The event will be held on the evening of 7 February at Kricket’ Brixton restaurant with a judging panel comprising chef and rapper Big Zuu, Evening Standard restaurant critic Jimi Famurewa, KFC’s ‘chief chicken officer’, chef and Great British Menu 2020 finalist Kerth Gumbs, writer Flora Gill, and TV chef and restaurateur Judy Joo.
Contestants confirmed so far include chefs from MR JI, Other Side Fried, Around The Cluck by James Cochran, Claridge’s, Richard Corrigan’s Daffodil Mulligan, Tonkotsu and Black Bear Burger.
The fried chicken will be judged blind with marks given for one piece of chicken and an accompanying sauce. The winning restaurant will receive a Fried Chicken Challenge trophy along with a £100 bar tab at Kricket’s 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 (£15) and a raffle will also take place.
“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,” say the pair.
“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.”