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KFC

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For other uses, see the fast food chain.
Kentucky Fried PIGEON.
Company typeSubsidiary of Yum! Brands
IndustryFast food
FoundedCorbin, Kentucky (1952)
HeadquartersLouisville, Kentucky
Key people
Harland Sanders (Founder)
ProductsChicken and related Southern foods
Number of employees
750,000
Websitehttp://www.kfc.com/


Headline text

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. KFC is known mainly for its fried chicken.

The company adopted the abbreviated form of its name in 1991. 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. 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, the company's website 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.

History

File:Jonrevs kfc sign with mods.JPG
An older Kentucky Fried Chicken sign
World's first KFC in South Salt Lake, Utah, since replaced by a new KFC on the same site

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. One of the previous owners was former Kentucky governor, John Y. Brown, Jr., [5]

Food

KFC's Original Recipe fried chicken and French fries

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, Honey BBQ 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

Like most other fast-food outlets, KFC uses partially hydrogenated oil in its foods. This oil contains relatively high levels of trans fat, which increases the risk of heart disease. The Center for Science in the Public Interest 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. Michael Jacobsen, director of the Center describes KFC content of trans fats as: "It recklessly puts its customers at risk of a Kentucky Fried Coronary."

In October 2006, KFC announced that it would begin frying its chicken in trans fat-free oil. 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 US by 30 April 2007. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) also announced that it would immediately drop its lawsuit against KFC and was hopeful that this would create a ripple effect on other restaurants or fast food chains that prepare food rich in trans fat. "If KFC, which deep-fries almost everything, can get the artificial trans fat out of its frying oil, anyone can," CSPI Executive Director Michael Jacobson said in a statement.[8]

Secret recipe

File:DSCN2385.JPG
The Kentucky Fried Chicken name reappeared on the chicken buckets in 2006

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. The company claims that its spices are purchased from more than one company (each knows only the ingredients it supplies) and are then combined at KFC's own commissaries.

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.[9] 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).[10]

Advertising

File:KFC.png
KFC's logo from the late 1990s 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 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.[11]

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.

A co-branded Long John Silvers and KFC

In 2006 KFC claimed to have made the first logo visible from outer space,[12] though Readymix has had one since 1965.[13] 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 / 37.64611°N 115.75056°W / 37.64611; -115.75056 (NAD83/WGS84), in the Mojave Desert near Rachel, Nevada.[14]

A co-branded Taco Bell and KFC

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.

Then, in April, 2007, another contest was held in which the prize was $10 in gift checks towards KFC's new Boneless Variety Bucket. The contest had keen viewers and listeners keeping their ear out for a "MosquitoTone" found during one of their ads, and people had to correctly guess where the tone exactly was, and that answer qualified them for the prize (the correct answer, by the way, was "in the middle of the ad" while the new bucket was being shown).

The chain has also advertised in video games. The 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.

Countries with KFC

KFC in front of Keihan Moriguchi City station, Osaka, Japan
Main article: List of countries with KFC restaurants

In French-speaking Quebec, 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 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.[15] 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.[16]

KFC is also very popular in Japan, where a life size statue of the Colonel stands in front of most stores. KFC is one of the more popular dishes to eat in Japan on Christmas. People in large cities often have to reserve buckets of chicken beforehand.[17]

Controversy

Balmoral KFC workers and allies picket the store

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.[18]

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.[19] PETA alleges that these claims are false and that the chain has done nothing and continue to campaign against KFC.

According to a website called kfccruelty.com, many celebrities have come out in protest of KFC's treatment of chickens.[20]

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 December 3 2005 after Restaurant Brands, the franchise holder, offered no wage increase in contract negotiations.[21] 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 26, 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 February 23, 2007, showing a dozen rats scampering across its floors.[22]

Trivia

File:2005kfc.jpg
The KFC logo in Blue Springs, MO, USA, circa 2005
  • 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.[23]
  • 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.
  • Colonel Sanders' nephew, Lee Cummings, also had his own Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises before creating his own "spin-off" restaurant chain, Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken.
  • KFC products are the most popularly requested items for death row inmates' final meals.[24]
  • Guitarist Buckethead wears a traditional KFC bucket on his head.

References

  1. ^ http://www.courier-journal.com/foryourinfo/010305/010305.html
  2. ^ http://roadtrip.beimers.com/day99.html
  3. ^ http://www.agilitynut.com/eateries/8b.html
  4. ^ http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595057690,00.html
  5. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=KFC&action=edit&section=1
  6. ^ http://www.kfc.com.sg/abtkfc/history.asp
  7. ^ Template:Harvard reference
  8. ^ www.webmd.com Zwillich, Todd. KFC to Fry Chicken without Transfat. October 30,2006
  9. ^ Poundstone, William; Big Secrets: The Uncensored Truth About All Sorts of Stuff You Are Never Supposed to Know; Quill, New York 1983, 18-20.
  10. ^ Poundstone, op. cit., 20-21.
  11. ^ "Vinton Studio Commercials".
  12. ^ http://www.kfc.com/about/pressreleases/111406.asp — KFC Press Release, November 14 2006
  13. ^ http://www.smh.com.au/news/web/nullarbor-logo-zone/2006/12/13/1165685690455.html
  14. ^ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,229308,00.html
  15. ^ http://www.fas.usda.gov/info/agexporter/1997/July%201997/fastfood.html
  16. ^ Time Magazine: Colonel Sanders' March on China
  17. ^ http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2005/12/23/1135032187987.html
  18. ^ http://www.kfccruelty.com/petakfc.asp
  19. ^ http://www.cnn.com/2003/BUSINESS/10/17/anderson.kfc/index.html
  20. ^ http://www.kfccruelty.com/ce.asp
  21. ^ http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10357158
  22. ^ http://www.wnbc.com/news/11089614/detail.html
  23. ^ "The Big Chicken". Roadside America. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
  24. ^ http://deadmaneating.com/

See also

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