True Dedication

Someone with more dedication to the Colonel than KFBloggers? Say it aint so!

Whitechapel/Aldgate branch review

Fried chicken fans are not left wanting in the Whitechapel area of London. A short stroll up Whitechapel road and the evidence is clear, with both sides of the street awash with the kind of eateries that could have quite easily featured in Dave's Rogues Gallery post - Perfect Fried Chicken (PFC), Perfect Fried Chicken 2 (PFC2), and Trio Fried Chicken to name but a few. I have had the misfortune of visiting PFC2 late one night (under the influence I should add) and it was not a pleasant experience, neither in terms of service nor food.

Alas, there is hope. Like a shining beacon, Whitechapel KFC stands out as a refuge for any hungry passer-by who demands the kind of quality that only the colonel can provide.


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On first inspection, Whitechapel KFC seems somewhat of a mixed bag. Externally, the signage is modern and uses the 08/09 branding. Internally the fittings are also up-to-date, but as is so often the case in these areas of central London, space is at a premium. This was especially noticeable during the lunchtime rush when it's not unusual to enter the front door and immediately join the back of the queue for a till. My recommendation here would be to take away rather than eat in - you're unlikely to find a seat anyway on the small 2 seater tables or limited bar seating.

Things took a turn for the up though when I arrived at the front of the queue to place my order. Front of house staff were pleasant and helpful, working efficiently to get my order to me as quickly as possible (and within the official 5 minute service deadline). This is a busy location with lots of offices close by, so I'm sure they are well trained and used to dealing with a quick customer turn-around and large quantity orders. I opted for a Wicked Zinger Box Meal (towered up) and picked up a Boneless Banquet for a colleague.

This brings me to one of the most interesting features of the Whitehchapel branch. Standing at the right-hand till, I soon noticed that the burger construction station was not out back in what would normally be the kitchen area, but just a few feet from the service counter (I can only assume that this unusual layout is due to the limited floor space). In the picture I managed to snap, you can clearly see a bag of Kaiser buns, a bun toasting machine, containers of lettuce and other essential ingredients such as salsa, ketchup bottle and a mayonnaise gun, and the preparation area. Watching the chicken technician construct a Zinger Tower so closely gives an insight into the step-by-step process which is employed. Interestingly, this particular technician used what I am now calling the Reverse Stack© technique, whereby the burger is constructed from top down: top bun -> mayo -> lettuce -> hash brown -> cheese -> chicken -> salsa - >bottom bun, then flipped. Clearly he had this down to a fine art, as my burger was neatly constructed and well presented.

Overall, I'd recommend the Whitechapel branch for it's speedy service and attention to detail, but get ready for some queueing if you're visiting at peak times and be prepared to take away.

KFC branch

February 26 2009 - A name that will go down in infamy amongst KFC fans, as the day that a branch died.

The 677 Daniel Webster Highway branch of KFC was innocently operating as normal, producing delicious chicken and chicken-related products for local consumers, when store manager Sonia Gilbert recieved an unusual phonecall. Ostensibly from head office, the caller informed Sonia that it would be necessary to test the fire supression system immediatly. Innocently obeying, Sonia activated the sytem - and all hell broke loose.

Immediatly, chemical irritant fire-retardant power flooded the sandwich preperation area - immediatly destroying the delicious meals of literally hundreds of consumers, and covering the staff working there with dangerous chemicals. Springing into action, Sonia lept to the phone to ask her, "superior" what could be done, who promptly informed her that it would be necessary to, "strip off and urinate on each other." By the time that she had gotten outside, stripped naked and her and the other team members had began to prepare to do so, it occured to Sonia that the call, may have been a malicious prank.

Using the latest in forensic technology and voice analysis, we here at the KFB have constructed a visual composit of what we believe the criminal prank caller looks like. Please, please, contact us if you have any information whatsoever, so that we can ensure that he is put on trial at the United Nations for war crimes. And take a moment to think of the saddest victimes of these events - the delicious Zinger towers that might have been. Goodnight old friend - may flights of angels sing you to your rest.

