Celeb chef launches search for 10 best chicken recipes in the UK – will your family favourite make the list?
RAPPER and chef Big Zuu is fronting a charity bid to find the nation’s favourite chicken recipe – while helping to feed those in need.
The TV personality is looking to uncover 10 winning recipes that would then be dished up in community kitchens across the UK.
It comes as food poverty is on the rise with Office for National Statistics data revealing one in 20 adults has run out of food and been unable to afford more, amid the cost of living crisis.
Food redistribution charity FareShare has teamed up with KFC and Big Zuu, 27, to crowdsource the nation’s favourite chicken recipes,
The fried chicken chain is providing produce from almost 1,000 of its UK restaurants to community kitchens for those going hungry.
It forms part of KFC’s ongoing support of FareShare, with the aim to redistribute the equivalent of 12million meals by next year.
Now self-taught chef Big Zuu is calling on the public to share their favourite chicken recipes on Instagram, TikTok or Twitter.
He has urged people to get involved using the hashtag #DishUp and tagging @KFC_UKI, before the competition closes on September 3.
Big Zuu said: “It shouldn’t matter who you are, where you come from, or what you’re going through – everyone deserves access to food.
“It isn’t only about sustenance – it brings people together.
“But right now, too many people are missing out on the joy of a good meal because of circumstances beyond their control – it’s not right and that’s what this campaign wants to change.
“So, British public, I need you – you donate the recipes, KFC will provide the chicken and together we’ll dish up some delicious meals to people who need it most.”
Those who share their chicken recipes and are chosen will be told directly on social media and invited to cook up their recipes in a local community kitchen.
Kris Gibbon-Walsh, chief operating officer at FareShare, said: “Food prices have risen dramatically over the last year, meaning many people are finding it near impossible to access affordable food.
“The burden is even more pronounced over the summer holidays when many families do not have the safety net of free school meals.”
Jenny Packwood, chief corporate affairs and sustainability officer at KFC UK and Ireland said: “Despite so many people’s efforts, food poverty is on the rise across the UK.
“It’s not right that people are going hungry, and we believe that good food should never go to waste.”
“We need the public’s help – community kitchen chefs have told us that they don’t always know what to cook with the chicken we give.
“We want to tap into the creativity of the nation’s foodies to bring inspiration to community kitchens and help them serve up good food for people going hungry.”
And Zahra Sul, community kitchen chef at The SPACE Hub in Notting Hill, west London, said: “We’re seeing more and more people needing to access our services, as it’s getting tougher for people to make ends meet.
“The chicken KFC provides is vital to us because it provides the people and communities we cook for with a source of protein they would otherwise go without.”