Cheep snack or fowl food? Debate over chicken takeaways continues

Oh for the wings… A fried chicken shop on Hackney Road. Photograph: Marcel Oosterwijk (CC BY-SA)

Whether an after-school snack, a low-cost dinner or a 4am necessity, fried chicken is a loyal favourite for many. The garish shop fronts and boxes are unmistakable, and the distinctive aromas enticing – or revolting – depending on who you ask.

And yet despite many East Londoners’ evident commitment to the dish, fried chicken is under fire.

A controversial planning application has been made to open a fried chicken shop opposite Petchey Academy on Shacklewell Lane – despite the fact the school runs patrols to stop students from entering fast food shops in their uniforms.

Hackney has one of the highest childhood obesity rates in London, with 40 per cent of children overweight or obese by age 10. Fried chicken shops, among the 217 takeaway shops in Hackney, are thought to be one of the culprits.

Sarah Bentley, from eco-community kitchen Made in Hackney, explains that fried chicken “is dangerously high in trans fats [artificial fats from hardened oil] – something our bodies aren’t designed to process.

“People that eat it once a day – even a few times a week – are seriously damaging their health.”

Obesity concerns

A childhood obesity review for Hackney in 2013 recommended that fast food outlets should not be located within a 400m radius of a school, and that the council “could be bolder in its ambitions”.

A new policy was approved in July stating that hot food takeaways may not be granted planning permission if proposed on a street within 400m of a secondary school.

However, a council spokesperson qualified that “all planning applications are assessed against a range of factors… on a case by
case basis”.

Cllr Jonathan McShane, Hackney Council cabinet member for health, social care and culture, says: “We all enjoy a takeaway from time to time, but we need to take action to ensure our children and young people are eating more healthily.”

He adds that, whilst the council has adopted restrictive planning policies, the council also needs to work with existing outlets to try to make their offer healthier by adapting cooking and preparation, salt-content and portion sizes.

Does Labour just hate chicken?

Despite the public health concerns though, the popular poultry vendors remain a fixture of Hackney high streets, and their prevalence continues to ignite hot debate.

While Shadow Public Health Minister, Hackney MP Diane Abbott spoke out to insist that local authorities should have more power to prevent the “proliferation of chicken and chips shops”.

London Mayoral hopeful Sadiq Khan recently identified himself as an ally in the fight against greasy wings when he pledged to “sort out” the excess of chicken shops in London.

Voters took to Twitter to express their discontent, suggesting that Khan “clearly doesn’t get London!”

“F*ck’s sake, @SadiqKhan, fried chicken is nice. Why don’t you take on the Prets instead?” Asked one foul-tempered tweeter.

fucks sake @SadiqKhan, fried chicken is nice, why don’t you take on the Prets instead https://t.co/xFO5mXHeOv

— dennis (@dnumberwang) August 6, 2015

Another wondered: 

@JoshFeldberg @98rosjon @SadiqKhan @NandosUK @ChickenShop @HackneyAbbott Does Labour just hate chicken? — Alex Micu (@axelk) August 6, 2015

Shortly afterward it emerged that the mayoral candidate in fact graced the prestigious Chicken Cottage awards ceremony in 2012, where he referred to the outlets as a “beautiful thing”.

Indeed, Chicken Cottage’s largest restaurant is in his own constituency of Tooting. Perhaps he’s not flown too far from the nest after all.

And there are still reasons to defend the chicken shop, however. Manager of Well Street’s Perfect Fried Chicken Tariq Mahmoud is aware that his business of 17 years may be under threat, and says: “Fried chicken shops employ many people. They’re good for the community and economy, and offer cheap and quick food.”

Guilt-free alternatives

But while politicians continue to deliberate over the issue, restaurateurs have attempted to offer alternatives to Hackney’s beleaguered
chicken shops.

Clutch – a ‘guilt-free fried chicken’ restaurant, which uses groundnut oil and free-range chicken – has just opened in Hoxton.

Co-founder Niamh Doyle tells the Citizen: “The fact you can buy chicken for a £1 just screams disaster. It just makes me sick to think what they are actually serving up.”

Unfortunately, twelve chicken wings at Clutch will set you back £12 – not a pound-for-pound alternative to the meals offered by the likes of Chicken Cottage.

There are more widely affordable alternatives, though. This month a not-for-profit chicken shop called Chicken Town is set to open in Tottenham.

The restaurant will train local young people, serve healthier versions of popular fast food choices and its profits will fund £2 Junior Specials to promote more nutritious lunch and after-school meals.

In addition, the social enterprise Shift Design has launched a campaign in East and North London to provide “healthy competition to fast food in low income areas”, positioning low-fat and low-salt fast food vans near schools.

Regarding the proposed fried chicken shop opposite Petchey Academy, a spokesperson for Diane Abbott said: “When Ms Abbott was front bench for public health, she called for local authorities to take action to prevent the proliferation of chicken shops near schools. Ms Abbott has therefore written to Hackney Council about this particular application.”

A spokesperson for the council said it could not comment on live planning applications.