The Chicken Connoisseur
Elijah Quashie (born 1993 in Enfield, London), also known as The Chicken Connoisseur, is an internet celebrity and fried chicken restaurant critic known for his viral YouTube video series The Pengest Munch.[1][2][3]
Fame
Quashie started his YouTube channel The Pengest Munch in August 2015, inspired by Gregg Wallace of television series MasterChef and produced by film maker Elishama Udorok.[2] Until December 2016, his videos had around 700 views each, with a total of 150 subscribers.[2] The videos involve Quashie visiting, critiquing and rating chicken shops around London.[4]
The Pengest Munch went viral on 9 December, with coverage from The Huffington Post,[3] The Daily Telegraph[5] and BuzzFeed[4] and support from John Boyega and Graham Linehan.[5] Metro cited "stunning insight, humour and style" as the reasons behind his success.[6] Another focus of the coverage has been the use of slang in the videos,[3][5] although this has been criticised for suggesting "the slang of working class black kids is beyond normal comprehension".[7] He appeared on ITV London on 13 December,[8] and released a new episode to YouTube on 16 December.[9]
In December 2016, he established Chicken Connoisseur Ltd[10] and in April 2017 it was announced that he would be writing a book entitled The Pengest Munch: In Search of the Nation's 50 Favourite Chicken Establishments published by Blink Publishing.
Scores that The Chicken Connoisseur has given
| Scores | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Episode Number and Restaurant | Price | Chicken Wings | Chips | Chicken Burger | Average Food Score | Overall Establishment Score |
| Ep. 1: Taste Of Tennessee (Old Street/Shoreditchish/Hoxtonish) | £2.49 | 4.251 | 1.51 | 31 | 2.9 | N/A |
| Ep. 2: Eden's Cottage (Finsbury Park) | £2.002 | 5 | 4 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4 |
| Ep. 3: Dixy (Tufnell Park) | £5.00 | 2.53 | 2 | 3 | 2.5 | 2 |
| Ep. 4: Dallas (Waterloo) | £5.79 | 4.3 | 4 | 4.6 | 4.3 | 4.5 |
| Ep. 5: Chicken Valley (Edgware Road) | £3.00 | 1.9 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 2 | 1.5 |
| Ep. 6: Chick King (Tottenham) | £5.80 | 3.5 | 3 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 3.5 |
| Ep. 7: Sam's Chicken (Woodside Park) | £4.89 | 4 | 3 | 3.8 | 3.6 | 4.3 |
| Ep. 8: Miami Fried Chicken (East Croydon) | £4.40 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.2 |
| Ep. 10: Morley's (Thornton Heath) | £4.28 | 4.5 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.3 |
| Ep. 11: FFC (Mile End) | £4.60 | 2 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 2 |
| Ep. 12: Chicken Valley (Shepherd's Bush) | £3.49 | 2.3 | 3.2 | 1.7 | 2.4 | 1.7 |
| Ep. 13: KRFC (Walthamstow) | N/A | 4.6 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 3.64 |
| Ep. 14: Chicken Run (Aldgate) | £4.70 | 1.7 | 4.6 | 3 | 3.1 | 3.6 |
| Ep. 15: New York Spesh (New York)5 | ||||||
| Texas (Harlem) | £8.586 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
| Kennedy Chicken (The Bronx) | £6.826 | 1.9 | 3.2 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 2 |
| Crown Fried Chicken (Brooklyn) | N/A | 2.2 | 4.7 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 2.4 |
| Ep. 16: Favourite (Stamford Hill) | £3.20 | 3.1 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 2.2 |
| Ep. 17: Aladdin's (Hounslow East) | £4.70 | 3.4 | 2.4 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.7 |
1 All scores in Ep 1 were out of 10 so the scores shown in the table were halved to ensure comparability between Ep1 scores and all other episode scores which were out of 5
2 Original price was £1.99 however the Chicken Connoisseur did not receive his 1p change
3 Two scores given for the Chicken Wing score therefore the average of both scores is shown
4 Two scores given so the average of both scores is shown
5 Three shops were reviewed in one episode
6 Prices converted from dollars
Controversy
In January 2017, Quashie came under criticism after he featured Taylor Harris (stage name 'Bonkaz') rapping in one of his YouTube videos. Harris was previously convicted of groping a 13-year-old girl in 2010. Harris was also jailed for three years in 2011 for his part in a kidnapping and torture of a 22-year-old disabled man. [11]
Personal life
Quashie lives in Tottenham in North London.[1] His exact age is unknown as he has never revealed it officially, however speculation from a number of sources say he is 24 years of age. [12] Quashie has also said in the past that he has "no appetite for discussing his age". [13]
In May 2017, Quashie endorsed Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in the 2017 UK general election. During an interview with The Fader he said: "he's (Corbyn) one of the few people who make sense".[14]
References
- 1 2
- 1 2 3
- 1 2 3
- 1 2 "Everyone Loves The Guy On YouTube Going Around London Reviewing Chicken Shops". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
- 1 2 3 "These brilliant videos about London's takeaway chicken shops are a YouTube hit". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
- ↑ "The 'Chicken Connoisseur' has just become the best food critic in London". Metro. 9 December 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
- ↑ "When It Comes To Diversity, Black English Language Is Just As Important As Diversity In Boardrooms". The Debrief. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
- ↑ "The guy who reviews London chicken shops made a glorious TV appearance". Yahoo! Finance. 15 December 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
- ↑ "The Chicken Connoisseur Is Back With A Brand New Ep Of The Pengest Munch – WATCH". Capital XTRA. 16 December 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
- ↑
- ↑ "'Chicken Connoisseur' Youtube star comes under fire for starring alongside convicted sex offender in latest 'Pengest Munch' video in Thornton Heath". Croydon Guardian.
- ↑ "You Won't Believe How Old YouTube's 'Chicken Connoisseur' Really Is...". Capital XTRA. Retrieved 2017-05-28.
- ↑ Usborne, Simon (2016-12-16). "The Chicken Connoisseur on his new Pengest Munch: ‘I owe it to the bald one on MasterChef’". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-05-28.
- ↑ Gillett, Francesca (17 May 2017). "London's Chicken Connoisseur backs Jeremy Corbyn after string of grime stars endorse Labour leader". London: London Evening Standard. Retrieved 11 June 2017.