KFC Offers Edible Reward for Missing Colonel Sanders

As disrespectful as this act was, it's really ruffled some feathers and served up some finger lickin' chicken related puns. (I'm sorry)....

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Kentucky Fried Chicken is offering $500 worth of grilled chicken in exchange for information leading to the safe return of a missing ColonelSanders bust.

The 24-inch bronze bust vanished from a Berea, Ky., KFC just before closing time on Jan. 31.

"There were three men in the restaurant, and the employee went to the kitchen," spokesman Rick Maynard recounted. "When she returned, the three men and the Colonel had flown the coop."

The bust has graced the restaurant's dining room since the 1970s, making the outlet one of the few to house expensive KFC-related art. According to Maynard, the bust – depicting a jolly Sanders in his "trademark glasses and string tie" – is worth $1,500.

"Folks who frequent the restaurant kind of miss it," Maynard says. "I think it's been replaced with a potted plant."

Maynard says KFC would like to return the Colonel to his rightful place, watching over an outpost of his fried chicken empire, which got its start just an hour down the road in Corbin, Ky. "The police ran out of leads," he explains, "so we wanted to offer a unique reward."

Maynard estimates $500 would buy about 25 buckets of KFC grilled chicken. "What we're looking for is to catch these chickens," he says of the mysterious men allegedly behind the Colonel caper.

SPICY TEXAN BOXMASTER TLO

We here at KFB have had a good day. I knew it was that time of the month again when KFC would release their next Time Limited Offer (TLO) and after the last poultry effort which we didn't even dine (upon) to mention we have not been let down.

I decided to swing by Stoke-On-Trent's Festival Heights branch before work and check out the new offer. I was greeted with a KFB all time favourite........Hot Rods! But wait a Chick'n Pluck'n minute, wasn't that the TLO just before Christmas I hear you collectively ask? well, yes it was, and I was torn by feelings of ambivalence. Was this being back good, purely selfishly because I love it, or bad, because KFC wasn't exploring and pushing the art of Chicken cuisine up to its creative boundaries and beyond.

Not Since Martin Shuker was on the team that fused breast with brown (hash that is) has there been a true foundation shaking moment in the fried Chicken world, and so, every six weeks we live in hope.

I wolfed down my Hot Rods which it later transpired are simply making a guest appearance at Festival heights and texted the team. Their replies collectively held an incredulous tone, 'surely not again' they intoned. I checked on-line and found to my pure an unadulterated joy that in deed the Hot Rod was not this periods TLO but that the Boxmaster was back in a new Spicy Texan gusie.

That was my dinner plans decided and what better way to check out a new TLO than at North Staffordshire's newest branch: Newcastle under Lyme that I haven't visited since the day it opened back in November.

So, what we have here is the Spicy Texan Boxmaster which comprises of:

Tortilla wrap

Zinger Chicken Breast Fillet

A Hash Brown

Bacon

Cheese

Texan Chilli Sauce

Ranch Dressing

Lettuce

Tagged on the promotional literature as an XL eat I gingerly ordered a meal.

It arrived along with my first disappointment, there was no bespoke packaging it had merely been crudely packaged in a chip bag, somewhat akin to blu tacking the Mona Lisa to wall without a frame.

The weight however was there, this must be one of KFC's densest products and its construction using a wrap is very helpful in keeping such a large list of ingredients held together, even if the diner must suffer a little wrap syndrome.

The Chicken was well cooked and the hash brown as always provided that comforting crunch and fulfilled its role admirably as tasty bulk, the cheese as always acted as a binding agent and the lettuce was verdant as ever.

The bacon however never truly asserted itself. When it was glimpsed by the taste buds it provided a brief and intense hit but just didn't quite reach its potential. Bacon however is hardly synonymous with Texas, but a nice idea nonetheless. The ranch dressing provided a good subtle flavour throughout the eat but I was expecting so much more from the texan chilli sauce. I wanted a sauce that scored highly on the Scoville scale but this chilli sauce was lacklustre and in need of some extra oomph.

By the end I found this a little dry and would have like to have seen some diced tomato added into the mix.

For Innovation 8

In reality this example was a 6/10

Congleton Quick review

Congleton

Barn Road

CONGLETON

Cheshire

CW12 1LJ

I hadn't even set out to do a review when I spotted this 82 seater reastaurant that sits on the edge of town with stiff competition from nearby McDonalds and a large branch of Tesco boasting its own cafe. It was a split second decision about which way to turn, I made the right choice. This restaurant includes drive thru functionality with a covered serving window. This restaurant is of sturdy construction featuring the 'tower design'. In this quick review, I just managed to trial a ZT.

