Kricket to host Fried Chicken Challenge with a star studded line up on Tuesday 7 February

The country’s top restaurants and chicken shops will compete in a challenge in aid of The Childhood Trust this February at Kricket Brixton

£15 tickets include unlimited Keralan Fried Chicken and two Kingfisher beers

Kricket’s founders Will Bowlby and Rik Campbell announce the launch of their inaugural Fried Chicken Challenge. Taking place on Tuesday 7 February, participants will take turns to cook their very best take on a UK favourite, fried chicken, for a judging panel of esteemed chefs, restaurateurs and food personalities.

Big Zuu (self-taught chef and rapper), Jimi Famurewa (Evening Standard restaurant critic), KFC’s ‘Chief Chicken Officer’, Kerth Gumbs (Chef and Great British Menu 2020 Finalist), Flora Gill (writer and journalist) and Judy Joo (TV chef and restaurateur) will judge the titans of fried chicken. Contestants include MR JI, Other Side Fried, Around The Cluck by James Cochran, Claridge’s, Richard Corrigan’s Daffodil Mulligan, Tonkotsu and Black Bear Burger.

Host and compère for the evening, with microphone in hand, will be Kricket Chef Patron Will Bowlby. Doors open at 6.30pm and tickets cost £15 per person which includes unlimited Keralan Fried Chicken from Kricket, served by the team throughout the evening, and two Kingfisher beers.

The fried chicken will be judged blind to ensure no favouritism takes place and marks will be given for one piece of chicken and an accompanying sauce – nothing else.

The winning restaurant will receive the prized Fried Chicken Challenge trophy along with a £100 bar tab at Soho cocktail bar SOMA and a £100 donation made in their name to The Childhood Trust. The children’s charity will also receive a £5 donation from every ticket sale and a raffle will also take place.

Will and Rik are thrilled to be hosting the event, the first of its kind in the UK. They say, “Fried chicken is something very dear to us – we’ve had our Keralan Fried Chicken on the menu right from our pop up days in Brixton and it’s certainly our most popular dish. To invite our favourite chefs and restaurants to serve their version of the snack to a panel of chicken lovers is very exciting, and all for such an important cause. We hope to raise a substantial amount for The Childhood Trust, the work they do to help young people in need is inspirational.”

Tickets are priced at £15 per person which includes two beers provided by Kingfisher and unlimited Keralan Fried Chicken from Kricket. In addition, a paid for bar will be in operation for the evening. Doors open at 6.30pm, judging starts at 7.30pm, the winner will be announced at 8.45pm.

Tickets can be bought via www.sevenrooms.com