Nando's Admits to Serving Cheap Frozen Chips

Nando’s is the restaurant of the people. The Mecca of chicken. The church of the absolute lad. Home to the “Cheeky Nando’s,” a phenomenon so mysterious to everyone other than the Brits, that internet wars have been waged over its meaning. Let the warm embrace of a half chicken and Peri Peri chips surround you; feel comforted by the identikit decor and bottomless Diet Coke.

Nando's' reputation was thrown into question this week, however, following the shocking news that its chips aren’t made in-house. The chip revelation came after an anonymous former Nando's employee gave an interview to local paper the Leicester Mercury, which shook the very foundation of trust upon which Nando’s is built. In the feature, titled, “19 secrets of a Nando's worker: Behind the scenes at the chicken chain,” the ex-employee shared various truths about the chain—including the bombshell that it serves frozen McCain chips. "The chips served at Nando's are actually supplied by McCain. So you could recreate part of the Nando's experience at home quite easily if you wanted to," they told the newspaper.

News of Nando's frozen chip scam soon spread and reactions were split. One Twitter user called it, “the revelation of the year,” while another disgruntled tweeter said, “never been, never will - yuk!.” However, many reacted reasonably, acknowledging that a) McCain chips are great, and b) it's not really surprising that Nando’s doesn’t use fresh, homemade chips.

Nando's has been forced to confirm that yes, as a large restaurant chain, it does source industrial batches of frozen chips from McCain. A Nando’s spokesperson told MUNCHIES, “Our hugely popular chips are developed in partnership with McCain Food Services.” However, the chicken restaurant also made sure to clarify that the chips are unique to them, explaining that the “specific recipe is exclusive to Nando's” and that “they aren’t the same as their grocery products.”

Talk about cheeky.