Colonel Sanders and his secret recipe for Kentucky Fried Chicken are an iconic part of America - and so is a visit to the place where it all began: The Harland Sanders Museum and Cafe in Corbin, Kentucky.
It's such an integral part of America that most of us have the delicious aroma of a bucket of Colonel Sanders' original recipe, Kentucky Fried Chicken imprinted on our memories - if not sitting on the kitchen table right now, waiting for us to get off the internet and dig in. But wait ... the popular restaurant and American tradition had to start somewhere. Was Colonel Sanders a real person?
You bet he was, and he got his start in Corbin, Kentucky.
Harland "Colonel" Sanders started his career as an accidental restaurateur in the early 1930's via operating a gas and service station in Corbin. Noting that his customers were often looking for something to eat, the quick thinking Sanders began cooking for them, seating them at his own dining table in the service station's living quarters.
He soon began to realize that a lot of the people who stopped in for gas were doing so hungry and around meal times, so he came up with his concept of "home meal replacement," selling complete dinners - "Sunday Dinner, Seven Days a Week" - to an America that was increasingly on the go.
Harland Sanders' timely idea and the fame for it took off like such wildfire that, in 1935, Kentucky Governor Ruby Laffoon made Sanders a Kentucky Colonel in recognition of his contributions to the state's fame for cuisine.
Today, KFC annually serves more than a billion "finger-lickin' good" Kentucky Fried Chicken dinners in over 80 countries and territories - but you can stop by the original home of Kentucky Fried Chicken, the Harland Sanders Museum and Cafe in Corbin, Kentucky, to experience that 1940's, "Dine-In" atmosphere where it all started.
Restored to its original condition, the Harland Sanders Museum and Cafe contains Colonel Sanders' original kitchen, where he perfected the now world-famous secret recipe for his fried chicken. Mmmm, mm: finger lickin' good!