A few weeks ago while indulging in post-work beers near KFB headquarters it came to light that one of our drinking accomplices had previously worked at none other than KFC. Naturally we had to pick the brains of this young man to learn more. We've protected the ex-employee's face in the only way we know how: with chicken.
How long did you work for KFC? Which city were you based in? What was your highest position?
I worked at a relatively central and busy KFC location in Perth, Western Australia. I was trained as a kitchen hand originally, but I learned front counter and burger prep as well. I worked there for about a year and a half. For a while they were trying to entice me to become a manager but that process was taking too long so I left for greener pastures.
Sounds like a foolish decision to us! OK, what’s your favourite menu item and why?
I really enjoy any menu item that isn’t frozen chicken. Even though popcorn chicken is delicious, nothing beats the OG chicken pieces- Hot n Spicy or Original Recipe.
I really don’t like eating the potato from KFC because that stuff is instant potato, which has a rubbish mouth feel.
I worked at a relatively central and busy KFC location in Perth, Western Australia. I was trained as a kitchen hand originally, but I learned front counter and burger prep as well. I worked there for about a year and a half. For a while they were trying to entice me to become a manager but that process was taking too long so I left for greener pastures.
Sounds like a foolish decision to us! OK, what’s your favourite menu item and why?
I really enjoy any menu item that isn’t frozen chicken. Even though popcorn chicken is delicious, nothing beats the OG chicken pieces- Hot n Spicy or Original Recipe.
I really don’t like eating the potato from KFC because that stuff is instant potato, which has a rubbish mouth feel.
The mashed potato has divided us here at KFB too. Is there anything you can tell us about KFC that most of our readers won’t know?
The gravy is made, in part, with a by-product of the Original Recipe frying process. I forget what in-house term for the ‘stock’ is, but it comes from the bottom of the frier (crackling - Ed). Most people are terrified at the prospect of eating old bits of fried breading that have been sitting at the bottom of the high pressure fryers, but it’s no different from eating traditional stock.
Also, KFC in Australia have a kind of audit/olympics yearly event where store staff compete with other store staff to get standardised food orders out of the door in a certain time and at a certain quality.
Did you ever ‘Frankenstein’ together different ingredients to make bespoke products? If so, what was your favourite creation?
Menu hacks are non cannon and no true fast food fan pays them any mind.
A respectable point of view though not one we totally abide by ourselves. Do you have any funny stories about your time working in restaurants or particularly weird customer incidents?
Not really. I worked at a pretty busy store, so you got all kinds- from smelly homeless guys, to traveling americans who got pissed off that we didn’t carry 'biscuits'. I remember when I applied that I said I enjoyed cooking because I thought it would get me over the line (I was fresh out of high school so the only thing I knew how to cook was cheese on toast). As it turns out, the fast food industry is pretty regimented in practice, so cooking was definitely not a skill I needed for this position.
You wouldn’t believe the demand for stolen Original Recipe spices.
Actually I think we would! Did you enjoy your time working for the Colonel and do you still eat his chicken?
I had a great time and I definitely still eat the chicken.
That's what we like to hear. And finally, how often do you still wear your KFC caps and t-shirts?
It’s impossible to get the smell of chicken and flour out of a uniform, so they went straight in the bin. Sorry.
The gravy is made, in part, with a by-product of the Original Recipe frying process. I forget what in-house term for the ‘stock’ is, but it comes from the bottom of the frier (crackling - Ed). Most people are terrified at the prospect of eating old bits of fried breading that have been sitting at the bottom of the high pressure fryers, but it’s no different from eating traditional stock.
Also, KFC in Australia have a kind of audit/olympics yearly event where store staff compete with other store staff to get standardised food orders out of the door in a certain time and at a certain quality.
Did you ever ‘Frankenstein’ together different ingredients to make bespoke products? If so, what was your favourite creation?
Menu hacks are non cannon and no true fast food fan pays them any mind.
A respectable point of view though not one we totally abide by ourselves. Do you have any funny stories about your time working in restaurants or particularly weird customer incidents?
Not really. I worked at a pretty busy store, so you got all kinds- from smelly homeless guys, to traveling americans who got pissed off that we didn’t carry 'biscuits'. I remember when I applied that I said I enjoyed cooking because I thought it would get me over the line (I was fresh out of high school so the only thing I knew how to cook was cheese on toast). As it turns out, the fast food industry is pretty regimented in practice, so cooking was definitely not a skill I needed for this position.
You wouldn’t believe the demand for stolen Original Recipe spices.
Actually I think we would! Did you enjoy your time working for the Colonel and do you still eat his chicken?
I had a great time and I definitely still eat the chicken.
That's what we like to hear. And finally, how often do you still wear your KFC caps and t-shirts?
It’s impossible to get the smell of chicken and flour out of a uniform, so they went straight in the bin. Sorry.
The smell of chicken sounds amazing, the smell of flour...not so much. Thank you for your time and we hope that you one day find your way back into the Colonel's warm embrace / kitchen.
No worries.
