KFC

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Kentucky Fried Chicken
Type	Subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc.
Founded	Corbin, Kentucky 1952
Headquarters	Louisville, Kentucky
Key people	Harlan Sanders (Founder)
Industry	Fast food
Products	Chicken and related Southern foods
Employees	750,000
Website	http://www.kfc.com/

KFC, or Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a fast food restaurant chain based in Louisville, Kentucky. Founded by Colonel Harland Sanders, KFC is now a division of Yum! Brands, Inc. KFC is known mainly for its fried chicken.

The company adopted the abbreviated form of its name in 1991. Although no reason has been agreed on, three reasons are commonly speculated: de-emphasis of chicken, as the chain was moving to offer other foods; the unhealthy connotations of "fried"; or a shorter name that would be considered more appealing to youth.^{[citation needed]} Recently, the company has begun to re-embrace the Kentucky Fried Chicken name, and now uses both "Kentucky Fried Chicken" and "KFC" in advertisements. The Kentucky Fried Chicken name can be seen on some buckets of chicken. As of 2007, KFC.com uses Kentucky Fried Chicken for the logo in the United States.

The popularity and novelty of KFC has led to the general formula of the fried chicken fast-food restaurant being copied by restaurant owners worldwide.

Contents 1 History 2 Food 2.1 Nutritional Value 2.2 Secret recipe 3 Advertising 3.1 Slogans 4 Countries with KFC 5 Controversy 6 Trivia 7 References 8 See also 9 External links

History

Born and raised in Henryville, Indiana, Sanders passed through several professions in his lifetime,^[1]. Sanders first served his fried chicken during the Great Depression at a gas station he owned in Corbin, Kentucky, and later at a restaurant and motel he bought across the street.^[2] He 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. Sanders entered into agreements paying him five cents for each piece of chicken sold.^[3] 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.^[4] (The Corbin businesses did not bear that name.) Sanders sold the entire KFC franchising operation in 1964 for $2 million (10.2 million in 2007 dollars), and it has since been sold three more times, most recently to PepsiCo, 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, Inc.. One of the previous owners was former Kentucky governor, John Y. Brown, Jr., ^[5]

Food

Other than fried chicken, many KFC restaurants serve side dishes like coleslaw, various potato-based items (including potato wedges, and mashed potatoes with gravy), biscuits, corn on the cob and, outside of the U.S. french fries and poutine. KFC also offers other entrées such as Popcorn Chicken, pot pies, chicken strips, hamburgers, pork ribs, buffalo wings, sandwiches and desserts — though not all may be found in all locations, particularly in non-U.S.locations. Some sides are available only in a particular region.

Some menu items are innovations in regional stores. The Singaporean management, for example, introduced the Colonel Burger in 1977, the Hot & Crispy Chicken in 1990, and the Zinger burger in 1993.^[6] In the summer of 2006, KFC introduced the "Famous Bowl", a bowl layered with mashed potatoes or rice, gravy, corn, popcorn chicken, and cheese. The bowl had been available at KFC's special test market store in Louisville since the Fall of 2005. KFC originally introduced its "Popcorn Chicken" snack in the early 1990s but discontinued it after several customers complained of sickness upon eating the food, which consisted primarily of chicken skin. In the early 2000s, it reintroduced the snack.^{[citation needed]}

In 2007, the chain announced that it would add the "Fish Snacker" to the menu for Lent. 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.^[7]

Nutritional Value

Along with some other fast-food outlets, KFC uses partially hydrogenated oil for deep frying. This oil contains relatively high levels of trans fat, which increases the risk of heart disease. The Center for Science in the Public Interest has taken 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. Michael Jacobsen, director of the centre describes KFC content of trans fats as: "It recklessly puts its customers at risk of a Kentucky Fried Coronary." BBC News: KFC sued in US over cooking fats

Secret recipe

The Colonel's "secret recipe" of 11 herbs and spices is marketed as one of the best-kept trade secrets. The original handwritten recipe is purportedly locked in a vault in Louisville, Kentucky, with partial copies elsewhere as backup.^{[citation needed]} The company claims that suppliers of seasonings each provide only parts of the recipe, and do not know each other's identity. KFC also claims that not even the company's president knows the ingredient list, and the few people who do are subject to a strict confidentiality agreement.^{[citation needed]} The "secret ingredient" myth is one of the cornerstones of the brand.

