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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nKwame\u2019s father retired after running it for 31 years, to fulfil a lifelong dream. \u201cMy whole life he\u2019s been setting up to go to Africa. Since the beginning, he\u2019s been trying to build a house there and sort stuff out to live there and now finally he\u2019s been able to. So he\u2019s left it to me and my brother.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With such a cult following, it\u2019s a lotttt of pressure. But if anyone knows how to carry on this legacy, it\u2019s Kwame and Leon, who spent most of their childhoods in and around the joint: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn Primary, after school, we\u2019d all be sat upstairs most of the evening til 9pm\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So it\u2019s widely known that you go to Chicken Run for one main thing, their holy grail: The Chicken Split. While I wait for the interview, it\u2019s all anyone in the packed place orders, so it\u2019s important to relay to you just how deserved the hype is. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tasting notes: A long dumpling, pillowy on the inside and with that sweet, sweet crust on the outside – sliced through and stuffed to within an inch of its poor delicious life with CR\u2019s signature fried chicken and tart salad cream. It\u2019s messy, it\u2019s glorious, and it\u2019s a joy to eat. It was a good part-way through our chat that one of Kwame\u2019s well-meaning friends stopped to tell me I had salad cream on my nose, which should give you an idea as to how this behemoth of beauty is to be eaten. No regrets tho huns, you\u2019ve got to lean into this party in your hands and not GAF. It\u2019s the only way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They also serve home-made cakes (Kwame\u2019s favourite is the marble, but I think my heart belongs to the pineapple, with hot custard. Oh god.) Wash all the goodness down with some homemade juice – go for the sorrel, you won\u2019t regret it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Standing proudly in Moss Side since 1989, the place has seen a lot of changes over the years, and the whiff of gentrification is permeating the area. The shop used to have a bullet hole in the wall, for those who remember, and Kwame reflects on how different things are: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIts way calmer than it was then, even in terms of things you\u2019d see outside. The odd shooting here and there, you don\u2019t really get anything like that anymore.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Manchester is rapidly becoming one of the fastest-growing cities in the UK, with the property market a bloodbath. Make no mistake though, Chicken Run\u2019s going nowhere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been here long enough so not much is gonna affect us, but you can see it more when you go up princess road. Like, they\u2019re building slowly away from town all the way down. It\u2019s mad.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n On his way back into the shop, which is now heaving, Kwame calls over his shoulder and asks if there were any requests. \u2018How do you want it?\u2019 My indecisiveness due to ordering-regret and thoughts of Tu Pac serve me well, as<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m presented with a Kwame Special. And oh sweet baby J, this thing is weighty. Unwrap the paper and behold: a chicken split BUTONLYWITHMACANDBLADDYCHEESE. These things are filling as fuck as it is, but why not treat yourself? You\u2019ll be full for a week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ending on the Chicken Run ethos, Kwame shows that he\u2019s staying true to his parents\u2019 vision and nothing will shake this institution. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFeeding the community, that\u2019s what it\u2019s always been about. There\u2019s a lot of people that rely on us\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, more than ever, this resonates. Do yourself a favour and get to Chicken Run, where you\u2019ll be eating history, community and soul. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.eatmcr.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/My-project-16-1024x683.png\")
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