KFC History

Way back in 1930’s Colonel Harland Sanders got some distinguished Kentucky folks lickin’
their fingers. It’s been in fashion since then!

Colonel Harland Sanders, founder of the original Kentucky Fried Chicken, was born on
September 9, 1890.When he was six, his father died and his mother was forced to go to work
while young Sanders took care of his three year old sibling. This meant he had to do much of the
family cooking. By the time he was seven, Harland Sanders was a master of a range of regional
dishes.

After a series of jobs, in the mid 1930s at the age of forty, Colonel Sanders bought a service
station, motel and cafe at Corbin, a town in Kentucky about 25 miles from the Tennessee border.
It is here that Sanders began experimenting with different seasonings to flavor his chicken which
travelers loved and for which he soon became famous.

During the next nine years he developed his secret recipe of 11 herbs and spices and the basic
cooking technique which is still used today. Sander's fame grew. He sold his chicken on the
highway! But when the highway was removed, he sold up and traveled the United States by car,
cooking chicken for restaurant owners and their employees. If the reaction was favorable Sanders
entered into a handshake agreement on a deal which stipulated a payment to him of a nickel for
each chicken the restaurant sold.

By 1964, from that humble beginning, Colonel Harland Sanders had 600 franchise outlets for his
chicken across the United States and Canada. Later that year, Colonel Sanders sold his interest in
the United States operations for $2 million. The 65-year-old gentleman had started a worldwide
empire using his $105 social security cheque. Sadly, Colonel Harland Sanders passed away on
December 16th, 1980 aged 90.

His legacy lives on with KFC restaurants all over the world. KFC now stretches worldwide with
more than 13,000 restaurants in more than 80 countries and territories around the world serving
up the Colonel’s Original Recipe. It is a $13 billion brand based out of Kentucky and is the
leading QSR around the world which is based in Louisville, Kentucky. Yum! Brands own 5
brands, out of which KFC is the largest brand within the Yum! Portfolio, founded by Colonel
Harland Sanders in the year 1938.

KFC Corporation (KFC), founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain
of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. KFC has been a
brand and operating segment, termed a concept[2] of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that
company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global Restaurants Inc.

KFC primarily sells chicken pieces, wraps, salads and sandwiches. While its primary focus
is fried chicken, KFC also offers a line of grilled and roasted chicken products, side dishes
and desserts. Outside North America, KFC offers beef based products such as hamburgers
or kebabs, pork based products such as ribs and other regional fare. [citation needed]

The company was founded as Kentucky Fried Chicken by Colonel Harland Sanders in
1952, though the idea of KFC's fried chicken actually goes back to 1930. The company
adopted the abbreviated form of its name in 1991.[3] Starting in April 2007, the company
began using its original name, Kentucky Fried Chicken, for its signage, packaging and
advertisements in the U.S. as part of a new corporate re-branding program;[4][5] newer and
remodeled restaurants will have the new logo and name while older stores will continue to
use the 1980s signage. Additionally, Yum! continues to use the abbreviated name freely in
its advertising

History

The restaurant in North Corbin, Kentucky where Colonel Sanders developed Kentucky
Fried Chicken

The first KFC restaurant, situated in South Salt Lake, Utah and since replaced by a new
KFC on the same site

Born and raised in Henryville, Indiana, Sanders passed through several professions in his
lifetime.[6] Sanders first served his fried chicken in 1930 in the midst of the Great
Depression at a gas station he owned in North Corbin, Kentucky. The dining area was
named "Sanders Court & Café" and was so successful that in 1936 Kentucky Governor
Ruby Laffoon granted Sanders the title of honorary Kentucky Colonel in recognition of his
contribution to the state's cuisine. The following year Sanders expanded his restaurant to
142 seats, and added a motel he bought across the street.[7] When Sanders prepared his
chicken in his original restaurant in North Corbin, he prepared the chicken in an iron
skillet, which took about 30 minutes to do, too long for a restaurant operation. In 1939,
Sanders altered the cooking process for his fried chicken to use a pressure fryer, resulting
in a greatly reduced cooking time comparable to that of deep frying.[8] In 1940 Sanders
devised what came to be known as his Original Recipe.[9]

The Sanders Court & Café generally served travelers, often those headed to Florida, so
when the route planned in the 1950s for what would become Interstate 75 bypassed Corbin,
he sold his properties and traveled the U.S. to sell his chicken to restaurant owners. The
first to take him up on the offer was Pete Harman in South Salt Lake, Utah; together, they
opened the first "Kentucky Fried Chicken" outlet in 1952.[10] By the early 1960s, Kentucky
Fried Chicken was sold in over 600 franchised outlets in both the United States and
Canada. One of the longest-lived franchisees of the older Col. Sanders' chicken concept, as
opposed to the KFC chain, was the Kenny Kings chain. The company owned many
Northern Ohio diner-style restaurants, the last of which closed in 2004.
Sanders sold the entire KFC franchising operation in 1964 for $2 million USD, equal to
$14,027,987 today[11] Since that time, the chain has been sold three more times: to Heublein
in 1971, to R.J. Reynolds in 1982 and most recently to PepsiCo in 1986, which made it part
of its Tricon Global Restaurants division, which in turn was spun off in 1997, and has now
been renamed to Yum! Brands. Additionally, Colonel Sanders' nephew, Lee Cummings,
took his own Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises (and a chicken recipe of his own) and
converted them to his own "spin-off" restaurant chain, Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken.

Today, some of the older KFC restaurants have become famous in their own right. One
such restaurant is located in Marietta, Georgia. This store is notable for a 56-foot (17 m)
tall sign that looks like a chicken. The sign, known locally as the Big Chicken, was built for
an earlier fast-food restaurant on the site called Johnny Reb's Chick, Chuck and Shake. It
is often used as a travel reference point in the Atlanta area by locals and pilots.[12]

The secret recipe

The Colonel's secret flavor recipe of 11 herbs and spices that creates the famous "finger
lickin' good" chicken remains a trade secret.[13][14] Portions of the secret spice mix are made
at different locations in the United States, and the only complete, handwritten copy of the
recipe is kept in a vault in corporate headquarters.[15] On September 9, 2008, the one
complete copy was temporarily moved to an undisclosed location under extremely tight
security while KFC revamped the security at its headquarters. Before the move, KFC
disclosed the following details about the recipe and its security arrangements:[16]

 The recipe, which includes exact amounts of each component, is written in pencil on
a single sheet of notebook paper and signed by Sanders.[17]
 The recipe was locked in a filing cabinet with two separate combination locks. The
cabinet also included vials of each of the 11 herbs and spices used.
 Only two executives had access to the recipe at any one time. KFC refuses to disclose
the names and titles of either executive.[18]
 One of the two executives said that no one had come close to guessing the contents of
the secret recipe, and added that the actual recipe would include some surprises.

On February 9, 2009, the secret recipe returned to KFC's Louisville headquarters in a

more secure, computerized vault[19] guarded by motion detectors and security cameras.
Reportedly, the paper has yellowed and the handwriting is now faint.[17]

In 1983, writer William Poundstone examined the recipe in his book Big Secrets. He
reviewed Sanders' patent application, and advertised in college newspapers for present or
former employees willing to share their knowledge.[20] From the former he deduced that
Sanders had diverged from other common fried-chicken recipes by varying the amount of
oil used with the amount of chicken being cooked, and starting the cooking at a higher
temperature (about 400 °F (200 °C)) for the first minute or so and then lowering it to
250 °F (120 °C) for the remainder of the cooking time. Several of Poundstone's contacts
also provided samples of the seasoning mix, and a food lab found that it consisted solely of
sugar, flour, salt, black pepper and monosodium glutamate (MSG). He concluded that it
was entirely possible that, in the years since Sanders sold the chain, later owners had begun
skimping on the recipe to save costs.[21][22][23] Following his buyout in 1964, Colonel Sanders
himself expressed anger at such changes, saying:

