The Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant chain, now a division of Yum! Brands and rebranded KFC, has long used the proprietary nature of its seasoning blend, purportedly containing "eleven herbs and spices," as a selling point.
A Chicago Tribune travel reporter was assigned to visit and write about the Harland Sanders Cafe and Museum. A member of the family of the founder of the chain showed the reporter a deceased aunt's photo album and her will, on the back of which the following recipe had been written:
11 Spices – Mix With 2 Cups White Fl.
1) 2/3 Ts Salt
2) 1/2 Ts Thyme
3) 1/2 Ts Basil
4) 1/3 Ts Origino (sic) [sic]
5) 1 Ts Celery Salt
6) 1 Ts Black Pepper
7) 1 Ts Dried Mustard
8) 4 Ts Paprika
9) 2 Ts Garlic Salt
10) 1 Ts Ground Ginger
11) 3 Ts White Pepper
Reporters prepared some chicken using breading made with the recipe. However, the flavour differed from that of the chicken served at KFC. When MSG was sprinkled on the chicken, the flavour became similar to KFC's chicken. A KFC spokesperson confirmed to the Tribune that the company uses MSG.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 28 2016, @03:45PM
Guess he was a more than a little disappointed by KFC's version.
(Score: 2) by cubancigar11 on Sunday August 28 2016, @06:13PM
It's funny, because wikipedia says (with citations) that he was specifically talking about a certain recipe at a certain restaurant and then that restaurant sued him for defamation.
Yet the court's judgment says he was referring to KFC in general and not to any particular restaurant.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 29 2016, @06:28AM
If I were the judge, I'd get some independent food tasters and if his original recipe was really much better I'd let him off as it being an accurate and fair comment, and not defamation. Someone used to high standards might understandably say lower grade stuff is "wallpaper paste".
[1] He's no mild mannered chap (having lost his job before due to brawling, he's also been involved in a shootout).
(Score: 2) by jasassin on Tuesday August 30 2016, @12:26PM
That is the opposite of the way it should be. If you eat at a place and you believe it tasted like shit, and you write I thought it tasted like shit, that's not libel. This same thing was on Judge Judy awhile ago. She told the plaintiff to take a hike.
Now if you were to say all KFC's taste like shit, and you didn't eat there, that could be libelous. Bass ackwards shit going on there.
jasassin@gmail.com GPG Key ID: 0xE6462C68A9A3DB5A
(Score: 3, Interesting) by cubancigar11 on Tuesday August 30 2016, @12:51PM
Yes but Mr. Sanders held different position that us. He was the brand ambassador and was given the job to talk about all-of-KFC. In that case, saying that one restaurant is different from the franchise could very well be breach of contract. I am thinking the owners thought a lot and chose to err on his side, and the restaurant was forced to sue him personally.