Riot predicts a bright future thanks to Jestic and Henny Penny

Riot Chicken is the brainchild of entrepreneur Khalid Al-Qaqa, and since his first restaurant opened in Battersea in May 2019, the promise of ‘Your Chicken Your Way’ is proving very popular with customers

Khalid took two years to research, develop and hone the Riot Chicken concept as he knew that succeeding in the competitive fried chicken QSR market would require a clear proposition with a focus on freshness and quality: “We wanted to be different, to in effect ‘riot’ against conventional High Street fried chicken shops. We do not offer a mind-boggling number of meal options. We simply offer quality, fresh chicken that customers can choose to have fried or grilled, original or spicy. If they want five wings with two grilled and three fried, that’s what they’ll get.”

Any new venture that aims to be different needs support and expertise from those within the industry that know what is and isn’t possible. For Khalid, that advice came through a partnership with Jestic, who he got involved from day one. As Khalid explains: “Working with Jestic has not just been a customer-supplier relationship, it has been a true partnership without which, we would never have opened our doors. Working closely with Jestic’s Culinary Team in their development kitchen proved invaluable in developing our menu, whilst the Henny Penny fryers we trialled stood out from any other equipment we tested.

“Jestic helped us to set up the Henny Penny equipment to achieve the quality we were looking for and devised programmes tailored to our menu. The best part is that the fryers are so user-friendly. Getting perfect results is now just the push of a button away.”

Jestic’s Culinary Team also visited the Battersea restaurant to train the Riot Chicken team on how to use and maintain the Henny Penny equipment, so all employees felt confident about how to get the best results from each appliance.

A key piece of equipment at Riot Chicken is the Henny Penny PFE-500 pressure fryer which is used to cook a variety of items on the menu including chicken on the bone, wings and fillets, all available with Riot’s innovative double coating of batter and breading. Khalid is clearly delighted with the results, stating that: “The Henny Penny pressure fryer gives us the exact crispiness and colour we want. The cooking process also seals in flavour and moisture without absorbing oil. The food is delicious!”

Henny Penny’s Evolution Elite open fryers also play a starring role at Riot Chicken - perfectly frying their ‘extra tasty’ skin-on fries, chilli cheese bites, chicken bites and battered halloumi thanks to the pre-set ‘i-control™’ programmes. The automatic oil filtration of the Henny Penny Evolution Elite was a particularly important feature for Riot as Khalid explains: “Oil is a vital element of any fried chicken concept. Without clean, fresh oil the food will be inferior and the reputation of your business could be damaged. The Henny Penny open fryer features autofiltration, which means the oil is always clean and as a result the food always looks golden and appetising. Quite simply, Henny Penny fryers have given us the touch, the taste, the look and the quality we wanted.”

In addition to the fryers, Henny Penny holding cabinets are proving their worth for peak service times. As Khalid explains: “Before busy periods in the day, we cook the chicken and the Henny Penny holding cabinet keeps it perfectly tender meaning that it doesn’t lose freshness, touch or taste. Our commitment to our customers is that they will get the same quality of chicken no matter when they visit us – this would be an impossible mission without the Henny Penny holding cabinets.”

With ambitious plans for more Riot Chicken restaurants in London, the UK and even overseas, Khalid was keen to highlight Jestic’s support: “Jestic is a very important stakeholder in the Riot Chicken story. Using Henny Penny equipment and Jestic was a no-brainer. You get the best equipment and unrivalled service from the best distributor. I would whole heartedly recommend Jestic for any new startup or existing restaurant.”