That friggin' ... outfit .... They prostituted every goddamn thing I had. I had the
“ greatest gravy in the world and those sons of bitches-- they dragged it out and
”
extended it and watered it down that I'm so goddamn mad![22][23]

Ron Douglas, author of the book America's Most Wanted Recipes, also claims to have
figured out KFC's secret recipe.[24]

Products
Packaging

The famous paper bucket that KFC uses for its larger sized orders of chicken and has come
to signify the company was originally created by Wendy's restaurants founder Dave
Thomas. Thomas was originally a franchisee of the original Kentucky Fried Chicken and
operated several outlets in the Columbus, Ohio area. His reasoning behind using the paper
packaging was that it helped keep the chicken crispy by wicking away excess moisture.
Thomas was also responsible for the creation of the famous rotating bucket sign that came
to be used at most KFC locations in the US.[25]

Menu items

This is a list of menu items sold at KFC.

Chicken

 KFC's specialty is fried chicken served in various forms. KFC's primary product is pressure-fried
pieces of chicken made with the original recipe. The other chicken offering, extra crispy, is
made using a garlic marinade and double dipping the chicken in flour before deep frying in a
standard industrial kitchen type machine.
 Kentucky Grilled Chicken – This marinated grilled chicken is targeted towards health-conscious
customers. It features marinated breasts, thighs, drumsticks, and wings that are coated with
seasonings before being grilled. It has less fat, calories, and sodium than the Original Recipe
fried chicken.[26] Introduced in April 2009.
 KFC has two lines of sandwiches: its "regular" chicken sandwiches and its Snackers line. The
regular sandwiches are served on either a sesame seed or corn dusted roll and are made from
either whole breast fillets (fried or roasted), chopped chicken in a sauce or fried chicken strips.
The Snackers line are value priced items that consist of chicken strips and various toppings. In
the UK, Australia and New Zealand, sandwiches are referred to as "burgers"; there is the
chicken fillet burger (a chicken breast fillet coated in an original-recipe coating with salad
garnish and mayonnaise) and a Zinger Burger (as with the former but with a spicier coating
 and salsa). Both of these are available as "tower" variants, which include a slice of cheese and
a hash brown.
o KFC considers its Double Down product a sandwich in spite of containing no bread.
 A variety of smaller finger food products are available at KFC including chicken strips, wings,
nuggets and popcorn chicken. These products can be ordered plain or with various sauces,
including several types of barbecue sauces and buffalo sauce. They also offer potato wedges.
 Several pies have been made available from KFC. The Pot Pie is a savory pie made with
chicken, gravy and vegetables. In the second quarter of 2006, KFC introduced its variation on
Shepherd's pie called the Famous Bowl. Served in a plastic bowl, it is layered with mashed
potatoes or rice, gravy, corn, popcorn chicken, and cheese, and is served with a biscuit. The
bowl had been available at KFC's special test market store in Louisville since the third quarter
of 2005.
 The KFC Twister is a wrap that consists of either chicken strips or roasted chicken, tomato,
lettuce and (pepper) mayonnaise wrapped in a tortilla. In Europe, the Twister is sold in two
varieties: 1) the Grilled Twister (chicken strips),[27][28][29] and 2) the Grilled Mexican
twister/Spicy Toasted Twister (UK) (chicken breast supplemented by tortilla chips and salsa,
UK: adds only salsa to pepper mayonnaise),[30][31][32]
 KFC Fillers are a 9 in (23 cm) sub, available in four varieties over the summer period in
Australia.
 Shish kebab – in several markets KFC sells kebabs.
 Kentucky Barbecued Chicken – barbecued chicken dipped in the original recipe
 Wrapstar is a variant of the KFC Twister, consisting of chicken strips with salsa, cheese, salad,
pepper mayonnaise and other ingredients, contained in a compressed tortilla. [33][34]

