KFC US head chef, Bob Das teaches actress and Saturday Night Live comedienne, Rachel Dratch, how to make KFC Original Recipe fried chicken.
KFC US head chef, Bob Das teaches actress and Saturday Night Live comedienne, Rachel Dratch, how to make KFC Original Recipe fried chicken. (Photo: Diane Bondareff/AP Images for KFC)

LOUISVILLE – KFC recently launched an initiative to ensure that cooks in KFC kitchens are reading from the same original recipe.

KFC recently launched a training initiative at 4,200 locations in the United States. Managers and cooks underwent re-certification in the company’s “Chicken Mastery” program designed to reinforce the 25-minute process for preparing and cooking “Original Recipe” chicken. 

Jason Marker, KFC
Jason Marker, president, KFC

“To everyone who grew up with the familiar taste of KFC and has turned away from us in recent years, you can come back again,” Jason Marker, president of KFC, said in a statement. “KFC is getting back to the way our founder made chicken — The Hard Way — the right way. We’re ensuring every KFC cook understands the Colonel’s once patented process that helped make KFC the world's most famous chicken.”

The retraining effort is part of KFC’s drive to regain relevance among consumers. Sales at KFC have been on the decline for at least a decade. Updated restaurants and investments in new equipment and marketing also are part of the chain’s turnaround efforts.

To date, KFC has updated 98 percent of its kitchens with new equipment. The company set a goal of remodeling 3,000 restaurants over the next three years.

“…Over the past six months we have invested more than 100,000 hours retraining more than 20,000 employees in cooking and serving Kentucky Fried Chicken the way the Colonel intended,” Marker said. “And today is the day we're ready to welcome you back.”