New Delhi: “My 11 herbs & spices will remain a secret to your ears and a delicious mystery to your taste buds.” – Colonel Harland Sanders.
It is the birthday of the man behind the world’s most famous fried chicken – Colonel Harland Sanders, the founder of KFC. On the occasion of his 128th birthday – 9th September, we bring you some amazing facts about the Colonel and his greatest gift to mankind – KFC !!!
After learning how to cook by the age of 6 and quitting school in the 6th grade, the Colonel enlisted in the United States Army when he was 16 years old.
Before becoming the world’s greatest chicken -salesman, Sanders held over 20 occupations. Yes, Sanders had an extremely varied resume from being a blacksmith to a fireman, before finding success in the fried chicken business in his 60s.
Colonel Sanders loved cooking and, in 1930, he opened his first restaurant inside a gas station and added fried chicken to the menu. The Governor of the area loved Sanders’ chicken so much that he made Sanders a Kentucky Colonel.
He discovered a secret blend of 11 herbs and spices which remains unknown till date. This secret ranks among America’s most valuable trade secrets.
It’s so valuable that KFC recently built a brand-new, high-tech home for the Colonel’s handwritten Original Recipe from 1940. It is stored in a digital safe that weighs more than 770 pounds and is encased in two feet of concrete with a 24-hour video and motion-detection surveillance system.
In 1955, Sanders franchised his secret recipe “Kentucky Fried Chicken” for the first time, to the operator of one of that city’s largest restaurants in Utah.
Legend has it that Colonel Sanders heard 1009 “no’s” before he heard his first “yes”. You heard it right, he was turned down one-thousand and nine times before his fried chicken found acceptance. In the first year of selling the product, restaurant sales more than tripled, with 75% of the increase coming from sales of fried chicken.
Often sleeping in the back of his car, Sanders visited restaurants, offered to cook his chicken, and if workers liked it, he negotiated franchise rights. This approach worked, and KFC became one of the first fast food chains to expand internationally, opening outlets in Canada and later in England, Mexico and Jamaica by the mid-1960s.
He sold the franchise in 1964 at the age of 75 for $2 million and remained as the company’s symbol.
The year 2017 marked 60th anniversary of the iconic KFC bucket. This is the very same bucket that compels you to pick up that juicy and tasty piece of fried chicken.
In 2017, the KFC Zinger became the 1st chicken sandwich to go to space! Even space couldn’t resist Sanders’ finger lickin’ good recipe.
Every 7 hours, a new KFC opens. That means every day more and more people have access to irresistibly good food. Hurray!
All this is appetizing, right? So, head to your nearest KFC restaurant today and relish, rejoice and celebrate the awesome Colonel Sanders and his unbelievably scrumptious recipe!
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