Frank McEncroe
Encyclopedia
Francis Gerard "Frank" McEncroe (11 October 1908 – 14 March 1979) was an Australia
n businessman. He is known for his invention of the Australian fast food
phenomenon, the Chiko Roll
.
on 11 October 1908, the second son of Victoria-born parents Pierce Francis McEncroe, a wheelwright
, and his wife Sarah Ann, née Desmond. Frank attended a local primary and acquired his secondary education at Marist Brothers College, Bendigo, where he obtained his certificate of merit. He then completed an apprenticeship as a boilermaker
at Thompson's foundry, Castlemaine, where he worked for a time.
During the Great Depression
, McEncroe joined his father and two brothers on a dairy farm at Bendigo. In the late 1930s he ran an outdoor catering business, selling pies
, pasties
and other types of takeaway food at race meetings, country shows and similar gatherings. During World War II
he was the licensee at the Court House Hotel in Pall Mall, Bendigo, while also holding a boilermaker's position at the Bendigo Ordnance Factory. Following the war McEncroe resumed his outdoor catering business, which he now ran from his family's former dairy farm, gaining experience in the processing, packaging and snap-freezing of takeaway foods.
rolls he saw being sold outside the Richmond Football Ground, McEncroe decided to try to develop a similar product of his own, one which he reportedly envisaged could be eaten with one hand while holding a beer in the other at a football match or other venue. The result was a product which was much larger and heavier than a conventional Chinese roll, but with somewhat similar ingredients and flavour. The roll was composed of "a mixture of cabbage, barley, carrots, celery, condiments and meat (beef or mutton) wrapped in an egg-batter dough". McEncroe initially prosaically named it the "Chicken Roll", but since it actually contained no chicken, he later reconsidered and dubbed it, simply, the "Chiko Roll". He launched his new product at the Wagga Wagga Show in 1951.
Later that year, McEncroe moved to Melbourne with his family and began producing Chiko Rolls with the help of a sausage machine from the back of a fish-shop in Moreland Road, Coburg
. As sales began to pick up, he set up a larger plant in a North Essendon factory, where he began to progressively modernize the machinery and improve packaging, freezing and distribution facilities. A mutually beneficial relationship with a local firm, Floyd's iceworks, resulted in the amalgamation of the two companies in 1960 to form Frozen Food Industries Pty Ltd. The new company went public in 1963.
With the increasing diversity of fast food outlets over the last two decades, Chiko Rolls have gradually declined in popularity in Australia, but they can still be purchased in fish and chip shops, or as a frozen convenience food for home use from supermarket shelves. The Chiko Roll brand today is owned by Simplot Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of the J. R. Simplot Company, a private food and agribusiness company based in Boise, Idaho
.
on 20 August 1932. He was fond of fishing and shooting as a young man, and later enjoyed playing golf at Medway Golf Club, Melbourne, and Tweed Heads Golf Club, New South Wales
. He died of ischaemic heart disease
on 14 March 1979, and was buried at Keilor cemetery, Melbourne, survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n businessman. He is known for his invention of the Australian fast food
Fast food
Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...
phenomenon, the Chiko Roll
Chiko Roll
The Chiko Roll is an Australian savoury snack, inspired by the Chinese egg roll and spring rolls. It was designed to be easily eaten on the move without a plate or cutlery. The Chiko roll consists of beef, celery, cabbage, barley, carrot, onion, green beans, and spices in a tube of egg, flour and...
.
Early life and career
McEncroe was born at Castlemaine, VictoriaCastlemaine, Victoria
Castlemaine is a city in Victoria, Australia, in the Goldfields region of Victoria about 120 kilometres northwest by road from Melbourne, and about 40 kilometres from the major provincial centre of Bendigo. It is the administrative and economic centre of the Shire of Mount Alexander. The...
on 11 October 1908, the second son of Victoria-born parents Pierce Francis McEncroe, a wheelwright
Wheelwright
A wheelwright is a person who builds or repairs wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the archaic word "wright", which comes from the Old English word "wryhta", meaning a worker or maker...
, and his wife Sarah Ann, née Desmond. Frank attended a local primary and acquired his secondary education at Marist Brothers College, Bendigo, where he obtained his certificate of merit. He then completed an apprenticeship as a boilermaker
Boilermaker
A boilermaker is a trained craftsman who produces steel fabrications from plates and sections. The name originated from craftsmen who would fabricate boilers, but they may work on projects as diverse as bridges to blast furnaces to the construction of mining equipment.-Boilermaking:Many...
at Thompson's foundry, Castlemaine, where he worked for a time.
