The Chicken Connoisseur | |
|---|---|
| Born | Elijah Quashie 28 May 1993 [1] Enfield, London, England |
| Occupations |
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| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2015–present |
| Genre | Food |
| Subscribers | 859 thousand |
| Views | 113 million |
| Last updated: 21 October 2025 | |
Elijah Quashie (born 28 May 1993), [2] also known as The Chicken Connoisseur or The CNSR (screen name), is an internet celebrity and fried chicken restaurant critic, known for his viral YouTube video series The Pengest Munch. [3] [4] [5]
Quashie started his YouTube channel The Pengest Munch in August 2015, inspired by Gregg Wallace of television series MasterChef , produced by film maker Elishama Udorok. [4] Until December 2016, Quashie's videos had around 700 views each, with a total of 150 subscribers. [4] The videos involve Quashie visiting, critiquing and rating chicken shops around London. [6]
The Pengest Munch went viral on 9 December, with coverage from The Huffington Post , [5] The Daily Telegraph [7] and BuzzFeed [6] and support from John Boyega and Graham Linehan. [7] Metro cited "stunning insight, humour and style" as the reasons behind his success. [8] Another focus of the coverage has been the use of slang in the videos; [5] [7] The Huffington Post has been criticised for suggesting that in these videos "the slang of working class black kids is beyond normal comprehension". [9] He appeared on ITV London on 13 December, [10] and released a new episode to YouTube on 16 December. [11]
In December 2016, he established Chicken Connoisseur Ltd [1] and in April 2017 it was announced that he would be writing a book entitled The Pengest Munch: In Search of the Nation's 50 Favourite Chicken Establishments, published by Blink Publishing.
It was announced in October 2017 that Quashie would star in a new Channel 4 television show entitled The Peng Life. [12] The programme started in August 2018 [13] and featured four episodes. [14]
In January 2021, Quashie renamed his channel to The CNSR. [15]
In January 2017, Quashie came under criticism after he featured Taylor Harris (stage name 'Bonkaz') rapping in one of his YouTube videos. Harris was previously convicted of groping a 13-year-old girl in 2010. Harris was also jailed for three years in 2011 for his part in a murder of a 22-year-old disabled man. [16]
Quashie lives in Tottenham in North London. [3] Following his rise to fame, many people speculated about his age due to his youthful appearance. Quashie confirmed his age as 23 (as of December 2016) in a tweet he swiftly deleted. This is corroborated by a number of government records stating his date of birth as May 1993. [17] Quashie has also said that he is not interested in discussing his age. [18] Quashie is also an Arsenal fan, stating it in his YouTube videos and interviews since his rise to prominence. [19] Quashie is also a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [20]
In May 2017, Quashie endorsed Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in the 2017 UK general election. During an interview with The Fader he said: "he's one of the few people who make sense". [21]