Chiko Roll
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The Chiko Roll or CHIKO Roll is an Australian savoury snack developed by Francis McEncroe, a boilermaker from Bendigo, and first appeared at the Wagga Wagga Show in 1951. It was inspired by the chinese Egg roll and spring rolls and was designed to be able to be eaten with one hand whilst drinking a beer with the other. The Chiko roll consists of boned mutton, celery, cabbage, barley, rice, carrot and spices in a tube of egg, flour and dough which is then deep-fried. The wrap was designed to be unusually thick so it would survive transport to Football matches. It was originally called a "Chicken roll" despite not containing any chicken then later renamed "Chiko Roll".
Since the 1950s, Chiko rolls have been advertised by an iconic "girl on a motorbike" theme. The girl is usually photographed straddling a large motorcycle, holding the Chiko roll near her crotch in a phallic gesture. The accompanying slogan is "Couldn't you go a Chiko Roll?".
By 1965 most Australian takeaway restaurants and fish and chip shops carried Chiko Rolls, with the marketing 'Grab a Chiko' signifying the ease with which shop owners could take a Chiko roll from the freezer (frozen distribution of Chicko rolls was made possible ever since the factory was located near the Floyd Family Iceworks in Coburg, who together with Frank McEnroe formed Frozen Food Industries) and pop it into a fryer and slide it into its own trade mark bag.
Since 1995 the Chiko brand has been owned by Simplot Australia and today has expanded its products to include: MexCHIKO Rolls, Corn Fritters, Corn Jacks, Fish Cakes, Seafood Rolls and dim sims. All Chiko Rolls are now manufactured in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia on a specifically designed machine that produces the pastry and filling at the same time in long rolls. They are then automatically sliced and then the distinctive ends are folded.
Chiko rolls, like other takeaway foods containing mixed ingredients, are often the subject of many rumours involving the use of non-foodstuffs or not-normally-consumed meats.
[edit] External links
- Chiko Roll; distributor site
- Ingredients and Nutrition Information; distributor site
