We were camping in Corbin, so we had to see where Colonel Sanders got started and of course sample the product...
KFC was founded by Colonel Harland Sanders, an entrepreneur who began selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky during the Great Depression. Sanders identified the potential of the restaurant franchising concept, and the first "Kentucky Fried Chicken" franchise opened in Utah in 1952.
After being recommissioned as a Kentucky Colonel in 1950 by Governor Lawrence Wetherby, Sanders began to dress the part, growing a goatee and wearing a black frock coat, but later switching to a white suit, a string tie, and referring to himself as "Colonel"
"Bertha," his original chicken pressure cooker
KFC's original product is pressure fried chicken pieces, seasoned with Sanders' recipe of 11 herbs and spices. The constituents of the recipe represent a notable trade secret.
In 1930, the Shell Oil Company offered Sanders a service station in North Corbin, Kentucky, rent-free, in return for paying the company a percentage of sales. Sanders began to serve chicken dishes and other meals such as country ham and steaks. Initially, he served the customers in his adjacent living quarters before opening a restaurant.
Ted and the Colonel have a few words...
