harsh fluorescent lighting condensation
steaming up the shopfront
a film of grease clings to every surface
I’m getting wafts of cheap lemon or lime
hand wipes through the smell of hot
wings which sizzle in the back wheel
walk drive ride through the streets of
London and have passed hundreds of fried
chicken shots do you notice them to
despise them you’re a regular whatever
your experience of what is becoming an
iconic inner London setup I want to
thank you a step further into these
outlets unveil what lies beyond the
chicken and uncover then why it is the
fried chicken shops are saturating our
streets because I assure you the fried
chicken shop is more than a fried
chicken now just what a rewinds a few
years to my secondary school days in
Tower Hamlets East London on a typical
Friday afternoon as the school day were
draw to a close me and my friends would
continue the hot topics of afternoon
registration in the playground after
school this will go on for an hour or
two also however long the school
caretakers would permit after they’d
chased us a couple of times around the
language’s block we just reluctantly
onto the curb just outside the school
gates we’d be left in a situation where
could we go as a large mixed group of 15
year olds overcrowded homes small flats
sometimes strict parents really limited
options so where did we end up the fried
chicken shop any combination of us being
a group of two or twenty would rock up
in our school uniforms crooked tires
maybe only just a few of us buying food
and we’d sit around the table for
anywhere between 10 minutes and two
hours the food was quick tasty cheap
three wings and chips for a pounds for
those of you who haven’t had the
absolute delight of the locally renowned
kid’s meal but as much as we told
ourselves we were going there for the
food we weren’t we were going there as a
last resort and this is why I say the
fried chicken shop is more than the
fried chicken they’re providing
something greater I read that there are
42 fast-food outlets per Secondary
School in my borough of Tower Hamlets 42
that figure is kind of hard to register
so I went up to the pareto shops that
we’d usually go to and I counted for
myself
there are excluding the CAF the subway
the Chinese the Thai and the Turkish
five fried chicken shots in this 50
metre stretch that’s like one every 10
meters
suddenly that statistic wasn’t so hard
for me to believe you got PSE that’s
perfect fried chicken HSC hello a fried
chicken khf still don’t know what that
one stands for and many more these
independent often family-run fried
chicken shops are the providers of an
essential service a space growing up in
London this global city I feel like
there are fewer and fewer spaces that
can be shared by everyone they are
inclusive non-selective and importantly
allow young people to feel a sense of
both belonging and agency spaces where
we feel we have a sense of control
choice independence Fried Chicken shops
are filling this void you go in there is
anyone present your pocket change to
whoever is behind the counter bossman
uncle if there’s some small chance he’s
your cousins next-door neighbor’s dad’s
you sit you eat you chat scout across
the capital I’m starting to see fried
chicken shops is forming this invisible
web a strong but simple network bringing
some sense of unity in this vast
metropolis their significance has shone
a spotlight on them in the social media
realm the young man going by the name of
the chicken connoisseur and millions of
views online as he trout and rated the
chicken from outlets across the city
whilst the woman from the youtube series
chicken shop date went viral as she
chatted through an array of grime
artists over wings and chips and to top
it all off one of the ads for a recent
night campaign that spurred huge
excitement and saya taught nothing beats
a Londoner features Morley’s a popular
fried chicken chain that started in
South London so their relevance is being
recognized and an image of London is
being showcased to the world that’s got
nothing to do with Buckingham Palace or
Burberry it’s an image that for once all
that any people can take some ownership
off but there’s a problem with all of
these wonderful things that Fried
Chicken shops are I’m starting to see
them as indicators almost symptoms of a
deeper underlying issue flagging
something to my attention wherever they
crop up earlier I said that Fried
Chicken shops are the providers of
spaces where young people feel a sense
of both belonging and agency well I need
to adjust that slightly we have a true
sense of belonging yes but a false sense
of agency what do I mean by a false
sense of agency well on the surface me
and my friends had a choice on that
Friday afternoon which chicken shop
would it be spice heart a real taste
once we were in the chicken shop burger
meal or kids now once we’ve got our food
chilli sauce or ketchup these
superficial consumer decisions lured us
into a feeling of freewill like we were
in control when actually where was our
choice to begin with
this supposed sense of agency were
secondary to the societal limitations
that led us to the chicken shop in the
first place where are the spaces for
young people the spaces that don’t
compromise other aspects of our
well-being because the truth is chicken
shops may nurture but they do not
nourish where can we go after school
before home with a pound in our pockets
and a whole afternoons worth of
conversations to be heard the safe
social spaces for young people are
scarce yet these are the environments
for exploration of our identities that
help channel and shape our individualism
strengthen our social interactions all
influencing our development into young
adults if only we could take all that it
is that Fried Chicken shops are
accomplishing but leave out the fried
get rid of the chicken and drop the shop
now whether you’re driving riding
walking back home tonight I want you to
try and count the number of Fried
Chicken shots that you see maybe Crane
your neck a little and take a look
inside there will be young people in
there I hope we can appreciate what
these small florescent hubs are
achieving and recognize how the chicken
shop culture is weaved into the
identities of so many young people
including my own but it’s time that we
moved beyond the chicken now and how we
do that is up to us [Applause]