KFC chicken's distinctive taste is produced by being cooked in hot oil in a pressure cooker instead of a conventional deep fryer^{[citation needed]} after being coated. On his Food Network show Good Eats, Alton Brown stated the pressure cooker and oil only reduce the cooking time. Alton states that The Colonel believed that properly fried chicken should take at least 45 minutes. However, this was excessive for most restaurant operations. According to Brown on Good Eats, the pressure cooker shortens the cooking time but probably does not add any special flavor to the chicken. On the other hand, it does not adversely affect the flavor, either. As with the secret Coca-Cola formula, the stories surrounding the recipe for KFC also serve a marketing purpose, with the company playing heavily on the mystery surrounding The Colonel's secret recipe.

In 1983, writer William Poundstone tackled 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.^[8] 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 (Sanders himself had been highly critical of changes made to the gravy).^[9]

Advertising

Early television advertisements for KFC regularly featured Colonel Sanders licking his fingers and talking to the viewer about his secret recipe and the importance of a family joining one another for a meal. Despite his death in 1980, this angle was quite common through the 1980s and up until the early-mid 1990s.

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.^[10]

In the 80s, 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.

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" 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 hails from Kentucky.

In 2006 KFC claimed to have made the first logo visible from outer space,^[11] though Readymix has had one since 1965.^[12] 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 measured a record-breaking^{[citation needed]} 87,500 square feet and was placed at 37°38′46″N, 115°45′02″W (NAD83/WGS84), in the Mojave Desert near Rachel, Nevada.^[13]

On November 15, 2006, there was a contest to win a free KFC Snacker Sandwich if one could find the secret message in the giant logo mentioned above. The hidden message was Finger Lickin' Good. It was found in the small white spot on the Colonel's tie, which was actually an "impostor" Colonel holding a sign.

The chain has also advertised in video games. The Sega Dreamcast game Crazy Taxi, has a KFC as a destination for patrons.^{[citation needed]}

There are many KFC locations either adjacent to or co-extant with another (or several other) Yum! Brands restaurants, those being Long John Silvers, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and A&W Restaurants. Many of these locations behave like a single restaurant, offering a single menu with food items from both restaurants. A&W and KFC combinations are sometimes called "Foam and Fowl."

Slogans

• Kitchen Fresh Chicken (2005)
• There's fast food, then there's KFC^[14]
• Finger lickin' good!^[15]
  • This was once translated into Chinese as "eat your fingers off"^[16].
• Nobody Does Chicken Like KFC! (Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and UK)^[17]
• Can't Beat that Taste! (2005/06 - Australia and New Zealand)^[18]
• Satisfy That Crave! (2005/06 - Australia and New Zealand)^[19]
• Kiwi For Chicken (2004/05 - New Zealand)
• I Can't Wait - for the great taste of Kentucky Fried Chicken (Late 1980s — Australia)
• Today's KFC: I Like It Like That (1992)
• Everybody Needs a little KFC. (1990s - United States)^[20]
• If you want Kentucky Fried Chicken, you have to visit me (1969, sung by Colonel Sanders)
• If you can fry chicken like this - why cook? (1970)
• Barrel of fun (1970s)
• Real goodness from Kentucky Fried Chicken (1970s)
• It's so nice - nice to feel - so good about a meal - so good about Kentucky Fried Chicken (late 1970s)
• We do chicken right! (mid-1980s)^[21]
• Chicken Capital U.S. (2005 - United States)^[22]
• You've got to KFC what's Cookin' (2003-2004)^[23]
• Dinner's Ready At Kentucky Fried Chicken (1970s - Canada)^[24]
• Pick up Kentucky Fried Chicken in your neighborhood; Colonel Sanders and his boys make it finger lickin' good!" (Later changed to "Colonel Sanders' boys and girls") (1970s - Canada)^[25]
• Got Chicken Got Soul (2005-2006 - UK)^[26]
• There's More Inside The Bucket (2005-2006)
• Share The Secret! (2005-2006 - Austria)
• The Taste Lives Here (2006-present - Canada)^[27]
• So Real! (Hong Kong)^[28]
• You've got great taste! (2006-present - UK)
• KFC, We know what to do with chicken (2006-present - the Netherlands)
• Kapag Fried Chicken, KFC (Translated as "If it's Fried Chicken, It's KFC" - Philippines)
• KFC is the spice in your life (Thailand)^[29]

Countries with KFC

Main article: List of countries with KFC restaurants

In French-speaking Quebec, Canada, KFC is known as PFK (Poulet Frit Kentucky). This is one of the few instances in which the KFC initialism is changed for the local language; even in France itself, the chain is called KFC. In Puerto Rico and Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, KFC is known as PFK (Pollo Frito Kentucky). In the 2004 version of Dawn of the Dead, which was filmed in Canada but is set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, there is a goof where the survivors eat from the KFC restaurant in the mall and one of the soda cups actually reads PFK.

