KFC BBQ Boss Meal Review

I have to admit I was a bit trepidatious about today's expeditition to try the latest Time Limited Offer (TLO), the BBQ Bacon Boss Box Meal to give it its official title.

The reason for my sense of foreboding? I had opted to try what one commenter has called 'Worst KFC in the UK' accompanied by a slew of similar comments around 3 years ago. However a later comment posted a year ago paints the place in a better light, but it was time for KFB to check it out.

Why had I chosen this particular branch? Knowing that this TLO contains bacon, I knew a couple of my more regular haunts are halal branches which don't sell the bacon. I presumed, correctly as it turned out, that a small market town in the middle of a national park would not have the ethnic diversity to warrant a halal conversion.

After a number of fairly innovative recent TLO's the product design teams seem to be taking a break and have thrown together this burger from existing ingredients pretty quickly before adding an alliterative moniker to capture the attention:

When ordering I stuck with the Original Recipe (OR) fillet so I could enjoy this burger as Colonel intended. I opted for a side of gravy too and was delighted when the branch supervisor agreed to substitute my piece of chicken on the bone for a mini fillet ( although she said she wasn't supposed to, when I whipped out my Colonels Club card with it's swollen points total, I think she knew she was rewarding a real fan).

Following the comments I wasn't expecting much but was presented with a well constructed burger, just a couple of minor gripes, the hash brown was a little too brown and the bun had hardly seen the toaster, so was rather cool. The fries too looked a little overcooked but in fact were very nice and the gravy was an incredible three step that passed the standing chip test:

The Burger itself was exactly what you'd expect although I have to say it was well balanced with each of the key ancilliary ingredients (Cheese / Bacon / BBQ) coming through nicely. I just had one bite where the the BBQ was a little overpowering. The OR, so often overlooked by KFB in favour of Zinger was also very tasty although given I was tucking into this at about 13:20 not as fresh as it could have been.

The Buxton branch I have to say exceeded my expectations, It was clean with good service and helpful friendly staff.

Although there's a lack of innovation here, this is a solid contender hot on the heels of some good TLO's therefore earns itself a solid 6.5 out of ten.

KFB in Australia: Kentucky Jack review

Here at KFB we're big fans of innovation and the addition of new ingredients as you'll notice from our coverage of the recent pulled chicken range in the UK and specials such as the Nacho Stacker. It was with some excitement then that we came across the Kentucky Jack limited edition burger in Australian KFCs.

Let's break it down for you: we've got an Original Recipe chicken fillet surrounded by crispy fried onions, two slices of white cheese, bacon, coleslaw (yes, IN the burger) and smokey BBQ sauce.
When we first unwrapped the burger we were worried - 'juice' from the slaw has seeped out into the wrapper and bun leaving some very soggy edges. Construction was otherwise solid - KFC UK should take note that bacon out here in Oz is most certainly NOT of the streaky variety (something that we felt marred the Big Daddy somewhat). Cost-wise it was cheaper than the Zinger Stacker by a couple of bucks, probably owing to the lack of the extra chicken breast.

And so onto the tasting: the first bite was full of real contrast - sweet (BBQ sauce) but salty (bacon), crunchy (onions, slaw) but soft (bun). There's a great balance of flavours going on in here. Even the cheese, which is Australia is of a white variety, packed some real punch.

There was something about the flavour though that we couldn't just put our...tongue on. Something that took this reviewer back to childhood school lunch halls. It was a certain tang, it was...SKIPS! For readers who aren't from the UK, Skips are prawn cocktail flavoured tapioca-based snacks (which taste a lot better than they sound). And somehow the Kentucky Jack was very reminiscent of this flavour profile. If we had to guess we'd say it was the combo of the crispy onions and the BBQ sauce. Do note however that despite sounding like an odd addition to a burger, we thoroughly enjoyed this throwback taste.

And as we've come accustomed too here at KFB we do have to ask the key question: would it be better with a hash brown? Actually for once, given all the contrasting flavours and textures going on, we're not sure it would.

Value: 7
Flavour: 8
Overall: 7.5

KFC World Tour, Part 3: Poland

Already en route to my 3rd international KFC location, there was no time to dwell on the disappointment suffered in Austria. Onwards and upwards, as they say...and upwards I travelled, north through Europe; next destination, Poland. I headed directly for the heart and soul of the country, the historic city of Krakow. One of the oldest cities in Poland, it dates back to the 7th century and is also the unofficial cultural capital, thriving with museums, art galleries, bars, clubs and many world class eateries - one of which, of course, belongs to the Colonel himself.

On a brisk Autumn lunchtime, I ventured to the most central, flagship branch located just off the main square in Krakow. Upon approaching the main entrance, I was greeted with a wonderful site - not only was the original converted brick frontage a delightful architectural sight to behold, but the Colonel Sanders living statue busker out front added to the ambiance and was a fitting tribute to the great man himself. Tossing 1 złoty into the grateful buskers collection, I entered and made straight for the counter.



