A British expat who was feeling homesick has flown from Spain to the UK just for a cheeky Nando’s. Mark Rofe took a round-trip with one mission: to eat spicy chicken. The 34-year-old, who is from Surrey but lives in Barcelona, went straight to Nando’s from the airport – ignoring a visit to his mum and mates in favour of a nice meal.
Mark spent a mere two hours and 40 minutes on UK soil before flying back home. While he openly admits that this is a “strange” thing to do, he couldn’t resist the temptation. Mark spent just £95.39 on the whole adventure, including flights, his Nando’s meal and takeaway sauces.
“I love living in Spain, all Brits I’ve met here do,” Mark said. “But when we talk about the things we miss from back home, food is always at the top of it. Whether it is Greggs, fish and chips, Cadburys or – my favourite – Nando’s.
“So when I saw the opportunity to get flights from Barcelona to Gatwick and back at a reasonable price, I jumped on it. Nando’s has a place in my heart (and my belly) because it’s pretty unique in what it offers. I know it’s not originally British but I think it’s part of British culture – I mean Ed Sheeran even wrote a song about Nando’s.
“There isn’t anything else quite like it and nothing even comes close to it in Spain.” Mark’s Vueling flight cost £44 for a return; he departed at 12.25pm and landed at Gatwick Airport at 1.50pm. There were no delays – which was lucky, given Mark had just two hours and 40 minutes to complete his mission, before his departure back to Spain at 4.30pm.
Thankfully, there is a Nando’s in Gatwick’s South Terminal, so the chicken lover had plenty of time to sit back and munch on his meal. Mark said: “I know people will be thinking ‘why didn’t he just try make it himself’. Trust me, I have – but it’s just not the same and you’re also very optimistic about my cooking skills.
“When I told my family and friends what I intended to do, they probably thought I was joking at first. When I told them I was serious, I think they thought I was a bit of an idiot, and they’re not wrong.
“I couldn’t decide what I wanted to order, so I got some hot boneless chicken thighs, a quarter chicken medium spice, mash (which was a disappointing mistake) and macho peas. I also got a chicken wrap to go, so I took that on the plane with me home for dinner.
“The location was handy because the service is pretty speedy and meant I was already where I needed to be to come back home again.”
Mark was also pleasantly surprised to find out that Nando’s now sells its own sauces. He said: “I didn’t know they sold sauces but I asked and to my surprise they did! So I managed to get a gift pack of five sauces with different flavours. I have no regrets!”