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Grilled Chicken is now one of the popular food items across the country with increasing number of middle-class people and young generation being significantly dependent on eateries.
Once grilled chicken was made only in divisional cities and some developed areas of the country but it is now available on almost every street across the country.
Chicken is marinated with spices and later grilled on griller. Grilled chicken is super-moist inside but crunchy bits of chars outside give it a heavenly taste.
Grilled chickens are normally served with naan rooti, mayonnaise and simple salad. This is an evening snack mostly available after 5.00 pm at restaurants.
According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) Hotel and Restaurant Survey 2020, the number of restaurants went up to 4.36 lakh in 2019-20, which is 59 per cent higher than a decade ago.
Being the capital and the largest city of the country, Dhaka hosts the lion’s share of these eateries.
Though there is no actual figure about consumption of grilled chicken in Dhaka city it is an assumption that around 2-2.5 lakh pieces of grilled chickens are consumed per day, said Md. Imran Hassan, Secretary of the Bangladesh Restaurant Owner’s Association.
On average 70 -80 per cent of the city restaurants or eateries sell grilled chicken, chicken kebab or chicken barbecue while 25-30 per cent restaurant use grilled machine said, Md Kamrul Hasan Bipu, owner of the Nawabi Voj restaurant.
According to Bangladesh Restaurant Owners Association, around 10,000-12,000 hotels and restaurants are in Dhaka city. Of them, nearly 4,000- 5,000 hotels and restaurants sell grilled chicken.
Rapid expansion of business
Once grilled chicken was found in only city areas where well-off people, corporate officials and some epicureans enjoyed grilled chicken twice or thrice a month but now regular snacks item of the city people includes the item, said Bipu.
He also told The Business post that on average they could sell around 150 to 200 pieces of grilled chicken per day.
The demand for this delicious food is gradually increasing with the number of eateries and restaurants growing.
Grilled chicken sell has increased more than 50 per cent in fifty years, Bipu, the owner of Nawabi Voj located at Lalbagh, said.
Now more than 80 per cent of the hotels and restaurants are making grilled chicken which was only 10-15 per cent five years back while 50 per cent are using grilled machine and the others are using fire to make Chicken Kebab, said Md Nurul Afcer Kabir, General Secretary of the Bangladesh Restaurant Owners Association of Feni.
Md Nasiruddin, the owner of the Salauddin Restaurant, told The Business Post due to the customer demand 60-70 per cent of the restaurants or eateries now make grilled chicken or kebab which was only 10-15 per cent five years back.
Changing lifestyle contributes to the business
In rural areas, people are now getting used to city food habit. Given the demand of people a good number of restaurants and kebab houses have been built in picturesque and quiet place where people spend some quality time with cozy ambiance along with chicken barbecue, chicken kebab or grilled chicken, said Nurul Afcer Kabir.
At least 50 restaurants and kebab houses have been built in Feni district, he added.
In the rural areas resorts and restaurants in plenty have been build over the last five years where people enjoy grilled chicken and chicken kebab or barbecue with their near and dear ones in an environment surrounded by greenery, said Nurul Afcer Kabir, the owner of the Garden Restaurant at Feni.
Changing lifestyle and economic status of the majority people, increasing mobility of people, and demand for taking snacks outside of the house are attracting local people to invest in hotels and restaurants, said veteran hotel and restaurant businessmen Md Osman Gani, President of Bangladesh Restaurant Owners Association.
Employment generation
A professional grilled maker is necessary when one opens a delicious grilled food eatery. According to a random statistics nearly 20 thousand grilled chicken makers are active in this business thanks to the grilled chicken lovers, said Abdul Hamid, a grill maker with 20 years of experience.
According to the BBS survey, a total of 2.28 million people are working at hotels and restaurants which was around 10 lakh a decade ago.
Rising demand for grilled and Kebab machines
Once grilled and Kebab machines were imported from Turkey, Korea, Italy, USA and some other foreign countries but now it is made locally at Gingera of Dhaka. Farmgate is the famous location for all types of grilled and Kebab machines, said Md Osman Gani.
Traders say grilled chicken and Kebab machine sales have increased by 10 per cent.
