With over 43m views on YouTube as The Chicken Connoisseur, it's no wonder that the man behind The Pengest Munch, Elijah Quashie has caught the attention of TV bosses and handed his own Channel 4 series, Peng Life.
For this 4-part series, he'll be joined by his twin mates Nelson and Wilson, and the trio hit the streets to test out some of the most deluxe experiences money can buy.
Helping Elijah, Nelson and Wilson taste the VIP life will be a plethora of famous faces, including Winnie Harlow, David Haye, Professor Green and Jodie Kidd, as they try out everything from supercars and a private jet to the more humble canal barge and budget coach ride.
In the first ever episode of PENG LIFE, Elijah, Nelson and Wilson test out a Lamborghini Gallardo and Mazda MX5 to see which has more bang for its buck, and they also test out London’s top high-end barber to the stars, Daniel J.
Then they sample the world’s most expensive kebab to see how it compares to a standard takeout donner and Elijah sends Nelson and Wilson on a mission to taste the high life at a 5-star hotel penthouse with supermodel Winnie Harlow.
I caught up with Elijah, Nelson and Wilson, together with other journalists, at the launch for Peng Life. Here's what the trio had to say...
You must have had a number of TV offers come your way after the success of The Pengest Munch, what made you say yes to Peng Life?
Elijah: I'm not really sure to be honest. When all the other offers might have been coming, I had other plans but when this offer came in I didn't have plans to work on other stuff so it was perfect timing.
Elijah, how did the twins get involved?
Elijah: I've known them for years from church and one of the first things we were going to film for Peng Life was the barber shop and because both of them have the same hair, it made sense.
Wilson and Nelson, did you take much convincing to be part of Peng Life with Elijah?
Wilson: Not at all. Elijah was renowned and he had this idea to rate barbers and he asked if we were down and we said "Yeah, why not?" and then Elijah told us that Channel 4 had commissioned it and for us it still hasn't kicked in.
Nelson: Yeah, because we've been friends for over 10 years.
Wilson: All three of us grew up together and I remember when Elijah started doing his Pengest Munch, and he'd only get like 700 views.
Elijah: Fam, there were times when there was like 20.
Nelson: For us it was funny. We didn't even think about the views. I remember we were on the train coming back from a church thing and I saw him all over the internet and I was like "Elijah! Have you seen this?"
Elijah, how have you dealt with the fame and attention?
Elijah: Probably not in the best way because it's just not normal getting more attention than you want. Fair enough it's for something but it's not that the attention just stays on YouTube. If it was just on YouTube or the internet, that's fine.
I've got no issues with that. But if I'm walking down the street to go somewhere for any reason, it's a hassle. It's just too much attention. I can't go anywhere.
Sometimes I'll go to the gym, not necessarily for heavy duty training but just to be in the gym with my friends and crack jokes and lift some weights in the meantime. And I remember this one time, cameras were out. It was mad. It was like walking into the MI5 building.
From then I was like "This attention is a bit wild! I can't walk into any gym without getting surveillance on me!"
What about chicken shops?
Elijah: They're OK. To be honest, I think the customers know who I am more than the bossmen because they would probably have seen The Pengest Munch, but the bossmen they clock in, clock out and don't really pay attention.
Do you ever visit a chicken shop in the series?
Elijah: Nope. We don't go to a chicken shop. We go to a pizza shop and they bring us wings.
To be honest, we didn't choose where we went in the series. But if I was going to do a chicken thing on TV, it's probably better to do it on YouTube. Especially as I would have a lot more creative control over how everything looks.
I'd stick chicken on YouTube and everything else would be everywhere else.
What was the most surprising moment of the series for you?
Wilson: The narrow boat. I think that surprised all three of us.
Nelson: We had so many questions because that was the one item that shocked us. We were literally firing so many questions because we had no idea about the lifestyle.
Elijah: The funny thing is, you see them everywhere but you never think about who lives there and what life they're living.
Wilson: They have to move around every other week. Hopefully they keep in all the questions that we were firing...
Elijah: Well. They'll get a couple.
Who would be your dream guests if you were to get a second series?
Elijah: Well we don't get to choose any of the guests.
Nelson: But if we did get to choose, I would say Barack Obama. He seems cool. He seems chill.
Wilson: I'd get Chabuddy G man! I'd get him and Kurupt FM in character. That would be jokes. And Mo (Gilligan) would be good wouldn't he?
Elijah: Yeah, definitely.
What do you enjoy watching on TV?
Wilson: The Big Narstie Show was really good.
Elijah: I think that show has revitalised TV. Aside from that, I don't watch TV.
You're in the same slot that The Big Narstie Show was in. Do you feel the pressure replacing that show?
Wilson: The show was obviously really good, but our shows are different. That was a chat show, and they made it feel natural. Big Narstie was himself. Mo was himself. They used slang that we use.
Our show is coming off of Elijah's idea of Pengest Munch, rating chicken but now he's rating everything. I feel like his audience will be intrigued in watching what Elijah's ratings of this rand stuff are.
Would you ever go to America and review chicken out there?
Elijah: Yeah definitely, but I think I'd leave America for last because to go to America is the easiest no brainer. If I go to Africa and eat chicken there, people will be like "Rah! I didn't know Africa had chicken shops!"
So it's probably better for me to explore the other cultures that people might not have seen and then go to the ones that everyone knows and loves and is waiting for.
How will you be celebrating on Friday?
Wilson: We'll probably all come together and watch it. Gather a group of mandem and see where we can watch it.
Elijah: Yeah, that's a good shout.
Nelson: It'll be good to see people's reactions, hopefully they like it.