KFC Blogger Experience #KFCFresh

 A few weeks ago I got flown out to Louisville, KY for a whirlwind trip to the birth place of Kentucky Fried Chicken. The first night they took us out to a really nice dinner where we got to get to know each other. I really enjoyed dinner (no, it wasn’t KFC) it was a Bourbon restaurant called Maker’s Mark Bourbon House & Lounge. We had a bunch of appetizers with a lot of goat cheese. I was very proud of myself for trying all the appetizers. My favorite was the hot shrimp. It was so great to hear everyone’s story and get to hear the difference between the US and Canada. There were a few Canadian bloggers on the trip. The next morning it was up, shower, pack, eat and get on the bus to start a very busy day. Our first stop was a local KFC where we went into the kitchen and watched the chef make the original recipe chicken. It’s amazing how much work goes into making each batch of chicken! The special spices are actually put together in three separate companies so no one knows the whole recipe. The spices come already mixed together in a bag that gets mixed in with flour, and a powdered milk and egg mixture. The chicken is brought into the restaurant fresh, never frozen. It comes out of the refrigerator and is inspected. It is then dipped in water for 7 seconds, drip for 7 seconds, shaken 7 times, dropped into the flour mixture, mixed 7 times, scooped out and shaken out 7 times and then perfectly placed on the baking rack. They then pressure fry the chicken for 14 minutes.

After we visited the restaurant they took us over to Yum! Foods headquarters. They showed us around for a while. We got to see where they have taste testing and saw a few of their test kitchens. They told us about the chicken pot pies that they’re bringing back out. (They let us test drive some later in the day, they are yummy!) They brought us into a conference room and would answer any question we had (except for the secret recipe.) We had lunch and then learned about how they train every chef at every restaurant. It was pretty interesting. After that we got a crack at trying to open the safe that holds the original recipe and then had a hands on experience of making our own Original Recipe chicken. It sure takes some muscles!

They told us about all of the opportunities they have for scholarships and how much they give back to their communities. They told us how last year they reunited twin teenage girls with their soldier mom. They showed us the video and there was not a dry eye in the room. It’s so nice to find a company that’s willing to give back to the community! We were told that any chicken that may be in the holder for “too long” to sell will be packaged up, frozen and then given to the local soup kitchen.  I loved hearing the stories about Colonel Sanders. He sounds like he was an interesting man to know.

I had a great time on my trip and had no idea what all went into making KFC Fresh!  Keep an eye out because I have $500 in KFC vouchers to giveaway! Here’s a short video highlighting the trip:

Note: As a participant of the KFC Blogger Experience, accommodations, meals, transportation, & other gift items were provided. The honest opinions are my own. Photo Credits: Some photos are my own, others were provided by KFC and Brian Bohannon Photography.