I visited at about 2.10 pm on the 28th January 2010 following the lunch time rush

Decor wise , this branch is still awaiting a re-vamp, but here is a restaurant that has been loved by both staff and clientèle. It does not look tired anywhere but could do with a banquet table. There is a large clear space in front of of the counter from which you can peruse the menu. Unusually this restaurant features an airlock (ie two front door separated by a small vestibule) this meant the ambient temperature of the restaurant remained pleasantly constant. Another nice feature was the 'Trophy cabinet' also in the vestibule this glass fronted cabinet about foot by 3 foot showcased the range of box meals on offer.

I did visit out of peak hours, so maybe they'd had a chance to tidy up after the lunch rush but this place was spotless, utterly impeccable standards of hygiene were being adhered to. The staff seemed all to be young males and served me promptly in a courteous manner.

Zinger tower:

For once the construction was perfect and no changes were required, portions of both mayo and salsa were spot on. The lettuce was crisp and green as always. However the bread was a tad dry and as was the chicken on the last few bites. I would give this a 6/10

The Anciliary Items Island was this well stocked with, Sporks, freshen ups, napkins salt sachets & straws. Pepper it seems has become an increasingly rare commodity in KFC restaurants......is it being phased out?

Overall 6.5/10

Who's The Daddy? Big Daddy Box Meal Review

Apologies to any avid fans out there, the team here at KFB have been somewhat lazy and lackluster of late but today I am here to break the deadlock with a post of epic proportions...and when I say epic, I truly mean it. It occurred to me recently that there was an item on the KFC menu that has not received the attention it deserves. Of course, I am talking about the largest item designed for consumption by a single person - the Big Daddy Box Meal. It's time this bad boy had a full review!

The Big Daddy burger has actually been around for quite a whiIe, originally introduced to the menu as a TLO alongside the fillet tower and zinger tower meals. These days the Big Daddy burger has secured it's own long term spot on the menu, but as part of a box meal in direct competition to the Fully Loaded and Wicked Zinger box meals. I ventured to The Plaza KFC branch on Oxford Street to sample the Big Daddy.

On first impressions, you'd think there was little or no difference between the Big Daddy and other box meals. Just like the FL and WZ box meals, you'll get the burger, fries, 1 small side of your choice and 1 piece of OR chicken (or 2 hot wings with the WZ). "What makes this the so-called daddy then??" I hear you cry. Well, the real difference is in the burger itself.

The Big Daddy burger contains a few ingredients that make it stand out, and one in particular that is found in no other item on the current menu. As well as the staples (kaiser bun, OR chicken breast, hash brown, cheese slice, lettuce, ketchup) the Big Daddy also contains a slice of fresh tomato, creamy peppered mayo and most important of all - bacon. These are the additional ingredients that have earnt this burger it's title based on sheer size, but more importantly, can it earn the KFB seal of approval in terms of taste??

Biting into the Big Daddy, the bacon is not immediately evident. This will come down to the amount of bacon in the burger, which may vary from restaurant to restaurant. On this occasion however, I would have liked some more bacon in my burger - especially seeing as it is the key ingredient here. After a few bites, the flavour of the bacon did reach my palette and it certainly added a distinct texture and savoury smokey note to an already great burger. Another element which took me by surprise was the creamy pepper mayo, which seems to be borrowed from the Mini Fillet burger and added another interesting touch of flavour.

All in all, I enjoyed the Big Daddy burger and the new flavours it offered. My only concern, is the price. At well over the £5 mark, the BDBM is certainly expensive; granted, you get large fries and large drink as standard, but when all is considered the burger is really not so much larger than say, a Fillet Tower or Zinger Tower. If you are a big bacon fan, or specifically have a penchant for the creamy pepper mayo found in the Mini Fillet, (and you're happy to stump up the extra change) then the BDBM may well be for you. However, this blogger will be sticking to what he knows, and loves, best - a Fully Loaded box meal, large enough to satisfy any hungry adult and leave change from a fiver in your pocket.

Kentucky Fried Christmas

Today as usual I went for my annual pre-Christmas KFC banquet. Made particularly special this year by the TLO Hot Rods Boneless box. The two of us eagerly trecked through the frost and the fog to the Stafford Hough Retail Park branch to be confronted by the most soulless space devoid of any allusion to the festive period.

No decorations festooned this branch, no Christmas muzak flowed along my aural canal and the staff, though friendly and helpful as always didn't deign to wish us a happy Christmas nor don festive attire.

Shocked, I cast my mind back to those halcyon days when Stafford Greyfriars was open (read of its sad demise here) and the scene I once saw there. Had I captured it on celluloid to share with the world, I mused as I queued today.

Not celluloid, but perhaps in binary, on an early Pre blog camera phone that just may have been languishing in the bottom of a drawer. It believed its useful life was over, and was little aware of how much Christmas cheer it could spread, if only I could persuade it to give up the KFC Christmas secret it holds, and the proof that the Grefriars KFC should have never have been closed!

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, I give you the most perfect, beautifully decorated Christmas tree the world has ever known as seen at Greyfriars branch Christmas 07: