Chiko Roll facts for kids
A Chiko Roll in bag.
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| Place of origin | Australia |
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| Region or state | New South Wales, Victoria |
| Created by | Frank McEncroe |
The Chiko Roll is a famous Australian snack. It was created by Frank McEncroe and first sold in 1951. This tasty snack was inspired by Chinese spring rolls. Even though it was first called the "Chicken Roll," it never actually had chicken in it! It was made to be easy to eat while you were out and about, without needing a plate or fork. Since 1995, a company called Simplot Australia has been making Chiko Rolls.
What's inside a Chiko Roll? The main ingredients are cabbage and barley. You'll also find carrot, green beans, beef, and onion. All these ingredients are partly mashed up. They are wrapped in a thick pastry made from egg and flour. This strong pastry helps the roll stay together, even when people are eating it at busy football games! Chiko Rolls are usually cooked by deep-frying them in vegetable oil. For a few years, a vegetarian version was available, but it was stopped in 2023.
Chiko Rolls were super popular in the 1960s and 1970s. Back then, Australians bought about 40 million Chiko Rolls every year! Many people see the Chiko Roll as a special part of Australian culture.
The Chiko brand also makes other snacks today. These include Corn Jacks, pizza subs, Spudsters, onion rings, fish cakes, and vegetable nuggets.
Contents
How the Chiko Roll Was Created
The Idea Behind the Snack
The Chiko Roll was invented by Frank McEncroe. He was a boilermaker from Bendigo, Victoria. Frank later started a business selling food at football games and other outdoor events. In 1950, he saw someone selling Chinese chop suey rolls at a sports ground. He thought, "I should make something like that!"
Frank felt that the Chinese rolls were too thin and easily fell apart. He wanted to create a much bigger and stronger roll. This new roll would be a quick and filling meal that was easy to hold. And so, the Chiko Roll was born! It was first sold at the Wagga Wagga Agriculture Show in 1951.
Growing Popularity
In the 1960s, Frank McEncroe moved to Melbourne. There, he started making the rolls using a special machine that was originally for sausages. As more and more people loved the Chiko Roll, Frank moved his production to a bigger factory. His business grew, and by 1965, many Australian takeaway shops, especially fish and chip shops, were selling Chiko Rolls.
The famous advertising slogan was "Grab a Chiko." This slogan showed how easy it was for shops to prepare the snack. They just took a frozen Chiko Roll, put it in a fryer, and slid it into its special bag. At its most popular time in the 1970s, 40 million Chiko Rolls were sold in Australia each year. Over a million were even sent to Japan!
Chiko Rolls Today
Since 1995, the Chiko brand has been owned by Simplot Australia. Chiko Rolls are now made in Bathurst, New South Wales. They use a special machine that makes the pastry and filling at the same time. The long rolls are then cut into pieces, and their unique ends are folded.
In recent years, there are many more takeaway food options in Australia. This means fewer Chiko Rolls are sold now. In 2011, about 17 million were sold each year.
In 2016, there was a friendly disagreement in the Parliament of Australia about where the Chiko Roll came from. Politicians from Bendigo, Wagga Wagga, and Riverina all claimed their hometown was the true birthplace!
To celebrate the Chiko Roll's 50th birthday, the company gave gold-plated copies of the roll to the cities of Bendigo and Wagga Wagga.
The Chiko Chick
Since the 1950s, Chiko Rolls have been advertised with a character called the "Chiko Chick." This character was a woman on a motorbike. The slogan used to be "Couldn't you go a Chiko Roll?". In the early 1980s, a different slogan was used: "You can't knock the roll."
In 2008, the company looked for a new "Chiko Chick." They wanted someone who looked more like a "girl next door" instead of the older, more daring image. In July 2008, the new advertising poster was shown at the Wagga Wagga Showgrounds. It featured Annette Melton as the new face of the Chiko Roll.
