At Nando’s we’re all about the people. It’s the people how is nandos chicken made make the chicken and it’s the people that bring the passion to our restaurants.

A beacon in the community Every Nando’s restaurant builds their own partnerships with local charities and has the freedom to choose which ones they’d like to support, based on their local knowledge of what’s needed in that area. We know how important it is to make personal connections and get things done quickly, so we leave the red tape out and let them get on with it. A lot of the charities we work with are homeless charities and we support them through food donation or volunteering. We’ve also run CV workshops and interview preparation to help get people back into work and hosted recruitment events for homeless youth to support their independence, develop their life skills and hopefully offer them a job at Nando’s afterwards. New openings, new opportunities It’s important to us that we’re a force for good in our communities from day one, so before we even open a new restaurant, we start working on projects that benefit the local area. Whenever we build or refurbish a restaurant, we’re surrounded by world class designers, contractors, builders and equipment. So while we have them there, we meet up with a local charity and work on a project together, like designing and building a new diner-style dining room for an elderly care home in Hornchurch or repurposing an old telephone box into a community donation space in Ipswich or contributing to local playground and garden projects in Sydenham.

As a restaurant business, we’ve learned that some food waste is unavoidable, but we try to reduce it as much as possible by cooking chicken only when it’s needed. If there’s any food waste we can’t donate, we send it to Anaerobic Digestion where it is turned into renewable energy and agricultural fertiliser. A fair deal for farmers We want to make sure every farmer we work with gets a good deal. So we decided to find a better way to source and buy the Nando’s PERi-PERi Chillies that make our signature PERi-PERi sauce. First off, we developed a trademarked variety of the famous African Bird’s Eye Chilli that delivers our unique Nando’s PERi-PERi flavour. The success of PERi-Farms has meant we have a traceable chilli supply chain that empowers farmers by giving them the skills and opportunity to support themselves with a reliable crop they can make a good living out of.

Now, every Nando’s PERi-PERi sauce, baste or marinade around the world is made with chillies from the PERi-Farms in Southern Africa, helping local farmers thrive, and developing wider communities as well. We’ve partnered with the Spier Arts Trust, who curate our collection and help artists build their careers, running development programmes like Spier Arts Academy, The Creative Block and Qubeka Bead Studio. By sharing the artists’ stories, we’re sharing our own story. By showcasing the artists’ work globally in our restaurants, we’re sharing a significant period in Southern Africa’s history with the rest of the world. So when you cast your eye over any one of the original pieces in our restaurants, you’re actually looking at the stories from our homeland from over 350 artists. A lot of the money we raise comes from internal fundraising, from head shaves to auctions to sponsored walks and everything in between. And for part of the year, we sell limited edition menu items and special gift packs of sauces in our restaurants where we donate the profits, without taking anything extra from our customers.

We sell beautiful, handwoven bracelets made in Southern Africa, and each bracelet sold protects two lives for one year. Nando’s commitment to social change gives every Nandoca the opportunity to have a real impact on the lives of others, coming to work for more than just our daily wage. And after all, when it comes to delivering those unforgettably unique Nando’s experiences, it’s the heart and soul, the pride and passion, and the dedication of our people that makes the magic happen. Skills for life At Nando’s we believe we can have a positive impact on young people’s lives by helping them develop skills to get ready for the workplace. To help us do this, we partner with innovative volunteering programmes, aimed at up-skilling and empowering young people for further education and employment. I have been a Nandoca for over a year.

My experiences here have been a welcoming one, managers and staff make sure you integrate well into the team or family as we call it here – the awkward start lasts about an hour because of how nice everyone is. The calibre of the candidates are fantastic and has given me an opportunity to teach young and enthusiastic individuals, the work experience they need to help grow themselves. On my first shift I was shaking and so nervous about having to speak to people, but since then I’ve overcome my shyness and feel able to interact with people really well. I spend most of my shifts working on the floor, looking after customers and making sure they’re having the best experience possible. Part of this comes from creating an environment where Nandocas are trusted, valued and empowered to lead and learn.

Plus, with over 17,200 Nandocas we know we’ve got hidden talents and ambitions out there. For almost a decade we have had a dedicated sustainability team beavering away behind the scenes to ensure that we are treading lightly on our planet and supporting communities close to our restaurants and in Southern Africa. Satisfy your app-etite Download our app for your dose of PERi-PERi goodness! Quick skillet chicken, rice, and steam broccoli all made in under 20 minutes for a healthy meal-prep lunch box that you can enjoy all week long! If you’re new to meal prepping,  please check out our meal-prep archives to see a whole bunch of our other delicious meal-prep recipes. Today we’re cooking up one of the easiest and simplest chicken meal prep recipes you can make.