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Culinary plagiarism takes many forms, but one large, popular pub chain ripping off a large, more popular restaurant chain is a rarer one.
JD Wetherspoon, run by Brexit maniac Tim Martin, recently introduced two “grilled chicken” and chips dishes to its menu. One features lemon and herb glazed chicken; the other “Naga chilli and citrus.” The combination of chilli and citrus is a hallmark of peri peri seasoning, but so far no harm, some fowl.
Until, that is, the pub group released its visual identity for the new dishes:
I’ve stood by my father through a lot of things, but stealing the entire visual and culinary identity of one of Britain’s most beloved restaurants is deeply unethical. JD Wetherspoons was not founded on these principles. pic.twitter.com/HlAnk6NZr5
— Clive Martin (@thugclive) December 8, 2021
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Please note that Clive Martin’s Succession lampoon of his real and / or not real filial relationship with Tim Martin may or may not be a bit.
What is not a bit is Wetherspoons’s wholesale ripping off of its competitor’s brand identity for the purposes of flogging chicken that undercuts Nando’s prices.
Perhaps Martin just wanted to build on something else the two chains share: severe consequences from the Brexit deal that he so vociferously supported. Martin has repeatedly asked for more EU workers to plug labour shortages occasioned by the deal he voted for, while Nando’s had to close 40 restaurants over summer amid chicken shortages. More soon on whether or not there’s a flame-grilled war on the horizon.
