In the kitchens of Finger Lickin' Good!

Picture this - a global fried chicken joint, with all the trims of the place, packed with people enjoying their time. You go up to order, and naturally take a peek behind the cashier. The part of the kitchen/prep-area is visible, but not all of it. You wonder what really takes place. Is it possible to actually take a look?

Say no more, because with KFC, now you can! And how do you know you can have a tour of the kitchen? Look out for the impossible to miss binocular sign on the kitchen door. Ask the manager for a kitchen tour, and he or she will gladly give you an inside look.

Once you wear the hair net and briefed about the do's and don'ts, you will get to see how the world's tastiest chicken is getting cooked. KFC receives fresh chilled chicken every day from YUM approved supplier. After receiving the chicken, it is marinated and stored at 1-5 degree centigrade. KFC also ensures that fried chicken and French fries are never cooked in the same fryer. In fact, meat stations and vegetable stations are physically set apart. You can rest assured that the lettuce that goes in your burgers or the mangoes and the strawberries that build up the super delicious Krushers never get in touch with oil!

While in the kitchen, don't expect to pick up the secret recipe. The spice and herb mix with the flour for the chicken coating are prepared by rotating in a circular mixing drum. Also, the chicken goes through a unique 'seven-ten-seven' technique. The chicken is dipped in water, swirled about and removed before being shaken ten times. After that, the chicken is put into the flour mix where it is scooped and folded seven times, then patted down seven times.  The water used is RO (Reverse Osmosis) water sourced directly from an in-house RO plant with fitted electric geysers for hot water. Why is this important? Without a functioning RO plant and hot water, the outlet will be closed, no exceptions. This is a Global KFC requirement and standard.

Finally, the main event, the frying; you can hear the happy sizzle of the previously coated chicken now going through the final stage. The fryer takes care of it all. After 13 minutes at 171 degree Celsius, the crispy chicken is almost ready to hit the tables.

From the ready to coat chicken to the final fried ones, every batch has their own visible tag stating time and date of preparation. No reselling last night's chicken here, if a batch remains unsold after the stated time, it is removed and never set before the customers. In fact, French fries are thrown off if they aren't sold within 7 minutes. The team that is involved in the kitchen, wash their hands every 30 minutes for almost 3 minutes (following a particular cleaning process), just to ensure hygiene in the food making process.

With strict instructions to maintain clean work stations and even stricter rules to maintain proper cooking and serving temperature, the kitchen team runs like clockwork as they wheeze past to prepare and set one order after the next!

Are the kitchens ready to welcome the customers for such an inside view?

The team working in the kitchen are confident and that is what makes these tours for the customers so important. Not even at your home kitchen would you see such care for hygiene and eye for quality! Also the team works well together and they are proud to show their work to the guests!   You don't have to take our word for it though

Try it firsthand the next time you hit your nearest KFC and look out for the binocular sign on the kitchen door. While waiting for your order, you can take a tour of how your food is prepared and sit down to a meal that you know maintains the best possible standards.

Photo courtesy: KFC