The Fried Chicken Inflation Index

YouTube star Elijah Quashie, of the U.K. hit The Pengest Munch, copes with the rising cost of wings.

If you are walking anywhere in London and spot Elijah Quashie, a.k.a. The Chicken Connoisseur, he would be grateful if you resist the urge to make a fuss. Do not shout Chicken guy! or ask him to record a happy birthday greeting to a friend on your mobile phone. If you have comments or questions, please keep them to a minimum.

People drawing attention to me, I dont like that too much, he said one recent afternoon, dressed in Nike shorts and a T-shirt and flashing a perfect set of chompers that are one of his visual trademarks. Ive come to see that anonymity is a privilege, and its a privilege that Ive lost.

This has been true since 2016, when Mr. Quashies YouTube show, The Pengest Munch, went viral and turned a cherubic-looking lad from North London into a national celebrity with 870,000 subscribers and, briefly, a spinoff series on BBC 4. Armed with little more than a videographer, a microphone and a robust appetite, he began posting reviews of take-away restaurants that sell fried chicken on the cheap to school kids, late night partyers and anyone impervious to instant spikes in calories.

Except the shops are not so cheap these days. A more recent occupational hazard of this reviewing gig, one nearly as annoying as overly enthusiastic fans, is inflation. Since he started his show, prices have roughly doubled, with a huge leap at the start of the pandemic. Mr. Quashies go-to combination for every review fries, four wings, a chicken burger and a soda used to cost about 2.5 pounds, or roughly $3. That same meal is now 5 or 6 and occasionally more.