Kentucky Fried Chicken and Lifetime collaborated on a holiday Lifetime Original Mini-Movie, “A Recipe for Seduction” featuring “Saved By the Bell” actor Mario Lopez as Colonel Harland Sanders, a handsome, young chef with a secret fried chicken recipe and a dream.
“A Recipe for Seduction” is Lifetime and KFC’s first-ever branded custom mid-form content. The 15-minute mini-movie follows the romantic trials and travails of a young heiress faced with the affections of a suitor handpicked by her mother. But the arrival of Colonel Sanders “…sets in motion a series of events that unravel the mother’s devious plans.”
“We’re no stranger to heating things up for the holidays, just like our famous fried chicken scented Firelog,” said Andrea Zahumensky, chief marketing officer of KFC US. “But let’s face it, we could all use a little distraction this holiday season, so why not fill some of your time at home with a suspenseful drama and the comfort of our world-famous fried chicken? ‘A Recipe for Seduction’ is a perfect excuse to curl up at home and escape to your own happily ever after.”
Winter’s coming
US Foods Holding Corp. created the “Make It This Winter” platform of resources to help foodservice operators tackle ongoing challenges brought on by the pandemic. Resources include one-on-one consultations and new outdoor dining products such as heaters, outdoor furniture and dining tents.
“With colder weather setting in and new restrictions going into effect across the country, our ongoing commitment to helping restaurant operators adapt during the pandemic has never been more important,” said Jim Osborne, senior vice president of customer strategy and innovation.
Cultured meat club
Eat Just Inc., a producer of cultured meat products, made its first commercial sale of chicken meat made from animal cells to Singapore-based 1880, a restaurant known for its innovative menus and social impact programming. Singapore is the first country in the world to commercialize cell-based meat products.
“This historic step, the first-ever commercial sale of cultured meat, moves us closer to a world where the majority of meat we eat will not require tearing down a single forest, displacing a single animal’s habitat or using a single drop of antibiotics,” said Josh Tetrick, co-founder and chief executive officer of Eat Just. “We’re thrilled to partner with 1880 to launch a product that will someday be served on the dinner tables of families from the suburbs of Birmingham, Alabama, to the skyscrapers of Shanghai.”
The first diners to experience cultured meat at 1880 will be treated to three cultured chicken dishes, each recipe influenced by a top chicken-producing country: China, Brazil and the United States. Executive Chef Colin Buchan said, “This is a very exciting collaboration for me. It’s working with new ingredients, something very creative, something we’ve never quite seen before and I think people are going to love it.”
Overherd
“We are encouraged by reports of a chicken sandwich war in 2021 in the QSR market and we wish all the participants much success.”
– Joe Sanderson, chairman and chief executive officer of Sanderson Farms Inc., on the prospect of increased demand for chicken from the foodservice segment in the year ahead, as he discussed the company’s 2020 fiscal fourth-quarter results during a conference call with analysts on Dec. 17.
