The Popular Chicken Chain That Didn't Originate In America

Americans have a lot of options for takeout chicken, to say the least. But residents of Chicago, Houston, Dallas, and the Washington, DC metropolitan area have one you don't often see in the United States — even though it's an extremely popular chain worldwide.

Nando's Peri-Peri has about 45 American stores but over 1,200 worldwide in 30 countries. It's especially popular in the UK and Ireland, which account for 425 of the restaurants. But this chicken chain actually originated in Johannesburg, South Africa. In 1987, two businessmen enjoyed a meal of grilled chicken with a spicy pepper sauce so much that they bought the restaurant and converted it to the first Nando's, a Portuguese nickname for Fernando.

The chain gets its full name from the peri-peri peppers that made the sauce they loved. Also known as piri piri or African bird's eye chili, the peppers are blended with garlic, lemon, and herbs to create a vibrant and spicy sauce perfect for chicken. These peppers and their sauce are well-loved in cuisines throughout southern Africa, but their story would not be complete without Portuguese sailors and colonization.

There are many types of chili pepper and ways to use them, from scotch bonnets in Jamaican cuisine to pepperoncini in Italian. Despite their global appeal, all chili peppers originated in South America. In the case of peri-peri, indigenous people likely introduced Portuguese explorers to the pepper as they colonized South America. Portuguese traders exported the new-to-them delicacy to other Portuguese colonies worldwide, including the southern coast of Africa.

Today, peri-peri is a common hot pepper, and Nando's is a global business. But the chain still honors its roots in the cosmopolitan food culture of South Africa, and not just with piri-piri sauce. Among the things you might not know about Nando's is that it owns a massive collection of South African art, thought to be the largest outside of the country. Nando's built this collection through decades of commissioning original pieces from South African artists to decorate menus and dining rooms, though its rooster logo is a common symbol of Portugal.

Nando's US expansion has proceeded at a gradual pace, unfortunately leaving many Americans without the easy opportunity to try it. If you're one of these people, though, you can easily make your own piri-piri sauce at home and get a taste of the magic that inspired it all.