Other products

Coleslaw

 In some international locations, KFC may sell hamburgers, pork ribs or fish. In the U.S., KFC
began offering the Fish Snacker sandwich during Lent in 2006. The Fish Snacker consists of a
rectangular patty of Alaskan Pollock on a small bun, and is the fifth KFC menu item in the
Snacker category.[35]
 Some international locations also may sell KFC 'Mashies' - balls of mashed potato cooked in
original recipe batter [36]
 Three types of salads (which can be topped with roasted or fried chicken) are available at KFC:
Caesar, house, and BLT salads (in the US).
 The Boneless Banquet
 Zinger Burger – A regular sized burger which regularly consists of a boneless fillet of hot and
spicy chicken, lettuce and mayonnaise in a burger bun. Cheese, tomato, bacon and pineapple
can be added upon request. Barbecue sauce can also replace/join the mayonnaise.
 Chili Cheese Fries[37] – By 2007, 2 former KFC/A&W Restaurants locations in Berlin and
Cologne, Germany had reverted to KFC-only locations and the third location in Garbsen (by
Hannover) was closed in 2005. The only remnant from the former A&W menu are the Chili
Cheese Fries which were added to the systemwide KFC Germany menu.
  Parfait desserts – "Little Bucket Parfaits" in varieties such as Fudge Brownie, Chocolate Crème
(once called the Colonel's Little Fudge Bucket), Lemon Crème and Strawberry Shortcake are
available at most locations in the US.[38]
 Sara Lee Desserts – Available in either Cookies and Cream Cheesecake or Choc Caramel
Mousse.
 Krushers, available in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. These are drinks containing
"real bits". They include "classic krushers", "smoothie krushers" and "fruit krushers". Selected
outlets are now equipped with "Krushbars" to serve these drinks.

Sides

Advertising

KFC's logo used from 1997 until November 2006

Early television advertisements for KFC regularly featured Colonel Sanders licking his
fingers and talking to the viewer about his secret recipe, and by the 1960s both the Colonel
and the chain's striped bucket had become well-known. The bucket as product placement
can be seen in the hands of both Annette Funicello and Dwayne Hickman in 1965's How to
Stuff a Wild Bikini, and was also featured prominently in the 1968 Peter Sellers vehicle,
The Party. The Colonel made appearances as himself in Jerry Lewis's The Big Mouth
(1967), Herschell Gordon Lewis' Blast-Off Girls (1967) and Al Adamson's Hell's Bloody
Devils (1970), as well as an appearance in 1968 on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.

Despite his death in 1980, Sanders remains a key symbol of the company in its advertising
and branding.

Before he became a platinum-selling pop star in the 1970s, Barry Manilow sang the
commercial jingle "Get a Bucket of Chicken" [1], which was later included on Barry
Manilow Live as part of "A Very Strange Medley."

Throughout the mid 1980s, KFC called on Will Vinton Studios to produce a series of
humorous, claymation ads. These most often featured a cartoon-like chicken illustrating
the poor food quality of competing food chains, mentioning prolonged freezing and other
negative aspects.[43] TV ads also featured Foghorn Leghorn advising Henry Hawk to visit
the restaurant for better chicken.

In the 1980s, KFC was an associate sponsor for Junior Johnson's NASCAR Winston Cup
Series cars, with such drivers as Darrell Waltrip, Neil Bonnett, and Terry Labonte.

In 1997, KFC briefly re-entered the NASCAR Winston Cup Series as sponsor of the #26
Darrell Waltrip Motorsports Chevrolet with driver Rich Bickle at the Brickyard 400.

A co-branded Long John Silver's and KFC

By the late 1990s, the stylized likeness of Colonel Sanders as the KFC logo had been
modified. KFC ads began featuring an animated version of "the Colonel" voiced by Randy
Quaid with a lively and enthusiastic attitude. He would often start out saying "The Colonel
here!" and moved across the screen with a cane in hand. The Colonel was often shown
dancing, singing, and knocking on the TV screen as he spoke to the viewer about the
product.