Browsing the menu (which was nearly identical to that of Austria) I decided to make a very tough choice and give the "Grander" a second chance, for 2 main reasons: firstly, the "Grander" here was a slight variation called the "Texas Grander", which appeared to have thinly sliced bacon/ham in the stack, along with a Texan smoky BBQ flavour...and secondly, something about the atmosphere, neat interior and attentive counter staff told me that this could be an entirely different burger experience.



My bravery was rewarded, this was indeed a very different experience. The bun was fresh and firm, perfectly toasted. The chicken was plump, moist and tasty. The construction was neat. Admittedly, the size of the chicken breast still pales in comparison to that of the UK, and the lettuce could have been a little more fresh and plentiful, but all in all this was one tasty burger. The addition of thinly sliced cured ham, reminiscent of pancetta or prosciutto, was a wonderful and decidedly upmarket addition and makes complete sense - I would especially like to see this in place of the typically fatty bacon used in the Daddy Burger back home.



Although I had uncovered some interesting regional differences in my trek across Europe, this was nothing compared to what lay ahead. It was time to experience something totally different, something from the other side of the world, in a totally different culture and way of life. Next stop, China!

KFC World Tour, Part 2: Austria

Still on a high from my visit to Slovakia, I crossed the border into neighbouring Austria. Naturally, I made headway for the capital city of Vienna with it's beautiful Austro-Hungarian architecture, steeped in history and of course, delicious chicken joints courtesy of the Colonel.

Of Vienna's 4 branches, I headed straight to the most central and visually impressive located on Mariahilferstraße. The exterior facade combining sheet glass and wood was of stark modern contrast to the classic Baroque architecture of the rest of the city, a refreshing sight which could grab the attention of the average passer by.



Inside, I was presented with a menu not too dissimilar from that of the UK (Tower, Zinger, Twister, Boxmaster), with some similar elements seen in Slovakia (Longer) and just a couple of new, interesting items - namely the Mandarin Chicken Salad and Grander Burger. Of course, we all know that given the choice between a salad and burger, there is only one sane decision to make. I opted for the Grander Menu, and found a quiet table on the 2nd tier seating area to begin my extensive analysis.



The Grander Burger is essentially a Fillet Burger but with BBQ sauce and slice of tomato in the mix, usually only found in the Daddy Burger in the UK. With a hungry belly (and slight hang over) I tucked in excitedly, but was immediately stopped in my tracks and stricken with disappointment. Upon opening the wrapping, I was presented with a limp, dry and (oddly enough) wholemeal bun, poorly constructed with the bare minimum of lettuce and mayo and a BBQ sauce which looked more like a vinaigrette than anything else.



The proof though should always be in the eating, so I took a bite. The chicken was not the usual large, fresh, meaty breast that we are so used to in the UK, but a more puny, brown chicken. Sadly, the flavour of the BBQ sauce faired no better while the soggy bun and lopsided construction gave an unsatisfactory bite and messy hands. The lack of a clean-up tissue was the final nail in the coffin of a disappointing meal. The only positive I could take away from this experience was that the secret recipe coating did indeed taste as it should, but this is what I would have expected anyway.

I was prepared to give this branch the benefit of the doubt - maybe they were short staffed, had received a dodgy load of buns, or were training some new chicken technicians who lacked experience in the fine art of burger alignment? I hoped this was the case, and decided to forget what I had seen today and press on to my final European destination in the heart of the former Eastern Bloc - Poland!

BBQ Beast Box Meal Review

Another 6 week period rolls around and, thank the lord, we have another TLO (time limited offer) to sample! This time it's the BBQ Beast Box Meal, loaded with so much BBQ goodness that almost every morsel in the box has a BBQ prefix attached to its name. The BBQ Beast drops for £4.69 and can, of course, be 'larged' for an extra 40p (unfortunately there is no option to tower up the burger, unless you have a sweet deal worked out the with staff at your local branch). For the money you get a BBQ Fillet burger, 3 BBQ Bites, BBQ beans side (again, doesn't seem to be an option to swap out for gravy etc.) and chips and drink.

Personally, I do enjoy BBQ flavours so I was keen to give this box meal a go. However, I did find that there was maybe a little too much BBQ in this beast. The boneless bites were undoubtedly the best part of the experience, the thick BBQ coating was great and very generously applied - a clean up wipe definitely essential after eating. The burger I found to be somewhat dry, but this may have just been down to the individual branch I visited (Bethnal Green, which we all know is pretty piss poor). The beans are just the standard side beans, and not anything different as suggested by the BBQ name given on the advert.

All in all, if you're a fan of BBQ sauce then this may be for you, because the damn thing is smoothered in it. Boneless bites were a high point, but for me there was just too much BBQ on the go. In the future I would be hoping to see something a little more interesting than just adding BBQ sauce to the Fillet burger - of course you could do this yourself if you wanted with a BBQ dip. Bring on the next TLO with something a little more innovative...and while you're at it...bring the Hot Rods Box Meal back for good!