I completely agree that KFC has declined over the years. I get nostalgic thinking of my family hauling buckets of chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, biscuits, and coleslaw to school picnics. Yet, when I suggest doing the same for our family, my husband and I never pull the trigger… The food is just not the same as 30+ years ago.

On road trips south we often pass the historic site where Colonel Sanders first fried up his now famous fried chicken and yet we have never stopped.

It took our family traveling all the way to South Africa (as many SN readers heard about last year) for us to first present our kids with KFC. We had arrived later than expected after traveling for 20+ hours and finally convenience outweighed our skepticism and melancholy over the once wholesome and hearty dinner option.

We bought a family meal and, while none of our children would eat the chicken and only ate the side dishes, the chicken was actually really tasty. The difference? It had significantly more seasoning and was even called “spicy” by our daughters. So, my husband and I had to fly around the globe to finally enjoy KFC as adults.

With that said, South Africa and the food brand Simba may have gone too far with their KFC flavored chips:

It makes me wonder if the KFC’s in Japan are actually amazing and are completely worthy to be served as a traditional Christmas feast. In the US though, even less than an hour from its birthplace, KFC is definitely not worth the money or the heartburn.

For more fun history, check out the Fat Electrician’s history of the franchise:
https://youtu.be/KjVHW7a4XUw?is=PuC6H0Q_mEJMVN0g