The doors to the flavor were opened, full of joy and also of people who came around the corner of the famous Herald Square in Manhattan. Everyone’s mouths were watering until they ate the famous breaded Chicken Campero.
Jennifer Alvarado grew up in Guatemala eating this chicken and today I travel several miles from Connecticut.
“Because it is super rich and it is a flavor that is always sought after. That is why I think that even here in the United States we look for Pollo Campero, we even travel a lot alone to eat Pollo Campero with the family,” said Alvarado.
The success story of this restaurant chain began in Guatemala, when the Gutiérrez Bosh family opened their first restaurant in April 1971.
“From day one it was a resounding success, growth immediately began, Campero arrives in El Salvador, all Salvadorans say that Pollo Campero is from El Salvador, all Guatemalans say that it is from Guatemala,” said Luis Javier Rodas, national administrator Country Chicken.
The truth is that now it belongs to everyone, there are 400 stores around the world. 99 in the United States, three of them in NYC -one in Queens and the other two in Manhattan.
Success says Rodas, is in the ultra-secret recipe…
Jennifer Alvarado.
“Like everything, it is one of the best kept secrets and none of us know it,” added Rodas. “One passion in everything that is done, two, commitment, three, effort and the other, in the restaurant industry, one really is in the service industry.”
And although for obvious reasons they did not want to share with us the secrets of the flavor, they did share a table and also the chicken, which we tried… mmm
After verifying that it really is very tasty, they let us know some of the processes that make this chicken unique and full of flavor.
“Everything starts with our chicken, it is a chicken that is fresh, never frozen,” revealed Fernando Pérez, operations manager. “The next step is the breading, for that we use our breading cylinder and we use the breading, which is where the country flavor comes from.”
“I don’t know what they put in the recipe, I wish I could know it and make it at home, but I don’t think they give it because it’s a secret,” said the client Alvarado.
