TWO of the most closely guarded trade secrets in the world today are the formula for Coca-Cola, and Colonel Sanders’ original recipe of 11 herbs and spices to make Kentucky fried chicken, marketed as KFC.
Everyone wants to be in on a secret, and there have been countless efforts, without success, to discover the ingredients of these irresistible victuals.
For over 100 years, the formula for Coca-Cola was locked away in a vault in a New York bank. Celebrating it’s 125th anniversary, the formula was relocated to another strong box at The World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, a museum where visitors can try to re-create the taste of Coca-Cola with the help of a virtual Tastemaker.
Created by a pharmacist in 1886 as a medicine, it used to contain caffeine and cocaine. In 1903, fresh coca leaves were removed from the formula, and since then Coca-Cola has used a cocaine-free coca leaf extract. There are also 35g of sugar in a regular can of Coca-Cola, which WHO says can lead to obesity and diabetes. So if your intention is to remain healthy, well-muscled and beautiful beyond the nominal life span of three score years and ten, consider limiting your intake of this deliciously addictive drink.
Fast food fried chicken is popular all over the world. Crispy, crunchy and full of flavour, the very mention of this succulent snack can make your mouth water. A wildly popular version of fried chicken was created by Colonel Sanders in 1930, when he started cooking for hungry motorists at his service station in Corbin, Kentucky. Kentucky fried chicken, universally known as KFC, owes its popularity to a distinctive, top-secret recipe consisting of 11 classified herbs and spices and a unique frying technique.
Zimbabwe is no stranger to the KFC franchise, which operated in Harare and Bulawayo for several years until 2008, when hyperinflation sent the economy over the edge. Remember the empty shelves in the supermarkets, and the struggle to find someone who knew someone who could provide you with a bag of mealie meal and 2kg of sugar?
In 2014 KFC was back with bang, serving dishes specifically for the Zimbabwean palate, such as Streetwise 3, with three pieces of chicken and eight nuggets of sadza with gravy.
Two months ago, a new KFC Drive Thru and its conjoined twin, a Redan service station, opened at 167 ED Mnangagwa Road. This was great news for lovers of the sweet, salty umami taste of crunchy deep fried chicken, served in so many delicious ways. Instead of driving thru, or ordering a delivery, George and I planned to sit in for a mid-week lunch. There was ample parking available, and a self-service air pump available should you want to check your tyre pressures.
Inside KFC the floors and tables were spotless. We joined a short queue of customers awaiting their orders, and a helpful security guard smartly attired in black showed me how to use an electronic terminal to order food. I punched in our order for 8 Zinger wings, two sides of chips, a tub of coleslaw and two bottles of Bonaqua spring water. Comfortably seated at our table we could see the Redan forecourt, where Bunny Wailer and Amai Musalads were filling up, or look out over the mealie fields on the wetlands across the road.
Served on a paper tray, the wings were spicy, well seasoned and perfectly cooked, while the chips were golden brown and tender within. The creamy coleslaw was zesty and freshly made, the best I’ve tasted in the last few years. A soft-serve ice cream chocolate sundae to follow was disappointingly lacking in flavour.
There was a steady stream of customers buying take outs ranging from burgers, twisters (tortilla wrapped around crispy chicken with lettuce, tomato and a variety of dressings), wings, lunch boxes and buckets of chicken. Car after car pulled up at the drive-thru hatch, while small families and couples chose to sit down inside.
Friendly cashier Rutendo told me that business is good. Clients are not only hungry motorists, nearby residents, or students on their way back to St Ignatius College at nearby Chishawasha. ‘We have bougie clients’, she said. ‘They spend over $100 to buy chicken for dinner parties at home!’.
I was curious to see inside the kitchen, to meet the chef and to check out the deep fat fryer. And maybe to sneak a peek at the secret herb and spice mixture. But while Rutendo was adamant that no one could be admitted to the closely guarded precinct, she did share her suspicion that one of the secret spices might be pepper.
While health fanatics might claim that KFC chicken is high in calories, unhealthy fats and sodium, there’s no denying that it has a unique flavour, is always fresh and satisfies one’s occasional craving for fast food. If I was walking the green mile towards the inevitable, I might not choose a Wicked Zinger Box meal with a can of Coke for my last meal on earth. But when hunger strikes and the pantry is bare it will be an option, and who knows? I might even figure out the secret formula.
A Matter of Taste with Charlotte Malakoff