The animated Colonel is uncommon today. Still using a humorous slant, the current KFC
campaign revolves mostly around customers enjoying the food. It also features a modified
version of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" as the theme song for practically all
its commercials, though the restaurant actually hails from Kentucky.

In 2006, KFC claimed to have made the first logo visible from outer space, though
Readymix has had one since 1965.[44][45] KFC says "It marked the official debut of a massive
global re-image campaign that will contemporize 14,000-plus KFC restaurants in over 80
countries over the next few years." The logo was built from 65,000 one-foot-square tiles,
and it took six days on site to construct in early November. The logo was placed in the
Mojave Desert near Rachel, Nevada.[46] It is located in the northern section of Rachel,
Nevada at 37.6460°N 115.7507°W .

Many KFC locations are co-located with one or more of Yum! Brands restaurants, Long
John Silver's, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, or A&W Restaurants. Many of these locations behave
like a single restaurant, offering a single menu with food items from both restaurants.[47]
The resurrected Kentucky Fried Chicken logo

One of KFC's latest advertisements is a commercial advertising its "wicked crunch box
meal". The commercial features a fictional black metal band called "Hellvetica"
performing live, the lead singer then swallows fire. The commercial then shows the lead
singer at a KFC eating the "wicked crunch box meal" and saying "Oh man that is hot".

In 2007, the original, non-acronymic Kentucky Fried Chicken name was resurrected and
began to reappear on company marketing literature and food packaging, as well as some
restaurant signage.

In 2010, an advertisement was shown in Australia showing an Australian cricket fan giving
West Indies fans KFC chicken to keep them quiet. The ad sparked a debate over racism in
the ad, suggesting that all black people eat fried chicken. Fried chicken was eaten by black
slaves[citation needed] because it was cheap and easy to make. Though KFC stated that it was
"misinterpreted by a segment of people in the US",[48] the ad was later pulled from TV.
However, several Australian commentators have expressed the opinion that the ad is not
racist, because this is not a racial stereotype in Australia and the cricket fans in the ad are
not African American, but West Indies cricket supporters (the West Indies cricket team
was playing a Test cricket series against the Australian cricket team at the time of the ad).
[49][50]

Also in 2010, Yum! signed a naming rights deal with the Louisville Arena Authority for
Louisville's new downtown arena, which opened on October 10 of that year as the KFC
Yum! Center.

Criticism
This article's Criticism or Controversy section(s) may mean the article does not present a neutral
point of view of the subject. It may be better to integrate the material in those sections into the
article as a whole. (April 2010)

Environmental concerns

KFC in the US has been accused by Greenpeace of a large destruction of the Amazon
Rainforest, because the supply of soy used for chicken food that KFC receives from Cargill
has been traced back to the European KFC. Cargill has reportedly been exporting soy
illegally for several years.[51] The Greenpeace organization researched the issue and
brought it to the attention of the parent company YUM! Brands, Inc. The parent company
denied the illegal operation, and said that their supply of soy is grown in parts of Brazil. [51]
Greenpeace has called on KFC to stop purchasing soy from Cargill, to avoid contributing
to the destruction of the Amazon.[51][52]
Trademark disputes

In 1971, Sanders sued Heublein Inc., KFC's parent company at the time, over the alleged
misuse of his image in promoting products he had not helped develop. In 1975, Heublein
Inc. unsuccessfully sued Sanders for libel after he publicly referred to their gravy as
"sludge" with a "wallpaper taste".[53]

In May 2007, KFC (Great Britain) requested that Tan Hill Inn, in the Yorkshire Dales,
North Yorkshire, UK refrain from using the term 'Family Feast' to describe its Christmas
menu,[54] although this problem was quickly resolved with the pub being allowed to
continue use of the term.[55]