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10 Nov 2011 14:34

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Culture: New Colonel Sanders recipe book discovered

  • This is a new kind of book. There’s never been another written like it as far as I know. It’s the story of a man’s life and the story of the food he’s cooked and eaten, running right along with it. … To me, my recipes are priceless.
  • Harland “Colonel” Sanders • In the introduction to a hitherto unknown manuscript penned by the Kentucky Fried Chicken honcho himself, which is full of down-home advice and plenty of his own recipes through the years. Absent is his most famous one — the fried chicken recipe that the KFC corporation claims to keep locked away in a vault somewhere (this new original manuscript is now in there as well, reportedly) — which is why KFC intends to release this Sanders cookbook for free download on their website. Worth remembering in assessing the Sanders culinary legacy is that he wasn’t so enamored with KFC after he sold his U.S. operations in the 60s’; he was sued by the company in 1974 for calling their gravy “sludge” with a “wallpaper taste.” source

03 Apr 2010 22:07

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Biz: Double Down: KFC’s plan to clog your arteries goes nationwide

See the appeal? It’s a sandwich … with fried chicken for buns! Who needs bread when you load them up with ever-more fat? (BTW, the headline on the linked story rules.) source

06 Jan 2010 11:56

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Culture: KFC’s Aussie branch treads fine line between chicken and racism

  • Bad advertising idea No. 1: “Stuck in a situation where you’re surrounded by black/West Indian people? Just offer them chicken and everything will be OK!” KFC, as you might guess, is getting a firestorm of controversy for this Australian ad. Ouch. source

26 Aug 2009 23:05

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Politics: The A.V. Club provides critical analysis of the KFC Double Down

  • Well naturally it’s exceeded expectations: Not only is its design a blow against ‘the tyranny of the bun,’ it’s also the ultimate challenge to the rest of the fast-food industry to step up its game.
  • The Onion A.V. Club columnist Sean O’Neal • On our new favorite sandwich ever, the KFC Double Down. To us, it takes a high level of criticism for us to cover a story like this two days in a row, but Mr. O’Neal (yes, we called him Mr. O’Neal; We’re channeling our inner New York Times) is up to the task. O’Neal suggests that this sandwich is the fast food industry’s way of pushing through health care reform (or as O’Neal hilariously calls it, the “Reichstag fire of health care reform”). • source

11 Jun 2009 22:34

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Biz: KFC looking for new spokesman; must like whatever the “C” stands for

  • Is the Colonel is getting klinked? Perhaps as recovery from the spectacular failure of their last marketing campaign, KFC is trying to find the new face of their company. To do so, they’re going to MySpace (uhhhh, isn’t everyone who isn’t in a band on Facebook?) and asking for videos until July 7. The winner gets a free lifetime supply of chicken and a free heart attack 15 years from now. source

04 Jun 2009 11:15

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Biz: Fast food places decide to get a bit riskier in their choices

  • This is a defining moment for the industry. The financial crisis has brought with it a redefining of boundaries.
  • Hudson Riehle • Research chief at the National Restaurant Association on how the recession has had the effect of making things like KFC grilled chicken, premium coffee at McDonald’s, value menus at Starbucks and subs at Domino’s the norm. Ten years ago, this kind of stuff would be unheard of. • source

09 May 2009 22:11

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Biz, Culture: How the KFC/Oprah free chicken thing blew up in KFC’s face

  • After famously being known as a source of fattening fried chicken, KFC launches a new brand of grilled chicken. source
  • To convince people to give them a chance and rethink the brand, KFC puts a free chicken coupon on their Web site. source
  • KFC then promotes the deal on Oprah’s kingmaking TV show, causing huge visibility and demand for the coupons. source
  • The coupons get redeemed en masse, creating huge lines at the restaurants that were way bigger than they anticipated. source
  • After being unable to keep up with the demand, KFC canceled the offer, pissing people off. Idiots. source
 

05 May 2009 20:47

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Culture: Kentucky Fried Chicken hooks up with Oprah. Kinky.

  • Thanks to the talk-show superhost, KFC’s giving away lots of free chicken. Oprah wants people to give Kentucky Grilled Chicken – not fried, grilled – a chance, so she’s helping the chain give away some chicken. Two pieces of grilled chicken, two sides, and a biscuit, free – as long as you print an online coupon before tomorrow night. We can’t wait to see what PETA’s gonna do about this. (In other news, we wonder how KFC’s going to have extra time to fix the nation’s roads now that they have all this extra chicken to sell.) source

28 Mar 2009 14:47

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Offbeat, U.S.: Good news! A colonel wants to help fix our nation’s potholes.

Unfortunately, it’s Colonel Sanders, replete with KFC logos and advertising-ese. Sorry for being misleading. source

20 Feb 2009 12:58

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U.S.: Fast food and strokes: Tied together like burgers and fries

  • 13% increase in stroke rates in areas with 33 fast-food restaurants or more source