steaming up the shopfront
a film of grease clings to every surface
I’m getting wafts of cheap lemon or lime
hand wipes through the smell of hot
wings which sizzle in the back wheel
walk drive ride through the streets of
London and have passed hundreds of fried
chicken shots do you notice them to
despise them you’re a regular whatever
your experience of what is becoming an
iconic inner London setup I want to
thank you a step further into these
outlets unveil what lies beyond the
chicken and uncover then why it is the
fried chicken shops are saturating our
streets because I assure you the fried
chicken shop is more than a fried
chicken now just what a rewinds a few
years to my secondary school days in
Tower Hamlets East London on a typical
Friday afternoon as the school day were
draw to a close me and my friends would
continue the hot topics of afternoon
registration in the playground after
school this will go on for an hour or
two also however long the school
caretakers would permit after they’d
chased us a couple of times around the
language’s block we just reluctantly
onto the curb just outside the school
gates we’d be left in a situation where
could we go as a large mixed group of 15
year olds overcrowded homes small flats
sometimes strict parents really limited
options so where did we end up the fried
chicken shop any combination of us being
a group of two or twenty would rock up
in our school uniforms crooked tires
maybe only just a few of us buying food
and we’d sit around the table for
anywhere between 10 minutes and two
hours the food was quick tasty cheap
three wings and chips for a pounds for
those of you who haven’t had the
absolute delight of the locally renowned
kid’s meal but as much as we told
ourselves we were going there for the
food we weren’t we were going there as a
last resort and this is why I say the
fried chicken shop is more than the
fried chicken they’re providing
something greater I read that there are
42 fast-food outlets per Secondary
School in my borough of Tower Hamlets 42
that figure is kind of hard to register
so I went up to the pareto shops that
we’d usually go to and I counted for
myself
there are excluding the CAF the subway
the Chinese the Thai and the Turkish
five fried chicken shots in this 50
metre stretch that’s like one every 10
meters
suddenly that statistic wasn’t so hard
for me to believe you got PSE that’s
perfect fried chicken HSC hello a fried
chicken khf still don’t know what that
one stands for and many more these
independent often family-run fried
chicken shops are the providers of an
essential service a space growing up in
London this global city I feel like
there are fewer and fewer spaces that
can be shared by everyone they are
inclusive non-selective and importantly
allow young people to feel a sense of
both belonging and agency spaces where
we feel we have a sense of control
choice independence Fried Chicken shops
are filling this void you go in there is
anyone present your pocket change to
whoever is behind the counter bossman
uncle if there’s some small chance he’s
your cousins next-door neighbor’s dad’s
you sit you eat you chat scout across
the capital I’m starting to see fried
chicken shops is forming this invisible
web a strong but simple network bringing
some sense of unity in this vast
metropolis their significance has shone
a spotlight on them in the social media
realm the young man going by the name of
the chicken connoisseur and millions of
views online as he trout and rated the
chicken from outlets across the city
whilst the woman from the youtube series
chicken shop date went viral as she
chatted through an array of grime
artists over wings and chips and to top
it all off one of the ads for a recent
night campaign that spurred huge
excitement and saya taught nothing beats
a Londoner features Morley’s a popular
fried chicken chain that started in
South London so their relevance is being
recognized and an image of London is
being showcased to the world that’s got
nothing to do with Buckingham Palace or
Burberry it’s an image that for once all
that any people can take some ownership
off but there’s a problem with all of
these wonderful things that Fried
Chicken shops are I’m starting to see
them as indicators almost symptoms of a
deeper underlying issue flagging
something to my attention wherever they
crop up earlier I said that Fried
Chicken shops are the providers of
spaces where young people feel a sense
of both belonging and agency well I need
to adjust that slightly we have a true
sense of belonging yes but a false sense
of agency what do I mean by a false
sense of agency well on the surface me
and my friends had a choice on that
Friday afternoon which chicken shop
would it be spice heart a real taste
once we were in the chicken shop burger
meal or kids now once we’ve got our food
chilli sauce or ketchup these
superficial consumer decisions lured us
into a feeling of freewill like we were
in control when actually where was our
choice to begin with
this supposed sense of agency were
secondary to the societal limitations
that led us to the chicken shop in the
first place where are the spaces for
young people the spaces that don’t
compromise other aspects of our
well-being because the truth is chicken
shops may nurture but they do not
nourish where can we go after school
before home with a pound in our pockets
and a whole afternoons worth of
conversations to be heard the safe
social spaces for young people are
scarce yet these are the environments
for exploration of our identities that
help channel and shape our individualism
strengthen our social interactions all
influencing our development into young
adults if only we could take all that it
is that Fried Chicken shops are
accomplishing but leave out the fried
get rid of the chicken and drop the shop
now whether you’re driving riding
walking back home tonight I want you to
try and count the number of Fried
Chicken shots that you see maybe Crane
your neck a little and take a look
inside there will be young people in
there I hope we can appreciate what
these small florescent hubs are
achieving and recognize how the chicken
shop culture is weaved into the
identities of so many young people
including my own but it’s time that we
moved beyond the chicken now and how we
do that is up to us [Applause]
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