Once upon a time, in a South American land far, far away, there lived a farmer. A farmer named Sam. Now Sam was not your ordinary farmer. His passion in life was not only planting and watching things grow, but he liked to spice them up a bit. Actually, a lot!

Farmer Sam is one of the world’s utmost authorities in peppery, saucy sassiness. He is a grower and caretaker of the best kept pepper secret in the world. Ghost pepper you ask? Na. Carolina Reaper? Not even close. Farmer Sam is caregiver to the most incredibly delicious and fiery pepper grown… I present to you, the Piri Piri Pepper! And it IS a thing!

Piri Piri is Swahilli for pepper pepper with a Portugese spelling. The peppers are primarily cultivated in South America but have grown wild in Africa for centuries. Peppers are cultivated for commercial food as well as for the pharmaceutical industry. Piri Piri peppers are the only pepper in the world that grows straight up from the plant.

 

Nando’s Peri Peri

   

The Nando’s restaurant story started centuries ago, when the Portuguese explorers set sail for the East in search of adventure and the legendary spice route.

The winds of Africa called them ashore and it was there, under the warm sun, in the rich soil that they discovered the African Bird’s Eye Chilli or PERi-PERi. A spice like no other, they used it to create a unique sauce that put fire in their bellies and ignited passion in their souls.

A few hundred years later (in 1987 to be exact), it was the same PERi-PERi sauce that inspired Fernando Duarte to invite his friend Robbie Brozin to a humble Portuguese eatery in the heart of Rosettenville, South Africa to try some mouth-watering PERi-PERi marinated and basted chicken. It wasn’t just the best chicken Robbie had ever tasted, it was love at first bite!

Nando’s recently held a pop-up brunch in Atlanta to showcase the amazing journey of this little pepper and their award winning chicken. Arts & Crafts, an excellent DJ, and sample bottles of the amazing Peri-Peri sauce in three flavors were a HUGE hit!

Creative cocktails were made using Nando’s Peri-Peri Sauce and peppers. If you want the best Bloody Mary of a lifetime, order this sauce!

These guys were ROCKING Nando’s Peri-Peri chicken on the grill! Look at that gorgeous color!

Demonstrations were given of how the peppers are ground to become an out of this world delicious sauce.

Time for brunch! Nando’s Peri-Peri chicken, and it was completely amazing served with waffles and fresh fruit.

Our friend & fellow blogger Lia Picard getting in on the waffle action. Hi Lia!

After the spicy goodness of Nando’s Peri-Peri chicken, dessert from the King of Pops was a perfect treat!

 

The legend of the Barcelos Cockerel

This tale dates back to the 14th Century and, like all legends the details differ depending on who’s doing the telling. Here’s our (Nando’s) version.

A pilgrim was passing through the village of Barcelos in Portugal when he was wrongly accused of theft. This was a serious charge for which a guilty verdict meant certain death.

The pilgrim was brought before the town’s judge, who was about to eat a roast cockerel for dinner. Feeling vulnerable in a strange village and knowing what his sorry fate might be, the pilgrim pleaded: “If I am innocent, may that cockerel get up and crow!”

No sooner had he spoken, than the cockerel got up and crowed heartily (well it is a legend!). With that, the pilgrim was pardoned and allowed to go on his way.

Ever since, the Barcelos Cockerel has been a symbol of faith, justice and good fortune.

 

Nando’s Peri-Peri At Home

As I could not live without more of this delicious bird, I put our sample bottles to use! Do you see how this bird is just striking a pose? She’s all Madonna Vogue feeling super stylish and delish doused in that fabulous sauce! Strike that pose!

All of that sassy deliciousness from this little plant.

Yep. You guessed it! We are now growing Peri-Peri peppers in Waleksa, USA! Thank you for this amazing gift Farmer Sam! We promise to raise them right!

 

About Nando’s Peri – Peri

If you would like to experience this amazing chicken at home, I am thrilled to announce that you can order the sauce online! There are five varieties to choose; mild, medium, garlic, hot and extra hot. Click here to order and enjoy!!

http://www.nandosperiperi.com/sauces

*Thank you to Nando’s Peri-Peri for providing all food & beverages. Although these offerings were complimentary, all thoughts, opinions, words, over indulging and drooling are strictly my own.