Howdy, folks — this is Summer, I am in for Duke until Tuesday morning, and welcome back to The Duke Teynor Podcast, where we explore the stories behind America’s favorite foods and traditions.
Today, we’re talkin’ about one of the most recognizable meals ever dropped into a fryer — good old KFC, Kentucky Fried Chicken.
A brand born from determination, a secret recipe, and one man in a white suit who refused to give up on his dream.
Our story starts with Harland Sanders, born way back in 1890 in Henryville, Indiana.
He wasn’t born a colonel — that title came later. He tried his hand at a little bit of everything: farmhand, streetcar conductor, insurance salesman, even a gas-station operator.
But during the Great Depression, while running a small service station in Corbin, Kentucky, Sanders started cooking meals for hungry travelers.
He didn’t have a restaurant, just a kitchen table in the back — serving fried chicken, biscuits, and gravy.
What made his chicken stand out? Pressure-cooked frying — faster than pan-frying, sealing in the flavor — and a secret blend of 11 herbs and spices.
By 1936, his food was so popular the Governor of Kentucky made him an honorary Colonel.
But it wasn’t until the 1950s that KFC truly took flight.
When the new interstate bypassed Corbin, Sanders’ restaurant lost its traffic — and most folks might’ve quit right there.
Not the Colonel.
At age 65, he packed his car with a few pressure cookers and that handwritten recipe and hit the road — going door to door to restaurants across the South, selling his chicken-cooking method.
He’d fry a sample for the owner, and if they liked it, he’d make a deal: they’d pay him five cents per chicken sold using his seasoning.
That’s how franchising began for KFC — small diners from Kentucky to Utah started flying that red-and-white banner.
By 1964, KFC had over 600 locations, and Sanders sold the company for $2 million — about $20 million today — though he stayed on as the face of the brand, white suit and all.
Fast-forward to today — KFC operates in over 145 countries with more than 25,000 restaurants worldwide.
It’s not just fried chicken anymore — the menu has adapted to local tastes:
And though the Colonel passed away in 1980, his spirit — and that handwritten recipe — are still locked in a vault at KFC’s headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky.
They say only two people in the world know the complete formula.
KFC’s legacy is more than crispy chicken — it’s the story of perseverance.
A man who didn’t find success until his mid-sixties, who believed so deeply in his product that he drove thousands of miles just to share it.
Every bucket of chicken carries that reminder: it’s never too late to chase a dream — even if it starts in the back of a gas station with a cast-iron skillet and a smile.
Thanks for listening, folks. I’m Summer for this morning only, Duke will be back tomorrow morning,
and next time you open that red-and-white box, remember there’s a whole lotta history behind those 11 herbs and spices.
Until next time, keep your stories hot and your coffee fresh.
