Red Rooster is an Australian fast food chain that specialises in selling roasted chicken and chips along with other chicken products (burgers, chicken nuggets etc).

The Kailis family opened the first Red Rooster store in the Perth suburb of Kelmscott in 1972. Myer purchased the business in July 1981. In 1992, Red Rooster bought the Big Rooster chain to expand into the eastern states. These stores were re-branded as Red Rooster. In May 2002, after several years owned by Coles Myer, Red Rooster was purchased by WA company Australian Fast Foods, who owned the competing Chicken Treat fast food chain. Currently there are over 290 Red Rooster stores in Australia represented in New South Wales, Victoria, ACT, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

Until the late 1990s the stores were only open from lunchtime till about 9pm, but they extended trading hours and started to produce a Breakfast menu in response to McDonald's breakfasts. They have also begun selling low-fat and lower-salt products in response to consumer demand for 'healthy' meals.

Red Rooster is sometimes considered to be a heathier alternative to KFC as the chicken is mostly barbecued, rather than fried. However, in reality, there is little difference between the nutritional values of both products.

Red Rooster chicken is generally served as a full portion of chicken, either 1/2 or 1/4 chicken, rather than individual pieces. The chips at Red Rooster are also coated in chicken salt , which gives them a unique spicy flavour.

See also:

• Red Rooster Records