During the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, McEncroe joined his father and two brothers on a dairy farm at Bendigo. In the late 1930s he ran an outdoor catering business, selling pies
Australian meat pie
An Australian or New Zealand meat pie is a hand-sized meat pie containing largely diced or minced meat and gravy, sometimes with onion, mushrooms, or cheese and often consumed as a takeaway food snack. The pie itself is similar to the United Kingdom's steak pie.It is considered iconic in Australia...
, pasties
Pasty
A pasty , sometimes known as a pastie or British pasty in the United States, is a filled pastry case, associated in particular with Cornwall in Great Britain. It is made by placing the uncooked filling on a flat pastry circle, and folding it to wrap the filling, crimping the edge at the side or top...
and other types of takeaway food at race meetings, country shows and similar gatherings. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he was the licensee at the Court House Hotel in Pall Mall, Bendigo, while also holding a boilermaker's position at the Bendigo Ordnance Factory. Following the war McEncroe resumed his outdoor catering business, which he now ran from his family's former dairy farm, gaining experience in the processing, packaging and snap-freezing of takeaway foods.
Invention of the Chiko Roll
In 1950, inspired by Chinese chop sueyChop suey
Chop suey is a Chinese dish consisting of meat and eggs, cooked quickly with vegetables such as bean sprouts, cabbage, and celery and bound in a starch-thickened sauce...
rolls he saw being sold outside the Richmond Football Ground, McEncroe decided to try to develop a similar product of his own, one which he reportedly envisaged could be eaten with one hand while holding a beer in the other at a football match or other venue. The result was a product which was much larger and heavier than a conventional Chinese roll, but with somewhat similar ingredients and flavour. The roll was composed of "a mixture of cabbage, barley, carrots, celery, condiments and meat (beef or mutton) wrapped in an egg-batter dough". McEncroe initially prosaically named it the "Chicken Roll", but since it actually contained no chicken, he later reconsidered and dubbed it, simply, the "Chiko Roll". He launched his new product at the Wagga Wagga Show in 1951.
Later that year, McEncroe moved to Melbourne with his family and began producing Chiko Rolls with the help of a sausage machine from the back of a fish-shop in Moreland Road, Coburg
Coburg, Victoria
Coburg is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Moreland, although a handful of properties on Coburg's Eastern boundary are located in the City of Darebin...
. As sales began to pick up, he set up a larger plant in a North Essendon factory, where he began to progressively modernize the machinery and improve packaging, freezing and distribution facilities. A mutually beneficial relationship with a local firm, Floyd's iceworks, resulted in the amalgamation of the two companies in 1960 to form Frozen Food Industries Pty Ltd. The new company went public in 1963.
Formula for success
Ingredients for the Chiko Roll were diced and extruded into a long tube of pastry which was then cooked as it made its way along the production line, after which the rolls were deep-fried and then snap-frozen prior to distribution. As a pre-cooked product, the rolls only required a rapid deep-fry at the place of purchase to reheat them. The convenience of selling and eating the rolls under all kinds of conditions, along with their novel savoury flavour, made them a highly popular alternative in an era when the fast food industry was rapidly expanding, and the Chiko Roll became a staple product of the ubiquitous Australian fish-and-chip shop as well as other takeaway food outlets for many years. By the late 1970s, 40 million Chiko Rolls were being sold Australia-wide each year, and more were exported to Japan.With the increasing diversity of fast food outlets over the last two decades, Chiko Rolls have gradually declined in popularity in Australia, but they can still be purchased in fish and chip shops, or as a frozen convenience food for home use from supermarket shelves. The Chiko Roll brand today is owned by Simplot Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of the J. R. Simplot Company, a private food and agribusiness company based in Boise, Idaho
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
.
Personal life
McEncroe married Anne Doreen Nolan at the Sacred Heart Cathedral, BendigoSacred Heart Cathedral, Bendigo
Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bendigo is a Catholic cathedral located in the provincial city of Bendigo, Victoria, Australia. It is the seat of the Diocese of Sandhurst, Sandhurst being an earlier name for Bendigo...
on 20 August 1932. He was fond of fishing and shooting as a young man, and later enjoyed playing golf at Medway Golf Club, Melbourne, and Tweed Heads Golf Club, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
. He died of ischaemic heart disease
Ischaemic heart disease
Ischaemic or ischemic heart disease , or myocardial ischaemia, is a disease characterized by ischaemia of the heart muscle, usually due to coronary artery disease...
on 14 March 1979, and was buried at Keilor cemetery, Melbourne, survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.
Recurring references
- McEncroe, Francis Gerard (Frank) - David Dunstan, Australian Dictionary of Biography Online.