It’s a long way to the shop if you wanna Chiko Roll

NOTHING against boilermakers but when a tradie designs a meal that becomes a national “dish” and icon in its own right, well, it makes Master Chef look a bit self-absorbed and confirms the Millennial doctrine that “yes, you can do anything”.

The Chiko Roll was ‘invented’ in 1950 by founding father and said boilermaker Frank Mcencroe of Bendigo, Victoria.

How can we really be surprised in this great nation where Aussie’s are known for coming up with bloody good ideas in the backyard boardroom, or, the world leading lab, depending on your preference?

So, aside from the Chiko Roll icon, the Land Down Under has also gifted to the world genius ideas in the black box flight recorder, spray on skin, the electronic pacemaker, the medical application of penicillin, polymer bank notes, the cochlear implant (bionic ear), the electric drill, the winged keel, permaculture, Wi-fi technology, Google maps, the ultrasound scanner, plastic spectacle lenses, permanent-crease clothing, Gardasil and Cervarix cancer vaccines, the racecam, the aircraft inflatable escape slide, Hills Hoist, the plastic wine cask, and the list just goes on, and on, and on, and on.

Sure, Mr Mcencroe took his inspiration from a Chinese chop suey roll, but he made it uniquely Australian by improving on the design, coming up with a more robust roll where its crispy outer layer doubled as its own holder.

Early Australian biodegradable packaging.

In 1951 his concept was tested on the unsuspecting patrons of the Wagga Wagga Agriculture Show who thought all their Christmases had come at once.

Word of the Chiko Roll spread like jam on bread.

Needing to step up production in the 1960s, Mr Mcencroe once again took someone else’s idea and made it better, converting a sausage machine into a whizbang, state-of-the-art Chiko Roll production line.

The country was going crazy for this fabulously Australianised Chinese food.

It wasn’t long before he had to upsize again, merged with another company and went public. An Australian success story.

In the ‘60s and ‘70s, grabbing a Chiko was as Australian as swatting flies and it became the staple of milk bars, fish’n’chip shops and agricultural shows.

In the 1970s, 40 million Chiko Rolls were being sold Australia-wide each year and more than one million were exported to Japan.

Today, Chiko Rolls are manufactured in Bathurst and the rest, as they say, is history. It certainly looks like the Chiko is here to stay.

However, a lot has changed on the nutrition front and fried foods are a harder sell these days in the face of obesity and disease.

In a blatant plug, another Aussie invention is the world’s first certified organic fast food chain Oliver’s Real Food restaurants offering the fast food convenience without the nutritional question marks.

Instead of fries on the side you can get steamed organic green beans and edamame, golden rice nuggets, rosemary baked potatoes or sweet potato strips.

Organic yoghurt varieties, organic soups, salads, bliss balls, dipper packs, pita pockets, and more are definitely a sign of the times. Given the Dubbo store is one of 30 scattered up and down the eastern seaboard from north of Brisbane down into Victoria, it seems the commercial demand for organic fast food is also a sign of these times.