About Us

Behind everything at Nando’s is an extraordinary story

Once upon a time, a pilgrim was passing through the town Barcelos in Portugal. Through an unfortunate turn of events, he was accused of theft, wrongly convicted and sentenced to death.

Evening had fallen when he was brought to plead before the town’s judge. The judge was sitting down to feast on a roasted cockerel, which inspired a desperate plea from the pilgrim. ‘If I am innocent, may that cockerel get up and crow!’ he cried. Just like that, the cockerel got up and crowed heartily. The judge, no longer hungry but filled with wonder, sent the pilgrim on his way.

From that day onwards, the story of the Barcelos cockerel has symbolized faith, justice, and good fortune – all of which we wish upon you in abundance.

For centuries, the people of southeast Africa have used PERi-PERi to bring fire to their food. It is in Mozambique’s rich soil and blistering sunshine that the Africa Bird’s Eye Chilli grows into its fiery best.

When Portuguese explorers arrived there, they were enchanted by its flavour. They added a squeeze of lemon and a kick of garlic and turned PERi-PERi into a very well – travelled spice. Which is how, many years later, it ended up in Rosettenville, Johannesburg at a little Portuguese eatery called Chickenland.

One afternoon in 1987, two friends, Robbie and Fernando, went for lunch at this humble little eatery. By the time their meal drew to a close, both friends knew their lives had changed forever. They knew they had tasted something that had to be shared. PERi-PERi was about to make one more journey, this time from Rosettenville to the world. Decades have passed, but PERi-PERi remains our rhyme and reason – our heat and our heart. Thank you for sharing it with us. We hope you enjoy your meal! As they say in Mozambique, bom proveito.