combination of hot chilli pepper, lemon, garlic, herbs and spices.

The restaurant’s chickens – fresh, never frozen – are trimmed of fat, marinated overnight, and regularly basted with the peri-peri sauce while being flame-grilled.

It is not just the peri-peri sauce, though.

When it opened in Britain in 1992, Nando’s hit the sweet spot of High Street dining through a combination of luck and hard-headed analysis of how to make money in the unpredictable restaurant trade.

Nando’s is a little more expensive than McDonald’s or KFC, but healthier, and far cheaper than any fancy restaurant.

Four boneless, flame-grilled chicken thighs plus rice and salad – yours for £7.30 (R125).

On top of that, you get much more of a restaurant feel than the usual fast-food chains.

A waiter shows you to your table; you order at the counter; the waiter brings you your food, with China plates and proper knives and forks.

Service is extremely quick – crucial in our I-want-it-now culture; handy, too, for harassed parents with demanding children.

“Fast-casual dining” is the buzz word of the modern restaurant business, and Nando’s has nailed the trend.

There is variety on the menu: you can choose how spicy you want your chicken, from plain to extra-hot.

And there are other dishes: veggie burgers, steak rolls, mushroom and halloumi dishes and different salads.

But on the whole, the only big choices customers make are the size and type of the chicken portion – quarters, halves, wholes, butterfly breasts, thighs, legs, wings, chicken livers and chicken burgers – and what sauce they want.

Some outlets are franchised; others owned by the company.

So it is largely chicken, chicken and more chicken. And that leads to low overheads, a simple supply line and no food thrown away.

– Daily Mail

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