When Colonel Harland Sanders stopped by one of his Kentucky Fried Chicken locations during thousands of restaurant visits, his employees knew he’d spend a lot of time in their kitchens. Because while the Colonel was world-famous as the spokesman for KFC, he was first and foremost a cook. Sixty-five years after the Colonel invented the Original Recipe, if you visit a restaurant that bears his likeness, you’ll still find a cook in the kitchen preparing fresh KFC Original Recipe chicken on the bone.
To preserve the Colonel’s legacy and strict standards of buying and freshly preparing chicken, KFC employs a dedicated, trained cook in each of the kitchens of the chain’s 5,300-plus restaurants nationwide. And while that “fresh” news is a point of differentiation between KFC and many of its competitors, today there is even more news coming from the KFC kitchen: The company has completed its menu makeover, and all KFC menu items contain zero grams trans fat per serving.
“Our new ad campaign reminds America of our commitment to preparing finger-lickin’ good meals for the whole family,” says Doug Hasselo, chief food innovation officer for KFC.
The new ads showcasing the “Fresh Tastes Best” campaign focus on the brand’s fresh Original Recipe chicken on the bone prepared by a trained cook in every KFC restaurant. While most people know the signature taste of the Colonel’s Original Recipe, not everyone knows that KFC restaurants receive shipments of fresh chicken on the bone throughout the week. The highly trained cooks then hand-bread the chicken using the secret blend of herbs and spices before placing it in the pressure cooker. It’s the same recipe and process perfected by the Colonel himself.
“I’ve experienced firsthand that KFC maintains the highest standards by serving fresh KFC Original Recipe chicken on the bone prepared by a trained cook in our restaurants across the country,” says cook Tiffany Bakken, of the Fort Dodge, Iowa, KFC.
In April 2007, KFC became one of the first restaurant companies to complete a transition to a zero grams trans fat per serving cooking oil for its signature fried chicken products and potato wedges. While the large majority of the menu was impacted by the change in cooking oil at that time, a few menu items required additional reformulation to complete the transition. With the introduction of the Fresh Tastes Best campaign, KFC also completes its menu transformation with all menu items now containing zero grams trans fat per serving. Mac and cheese, biscuits and chicken potpie have joined the other favorites offering zero grams trans fat per serving while staying true to the flavorful and home-style taste KFC fans love.