KFC is the most popular Western fast-food chain in the People's Republic of China.^[30] Because of this success, Yum! Brands decided to open East Dawning, a new chain that serves quickly-prepared Chinese cuisine within the same general business model and service format as KFC.^[31]

Controversy

In 2003 PETA called for a boycott of KFC, alleging that the chain had done nothing to improve the welfare of its chickens despite pledging to do so earlier.^[32]

KFC's response is that the chickens used in its products are bought from suppliers like Perdue, Tyson, and Pilgrim's Pride and that these suppliers are routinely monitored for animal welfare violations.^[33] PETA alleges that these claims are false and that the chain has done nothing and continue to campaign against KFC.

In addition to Pamela Anderson, celebrities who have come out in protest of KFC's treatment of chickens include Richard Pryor, Elizabeth Berkley, Paul Wall, Ringo Starr, Tyra Banks, Dick Gregory, Phil Collins^[34] and Bea Arthur.^{[citation needed]}

Like virtually all fast food outlets, KFC employs a high proportion of young and unskilled workers, frequently pays at or just above minimum wages, and its workers are not unionized. In New Zealand, KFC youth workers earn NZ$7.13 an hour. Staff at the Balmoral, Auckland store went on strike for two hours on 3 December 2005 after Restaurant Brands, the franchise holder, offered no wage increase in contract negotiations.^[35] In March 2006, Restaurant Brands agreed to phase out youth rates in New Zealand, although no date was set. In Australia, many KFC stores are covered by an enterprise bargaining agreement with the SDA. Despite this, their wages are barely above the Award rate of pay, as fast food outlets fall under the category of "food retailers", for which an already (relatively) low rate applies. Many stores in western Canada are unionized with the Canadian Auto Workers, and as a result many if not all non-franchise stores in western Canada pay much higher than minimum wage. In British Columbia, where minimum wage is $6-$8 an hour, KFC employees make between $10 and $11 an hour.

On February 26th, 2007, a joint KFC/Taco Bell located on 6th Avenue and West 4th Street, Manhattan, was shut down by the New York City health department after it was found to have evidence of rat infestation in both the food and non/food preparatory areas. A video of this store was also released on the 23rd of February, 2007, showing a dozen rats scampering across its floors.^[36]

Trivia

• One of the most famous KFC restaurants in the U.S. is located in Marietta, Georgia. This store is notable for a 56-foot 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.^[37]
• Wendy's restaurants founder Dave Thomas operated several Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises before starting Wendy's restaurants. He also invented the rotating-bucket-of-chicken sign that at one time was outside every KFC and decided that the chicken should be sold in paper buckets, in order to wick away excess moisture. Thomas was a Kentucky Colonel just like Harland Sanders, figurehead of Kentucky Fried Chicken.
• KFC products are the most popularly requested items for death row inmates' final meals.^[38]
• KFC was mentioned in the Mike Myers comedy film So I Married an Axe Murderer; according to the character of Stuart McKenzie (played by Myers himself), Colonel Sanders was not only involved as part of a theoretical "Pentavirate" that controlled every form of media in the world, but also placed an addictive chemical in his chicken that caused eaters to crave it "fortnightly."
• Guitarist Buckethead wears a traditional KFC bucket on his head.
• In an episode of The Simpsons called "Lisa the Tree Hugger", a giant log smashes through a restaurant called Kentucky Fried Panda. Homer then exclaims, "NOOOO! It was finger Ling-Ling good!" This statement is an obvious play on the KFC slogan, "Finger Lickin' Good."
• In an episode of South Park called "The Death of Eric Cartman", Cartman got in trouble with his friends for eating all of their KFC chicken skins.

References

See also

• Priszm Canadian Income Fund
• Gino's Hamburgers
• The Kentucky Fried Movie
• Maryland Fried Chicken
• List of fast-food restaurants

External links

• Official site