KFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, termed a concept 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 the USA, KFC offers beef based products such as hamburgers or kebabs, poutine, pork based products such as ribs and other regional fare.

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. Although Sanders died in 1980, he remains an important part of the company's branding and advertisements, and "Colonel Sanders" or "The Colonel" is a metonym for the company itself. The company adopted KFC, an abbreviated form of its name, in 1991. 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; newer and remodeled restaurants will adopt 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[link]

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.^[2] 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 1935 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.^[3] 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.^[4] In 1940 Sanders devised what came to be known as his Original Recipe.^[5]

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.^[6] By 1963 there were outlets in the United Kingdom in Blackpool, Manchester and London. By 1964 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 $2million USD, equal to $14,987,124 today.^[7] In 1970 it was sold to Heublein for $285 million.^[8] In 1982 it was sold to R.J. Reynolds 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.

In 2001, KFC started tests in Austin, Texas restaurants of "Wing Works" chicken wing line sold with one of a few flavored sauces. Also, KFC hired a consultant to develop a breakfast menu.^[9]

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.

Recipe[link]

The recipe of 11 herbs and spices used by KFC in the preparation of their chicken remains a trade secret.^[10][11] 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.^[12]

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^[13] that the recipe, which includes exact amounts of each component, is written in pencil on a single sheet of notebook paper and signed by Sanders.^[14] It 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 unnamed executives had access to the recipe at any one time.^[15] 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^[16] guarded by motion detectors and security cameras. Reportedly, the paper has yellowed and the handwriting is now faint.^[14]

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.^[17] 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.^[18][19][20] 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!^[19][20]

Ron Douglas, author of the book America's Most Wanted Recipes, also claims to have figured out KFC's secret recipe.^[21]

Products[link]

Packaging[link]

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 crisp 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.^[22]

Menu items[link]

Chicken[link]

• 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.^[23] Introduced in April 2009 and was adapted mid-2011 in the UK as the "Brazer".
• KFC has two lines of burgers or sandwiches: its "regular" chicken sandwiches/burgers and its Snackers line. The regular sandwiches/burgers 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 cheaper items that consist of chicken strips and various toppings. These are known as "burgers" in most countries and "sandwiches" in the United States. 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 in some locations, which include a slice of cheese and a hash brown.
  • KFC considers its Double Down product a sandwich or burger in spite of containing no bread.
• A variety of finger foods, including chicken strips, wings, nuggets, and popcorn chicken, and potato wedges, are served with various sauces.
• Several pies have been made available from KFC in some locations. 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, known simply as the Chicken Bowl outside the US. 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),^[24][25][26] 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),^[27][28][29]
• 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.^[30][31]

Other products[link]

Coleslaw

• In some 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.^[32]
• Some locations also may sell KFC 'Mashies' – balls of mashed potato cooked in original recipe batter^[33]
• Three types of salads (which can be topped with roasted or fried chicken) are available at KFC in the United States: Caesar, house, and BLT salads.
• The Boneless Banquet
• Zinger Burger – A regular sized burger which consists of a spicy chicken fillet with lettuce and mayonnaise in a burger bun. Cheese, tomato, bacon and pineapple can be added upon request in some locations. Barbecue sauce can also replace/join the mayonnaise in some locations.
• Chili Cheese Fries^[34] – 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.^[35]
• Kentucky Nuggets - a chicken nugget product available at KFC from December 1984. It is still sold in New Zealand (as "Chicken Nuggets") and Australia, but has been discontinued in some other countries (e.g. Canada) since 1996.
• Sara Lee Desserts – Available in either Cookies and Cream Cheesecake or Choc Caramel Mousse in some locations.
• Krushers, available in Australia, India, New Zealand, South Africa and Malaysia. These are drinks containing "real bits". They include "classic krushers", "smoothie krushers" and "fruit krushers". Some outlets are now equipped with "Krushbars" to serve these drinks. In the U.K., Krushers are known as Krushems.
• Pastel de nata - varieties of the Portuguese Egg Tart is offered in several Asian locations.

Side dishes[link]

• Other than fried chicken, many KFC restaurants serve side dishes like coleslaw, various potato-based items (including potato wedges [formerly known as Kentucky Fries], french fries and mashed potatoes with gravy), biscuits, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, macaroni salad, rice, steamed vegetables and corn on the cob.

Discontinued products[link]

• The Colonel's Rotisserie Gold – This product was introduced in 1993 as a response to the Boston Market chain's roasted chicken products, and a healthier mindset of the general public avoiding fried food. Purportedly made from a "lost" Col. Sanders recipe, it was sold as a whole roaster or a half bird. It is unknown as to whether or not Col. Sanders really had anything to do with developing the recipe, however, according to one of Sanders' daughters, he did tinker with a rotisserie product at one time.^[36]
• Tender Roast Chicken – This product was an offshoot of "The Colonel's Rotisserie Gold". Instead of whole and half birds, customers were given quarter roasted chicken pieces. For a time, customers could request chicken "original", "Extra Tasty Crispy", or "Tender Roast".
• Chicken Little sandwich – a value oriented sandwich that sold for US$0.39^[37] in the U.S. during the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was a small chicken patty with mayonnaise on a small roll, similar to White Castle's mini chicken sandwich.^[38]
• Extra Tasty Crispy (ETC) – Chicken much like the Extra Crispy served today, except ETC was prepared using chicken that had been soaking for 15 minutes in a special marinade machine. There is some speculation that the marinade may have been made with trans-fats,^{[citation needed]} and KFC has promised to no longer use trans-fats in their chicken. The known ingredients were garlic and chicken stock. In the summer of 2007, KFC started marketing the chicken just as "Extra Crispy" without the marinade.
• Smokey Chipotle – Introduced in April 2008. The chicken was dipped in chipotle sauce then doubled breaded and fried. It has been discontinued since August 2008.

Nutritional value[link]

KFC has used partially hydrogenated oil in its fried foods. This oil contains relatively high levels of trans fat, which increases the risk of heart disease.

In the United States, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) filed a court case against KFC with the aim of making it use other types of oils or make sure customers know about trans fat content immediately before they buy food. In October 2006, KFC said it would begin frying its chicken in trans fat-free oil (<0.5g per serving) in the United States. This would also apply to their potato wedges and other fried foods, however, the biscuits, macaroni and cheese, and mashed potatoes would still contain trans fat. Trans fat-free soybean oil was introduced in all KFC restaurants in the U.S. by April 30, 2007, and CSPI dropped its lawsuit.^{[citation needed]}

However, outside the United States the company has continued to use other types of oil that have drawn criticism over their health effects. In Australia, KFC was reported to be using palm oil with up to 1 per cent trans-fat and 52 per cent saturated fat content as late as 2007, after restaurants in the United States had changed to trans-fat free oil.^[39]

Advertising[link]

Despite his death in 1980, Sanders remains a key symbol of the company in its advertising and branding. Early television advertisements for KFC regularly featured 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. KFC itself was featured in 1980's Superman II. 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.

Before he became a platinum-selling pop star in the 1970s, Barry Manilow sang the commercial jingle "Get a Bucket of Chicken",^[40] 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.^[41] TV ads also featured Foghorn Leghorn advising Henery Hawk to visit the restaurant for better chicken.