Fowl and Fury
After queuing 4-hours in the L.A. heat, Jamie Rees knew it was all worth it. “That was the greatest chicken I’ve ever tasted in my life.”
Although 4-hours seems like an excessively long wait period, this moment had been years in the making. His journey thus far had taken him from Cardiff to Vancouver, into Northern America, and now to Los Angeles.
In order to understand this journey, we need to rewind even further. In 2019, Jamie was working as a Kitchen Manager at a Brains location, 33 Windsor Place, which is now occupied by Daffodil. His ambition was to cook fresh food, but Brains was the first company to offer him a kitchen job, therefore he took it.
Services were so quiet, that he found himself seeking inspiration from cook books during work and teaching himself to cook dishes. In one of these books, a section on Nashville fried chicken ignited his passion. From here, Jamie started to cook fried chicken at home often.
A move to Vancouver, Canada, with his partner, Nat, soon followed. In the Western Canada/North America region, Nashville fried chicken is taken seriously. Jamie was beginning to form the idea that there was a gap in the market for this back at home. A trip to Downlow Chicken Shack resulted in Jamie almost passing out after tackling one of the hottest menu items, but this didn’t deter him and he continued to practice his own recipe.
The market research continued, when Jamie noticed a legendary American chef who specializes in Southern cuisine, Sean Brock, was popping up at a site in L.A. called Howlin’ Rays. Purely by chance, this had introduced Jamie to a venue described as “wildly popular” that formed the basis for Fowl and Fury’s vision - which brings us to the 4-hour queue.
Being unable to locate a flight path from Vancouver-Nashville-Home, he settled on making a connection in L.A. to check out Howlin’ Rays and taste this chicken. The chicken that changed his life.
“Howlin’ Rays influence everything Fowl and Fury do - this is not my unique concept”
It was sweeter than anything in North America/Vancouver, and this prompted him to tweak his own recipe in an attempt to emulate the best fried chicken he’d ever tasted.
A move to France was brief when covid hit, before he arrived back at home in Cardiff. A stint at a care home was similarly fleeting, before being placed on furlough during the second lockdown.
Now felt like the right time to execute the business plan. The fried chicken practice was becoming a daily occurrence, resulting in Nat kicking him out of their studio and onto the balcony due to the smell from the 3L fryer. Pictures were being uploaded to Instagram of the creations, complete with Fowl and Fury branding.
Nat has been just as instrumental throughout this entire process, continuing to run things as General Manager and keeping it all on the “straight and narrow”. She even held down two jobs to help pay the bills when they decided to start the business.
Enquiries around cafes in Cardiff for an evening space were unsuccessful, until Sticky Fingers stepped in and offered a pop up spot. The first event was on 20th May 2021 which was a sell out and a sign of things to come over the next 4-years.
During their stint as a pop up at Sticky Fingers - and before opening a bricks and mortar location - another visit to the US for a month of research was conducted: L.A, New Orleans, Houston, and Nashville to “OG places” such as Prince’s, Bolton’s, and Hattie B’s. Their first Fowl and Fury site opened in Cathays towards the end of that same year.
I’ve eaten here countless times over the last 3-years, which should tell you everything you need to know about my opinion on their product.
You may already be familiar with the spice levels you can choose, which range from extra mild all the way up to fury. This concept is loosely based on what Howlin’ Rays do.
Each of these spice levels introduces a new chilli, building on top of the previous level. Milder spices contain cayenne pepper, medium is cayenne plus habanero, with hot and fury remaining a secret. The fury spice contains five different types of chilli.
On a personal level, I’d say my spice tolerance is way higher than the average white boy. Eating the mild spice is fairly comfortable for me, whilst the medium kicks it up a level and pushes my boundaries of limit.
Building the spice with various chillies is an “L.A. style Nashville hot chicken” - in Nashville, they make the recipes spicier by simply introducing more and more cayenne pepper. The L.A. style flavour is consistent by introducing the hotter chillies.
Their second site opened in Canton, on Cowbridge Road East, in June of 2025. I visited only two weeks after they had opened, and the operation is already an extremely smooth one.
If you don’t like pop punk music, you’d best walk in wearing ear defenders. The likes of Fall Out Boy, Jimmy Eat World, blink-182, and New Found Glory are played on repeat in both Cathays and Canton.
You’ll often find Jamie posting social media content that pulls no punches for customers who leave ludicrous reviews. This no compromising “take us as we are” style is one I have tremendous respect for. Be yourself. Everybody else is taken.
The Sando and Tenders were as good as - if not better - than anything I’d eaten in their Cathays store. Jamie exclaims this feels like a backhanded compliment, because he wants to maintain consistency - I feel that this can be attested to them getting better and better. The batter which contains a tinge of sweetness, gives way to a crunch of heat that puts fire in the pit of your stomach.
As for the current recipe, that is now set in stone. The key is in how flour is handled and chicken is breaded. There’s a technique to this, if hands are too heavy or too much liquid is added, more gluten will be produced and the chicken coating becomes too chewy.
As for the “it’s not even a real sando, it’s a chicken burger” hotly contested debate, Jamie feels passionately about the topic. “I tell people this 100-times a day, this is not a chicken burger” - he will die on that hill.
He even playfully renamed the sando the ‘chicken butty’ on the menu for a couple of days.
As for the best fried chicken in Cardiff? According to Jamie, you can find that at So Good Chinese - his favourite restaurant in the city - in the form of their chicken in dry chilli dish.
It’s been a pleasure to watch this story unfold, with Fowl and Fury going from strength to strength. If you’re yet to try it, go see for yourself - but take care with the spice.