From Humble Beginnings: The Inspiring Story of Colonel Sanders and the Origin of Kentucky Fried Chicken | The Hungry Insider
It was the late 1800s when a boy named Colonel Harland Sanders was born. When Sanders was just 6 years old, his father passed away, and he left the school to serve and earn for his family. He did various jobs including working as a farmer, streetcar conductor, fireman, and insurance salesman.
When Sanders turned 7, his mother taught him to cook, and by 9, it was his interest in cooking. After 13, Sanders pursued several professions including railroad worker and insurance salesman with mixed success.
In 1930, he took over a Shell filling station on US Route 25 just outside North Corbin, a small city on the edge of the Appalachian Mountains. By June, he had converted a storeroom into a small eating area using his own dining table, serving meals such as steaks and country ham to travellers.
After some time, Sanders started to sell his own delicious fried chicken, and even took a course in restaurant management at the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration.
By 1936, his business had proved successful enough for him to be given the honorary title of Kentucky colonel by Governor Ruby Laffoon. In 1937, Sanders expanded his restaurant to 140 seats, and in 1940 purchased a motel across the street, the Sanders Court & Café.
Sanders wasn’t happy that it took 35 minutes to cook his chicken in a frying pan, but he didn’t want to cook it in a deep fryer because it didn’t taste as good. However, if he made chicken ahead of time, sometimes he had extra that went to waste. In 1939, pressure cookers were sold for cooking vegetables. Sanders bought one and changed it to make pressure frying possible, and he used it to cook chicken. This new way of cooking was much faster, just like deep frying, but Sanders thought it still tasted like the pan-fried chicken he preferred.
In July of 1940, Sanders created what he called his Original Recipe, which used 11 different herbs and spices. He never told anyone the exact recipe, but he did say that he used salt and pepper and that the other ingredients were common items that anyone might have.
Early Franchises of KFC
After Colonel Sanders had created his Original Recipe, he started selling his chicken at a gas station in Kentucky. People loved it, and he became famous for his tasty chicken. In the 1950s, he started franchising his business, which means that other people could open their own KFC restaurants that served his chicken. This was a really successful idea, and soon there were KFC restaurants all over the United States and even in other countries. People still love KFC today, and it’s one of the most popular fast-food chains in the world.
Rapid Growth
KFC’s success was the system that Sanders started in the 1950s. This allowed other people to open their own KFC restaurants and serve the same chicken as the original restaurant in Kentucky. This was a smart move because it allowed the business to expand quickly without having to spend a lot of money on advertising or building new locations. As a result, KFC restaurants started popping up all over the United States and eventually in other countries around the world.
KFC Today
Today, KFC is a global fast-food giant with thousands of restaurants in over 140 countries around the world. While it still serves the iconic Original Recipe chicken that Colonel Sanders created all those years ago, KFC has also expanded its menu to include a variety of other options, such as sandwiches, wraps, salads, and sides.
Additionally, the company has introduced new technology, such as mobile ordering and delivery services, to make it even easier for customers to enjoy their favourite KFC meals.
Despite facing competition from other fast food chains, KFC continues to thrive thanks to its unique recipe, strong branding, and commitment to innovation and sustainability.