Cará Hamilton made a Derry Chicken Box on the Rose of Tralee stage on Monday night, bringing News a local dish that usually lives on takeaway menus into the festival spotlight. She did the demonstration alongside Kathryn Thomas, with Hamilton saying she was having withdrawals from Derry food.
The version shown on stage included chips, chicken, peppers, cheese and taco sauce. Hamilton, who is from Top of the Hill in Derry, is hoping to be crowned the 2026 Rose of Tralee when the winner is announced on RTÉ later on Tuesday.
Top of the Hill in Derry
The Chicken Box has a place well beyond this one performance. Caoimhinn Campbell, who is part of the family that owns Kiera's Chippy in Top of the Hill in Derry, said it is much-loved across Derry and is appearing more often outside the city.
Campbell said, “You would be hard pressed not to find it on the menus of chippies and even Chinese takeaways across Derry - all of which put their own spin on it,” adding that the dish has local variations rather than a single fixed recipe. That is why the version shown on stage can still be recognised as a Chicken Box even with different toppings and sauces.
Rose of Tralee festival
Campbell said the live television appearance was “very random” and “very funny”. He also said, “You would see a lot of people from Derry who maybe went away for university or somewhere come back and the first thing they would crave when they get back home is a Chicken Box.”
He added, “It's such a big thing here and I think word is starting to spread because we would even get tourists coming in and saying they were told they need to try a Chicken Box.” He said the dish “may look like a dog's dinner - it's not the most aesthetically pleasing but it's a Derry classic.”
County Kerry 1959
The Rose of Tralee has been held in County Kerry since 1959 and began as an effort by local businessmen to attract tourists. It has since grown into an international festival with selection events, parades, music, family events and live entertainment, giving Hamilton's Derry dish a national stage on a night when the competition was still live.
For people from Derry who live away, the television moment was less about presentation than recognition: the same dish they ask for at home was made in front of a national audience, and the result now sits alongside the final result due later on Tuesday.
