RECAP: CHE LAUNCH, FITZROY
Winner winner chicken dinner takes on a whole new meaning with the recent opening of CHE by the culinary geniuses who brought us San Telmo and Pastuso.
Take your classic free range chicken, throw in some face time with some gorgeous Peruvian spices (48 hours to be exact), give it a good roasting over a charcoal grill, and viola, you have CHE's signature chicken. But it turns out CHE is more than just a charcoal chicken and chips joint. There's also helados (ice cream) and empanadas. Chicken. Helados. Empanadas. CHE. All the makings of a grand and delicious time.
Empanadas come in four varieties; traditional beef, corn and cheese, smoked beef and smoked chicken. I tried the latter option; there was a fragrant smokiness that paired beautifully with the spice of the chicken filling. For a further hit of flavour, opt for some toppings like the herbaceous chimichurri or smoked chilli salsa.
Onto the next star of the show: the chicken. There was a good amount of flavour thanks to the char imparted by the grill and the spice rub, although perhaps a tad too oily at times. But it was in the Pollo Rollo, Che's signature roast chicken roll, where the chicken truly shined. The teaming of the grilled chicken with an apple, red cabbage and coriander slaw, pickled cucumber and fermented chilli sauce culminated in such a tasty flavour explosion that continued to wow bite after bite. Their twice-fried chips also made quite the statement. There's something in their housemade chicken salt. Something seriously, finger licking delicious.
Save some room for dessert with dulce de leche soft serve cones and alfajor sandwich cookies on the menu.
CHE
Shop 3, 296 Brunswick St,
Fitzroy, Victoria, 3065.
Disclosure: I attended the launch as a guest of CHE. All opinions expressed in this post are based entirely on my experience and observations made during the time of my visit.