After growing up in Kentucky and then leaving the state, I often found myself running into the same conversation when people found out where I was from.
It usually started like this: “So, you must like KFC?”
Hats off to the man who donned that white suit, black tie, and glasses for getting the word spread far from home. Everyone knows about the fried chicken giant associated with Kentucky and, as a Kentuckian, I sort of thought I knew everything there was to know about KFC. I mean, I can remember many days made better with a side of those drive-thru mashed potatoes and family gatherings made complete with those red-and-white buckets.
Now that I’m back home and reporting for the Courier Journal, I ran into something new: An invite for an inside look at the fast-food chain's hallowed halls at the KFC headquarters.
Just like all those times when I talked to strangers about KFC, the answer was yes.
As part of this recent and exclusive media immersion experience, I arrived one morning at a nondescript office building about 15 minutes from downtown Louisville.A few hours later, I left with a belly full of tasty new menu items and my mind proved wrong: There was a lot more to learn about KFC, even for a Kentucky native.
Here are three things I learned at the KFC headquarters in Louisville:
'The purpose of KFC'
This occasion began with a sit-down chat with Nick Chavez, CMO KFC U.S., who took over his position in 2021 after 11 years with Nintendo.
We were together to talk about the chain’s new saucy nuggets, rolled out in late March. As Chavez said, those saucy nuggets play a piece in KFC’s future.
“We talk a lot about why we exist,” Chavez said to a small room of journalists. “We like to say our purpose at KFC is to serve everyone joy with the world’s best-tasting fried chicken. We’re really working hard both to delight and satisfy our existing core customers of KFC in the US, as well as attract new customers.”
Chavez and his team have studies to see that “chicken is the most popular and fastest-growing protein in the world,” he said.
Chavez talked about innovating and staying on top of trends and how it’s important to be “fearlessly modern in the fried chicken we offer.” He also talked about the importance of upholding the standards of Colonel Sanders while “introducing new generations to new flavors.”
Perhaps we can look forward to fried chicken staying cool.
There's a (very cool) Colonel Sanders Museum
Remember that nondescript building? My view changed when I saw how it looked from Colonel Sanders Drive. It looks, as intended, like the White House.
From the entrance, you’re greeted with a lifelike and animatronic Colonel Sanders. There are lots of fun facts and artifacts, including photos of Sanders with famous people of his time and all about how KFC came to be. As I walked around the space that was once Sanders’ office and saw a safe symbolizing the sacredness of the all-so-secret recipe, I thought about how I should mention this place the next time I’m giving recommendations for what to do in Louisville.
On that note, The Colonel Sanders Museum is open to the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. You can call 502-874-2174 for more information about visiting.
How the chicken nuggets are made at KFC
The bulk of our visit was spent in the test kitchen with KFC’s food innovation team. Of the many ideas this team throws around, those aforementioned saucy nuggets passed the test. And we got to try our hands at making them. The process involved shaking the nuggets in sauce seven times for an evenly juicy coating.
This behind-the-scenes hang didn’t reveal any secret ingredients, but it's clear that the KFC operation is a well-fried machine.
And when the company announces things like new saucy nuggets or, more recently, the April 8 unveiling of “Taste of KFC Deals” value menu, national media outlets write about it and people continue to drive through KFC locations around the world.
Not to be cheesy when talking about fried chicken, but I noticed something when I looked back at the photos of me in the test kitchen while wearing plastic gloves and breading raw meat the KFC way.
Maybe that big smile is a muscle memory from those times in my grandmother’s kitchen when she would make fried chicken whenever she felt like it. I still don’t know what made her creation so special or what is in those secret 11 herbs and spices, but I do know what I’ll say the next time someone asks me, “So, you must like KFC?”
Reach food reporter Amanda Hanco*ck at ahanco*ck@courier-journal.com.
