The chicken that crossed the road

WORDS Georgia Chennells PHOTOS David Louis

Lees in Afrikaans.

Georgia Chennells cheers the Durban foodie revolution, in particular the recent addition to the global food truck trend: Afro’s, a mobile chicken braai that celebrates local flavours and places, with a practical design scheme by Kevin Boyd.

With all the food and craft markets popping up from Salt Rock to Shongweni there has been an overwhelming improvement to the foodie scene in Durban where up until now bunny chows and roti’s were the highlight. Now you can find such exotic fare as seared tuna with Vietnamese dressing, Belgian waffles, Lebanese flatbreads and Greek pastries all in the space of the Wonder Market. Durban has always had a cosmopolitan population and its weekend markets are reflecting this more and more.

Lately another global murmur has found its way into the city in the form of a food truck. While the food truck trend has been booming internationally in bigger cities such as LA, London and, closer to home, Cape Town, it has now taken off in Durban.

Afro’s is a mobile chicken braai that celebrates local flavours and places. The shiny black kitchen-on-wheels prides itself on fresh, locally-sourced ingredients and preservative-free sauces. The menu is a simple choice of braai’d chicken, done a variety of ways such as burgers or strips, and hand-cut potato “tjips”. Braai master Greg Clelland’s secret sauces – “hot” or “koel” – add the final touch.

“Note the lack of American or Portuguese influences here. We are passionate about South Africa and are serving African food!” says Greg.

Durban designer Kevin Boyd, who has designed his fair share of eateries, had the challenging task of turning a bog-standard food trailer into a vibrant braai hub. “It was done simply and practically with no frills. We customised it in the tiniest way possible,” says Kevin. “Inevitably with moving around a lot, things pull apart quite easily, so you have to be quite practical when designing for a mobile braai truck.”

Small customisations seem to have gone a long way: a simple sprayed exterior, some loud decals and fold-out signage, Afro’s signature copper-sprayed wheels, and the interchangeable birch-ply menu boards all crow boldly of a food truck with a difference. 

Compared to designing a regular restaurant? “Easier!” says Kevin. “It’s also much more accessible to people as they can experience it from outside as opposed to having to actually venture inside to know what it’s about.” 

This means the “proudly local” message in the form of African-style chicken can reach an incredibly wide audience, from market-goers to construction workers. And, just to take it one step further, those sporting an afro get their first meal free.

The Afro’s trailer can be found most weekends around Durban at markets, events, scenic road verges or wherever the waves are cooking. All their location updates are sent out via Twitter and Facebook.

Follow @afroschicken on Twitter and like AfrosBraaidChickn on Facebook. Tel 031 765 6365, www.afroschicken.co.za