My New KFC Diet

Since my return from the KFC road trip around the States I have had to cut down on the amount of KFC I'm eating. This combined with 10 hours a week down the gym have helped me loose over a stone and a half in the last month.

Though I cut down my KFC intake from 4 meals to only 2 per week I felt that I should increase the quantity.

So here is what my current plate looks like (I ate one hot wing in the car)

KFC AM

One of the final taboos of modern life has been broken, the eating of Chicken for breakfast. KFC is in the process of launching its breakfast menu on an unsuspecting but soon to be eager clientele.

This is not the first time KFC has attempted breakfast, Foodspot.org reports of their paltry attemps in 2004 at an egg end bacon sandwich, paying only lip service to the Chicken (with the egg)

The Company's flagship marble arch branch was chosen to host the ops shakedown of the planned breakfast menu. This is the process whereby one store trials said product and perfects timings, staffing levels, popularity and equipment amongst other criteria.

KFC UK is currently the vanguard, spearheading the development and implementation of KFC breakfasts the world over.

From 6am until 10.30 am those finding themselves in West London can enjoy a breakfast from en extensive range of newly developed products. What's more following the success of the Marble Arch trial, an extended test area has been set up in the Tyne Tees region in the North East of England in a further 15 branches. With it's own local TV advertising the nation waits with baited breath for KFC UK to give the go ahead for a nationwide roll out in the coming months.

In its nascent stages there was an extensive menu featuring some prime time menu items turned breakfast and some entirely new concepts in fine morning dining such as the AM Loader, along with the Breakfast platter which this reporter has been lucky enough to sample.

My First sample was of te A.M. Loader. This product is breakfast, eggy bread, sausage, tomato ketchup, hash brown & bacon make this the greatest fast food breakfast item currently on the market. With wholly oven cooked ingredients there is no greasy griddled sausage patty unlike some competitors. This is a heavyweight breakfast product presesnted in attractive, innovative packaging.

Most recently on the 24th March I opted for the AM Platter which gave me the chance to sample each constituent ingredient individually as well as sampling the new Lavazza coffee which will be rolled out nationwide, replacing the ersatz Nescafe we've had to endure up until now.

First off, the AM platter represents fantastic value for money. For under three pounds (2.79 to be exact) you get: bacon, sausage, hash brown, eggy bread, omelette, regular beans and a Lavazza coffee. I set about eating, in no particular order at first thinking my platter was a little dry. I had of course forgotten to open the beans. The beans however were unnecessary, no ingredient was soggy but nor could any be described as dry. Particular stand outs were the eggy bread, hash brown and sausage. So good in fact that at times i was forced just to pause and let it all sink in, this was haute cuisine fast food.

Of particular interest to myself was the new Lavaza coffee. I was trained by one of the UKs leading coffee experts Paul Meikle Janney at his Yorkshire Coffee Academy. Therefore I wanted to give the coffee a thorough critique. I am pleased to report that this has a true coffee taste, smooth and flavoursome unlike most burnt tasting coffees.I found it full-bodied and fat on the tongue, with the kind of pleasantly fermented fruit tones that suggest chocolate-covered cherries. A shimmer of sharp acidity is balanced by sweetness. The finish is clean, rich and chocolaty. Slightly disappointing in small milk, where the coffee seems to simplify without softening, but in larger milk the fruit and chocolate tones bloom nicely.

There are of course detractors. David Kisilevsky BK vice Pesident said he would be "surprised" if the initiative takes off and went onto say "I believe KFC will struggle to pursuade UK customers to accept a breakfast offering"

However neutral parties take a different view:

Penny Harris, senior inventor for innovation agency ?What If!, called in on day two and was impressed by the food, staff attitude and reaction from customers. 'What struck me is that it felt quite natural. People seemed to take it for granted that KFC was open at that time serving breakfast,' she says. Nonetheless she also questioned its positioning. 'I would like to see KFC communicate a freshness message,' she says. 'The menu offers free-range eggs and smoothies but KFC doesn't seem to want to capitalise on that.'

The real acid test however comes from the customers and judging by the success in London and subsequent expansion, people it seems are voting with their feet.