Fried chicken is a guilty pleasure for many and KFC is undoubtedly synonymous with the best of it.

Its apparent unique recipe and method in getting its crispy skin to become so golden.

The best way to find this out was to get in amongst the hustle and bustle of the kitchen at the Whitfield branch in Honeywood Parkway which opened in 2015.

Nagu Boggavarapu, operations director of The Caskade Group, oversees 32 KFC restaurants and 16 Taco Bells across the south of England.

The group also has the KFC in Market Square, Dover and the Taco Bell which opened at the Dockside in Chatham in April.

Reporter Andy went behind the scenes at KFC in a fetching branded hat

Referring to what makes KFC different to other fast food options, Mr Boggavarapu said: "Everything is freshly prepared, nothing is frozen apart from the popcorn chicken.

"No other fast food restaurant does everything fresh. Only the unique products served by KFC using the Colonel's secret recipe and the 7-10-7 procedure to serve each and every guest.

"We maintain very high standards and we have an external audit system with unannounced visits.

"Our restaurants have never failed this and we are up for the best franchisee of the year award. Ours are higher quality.

"No one knows the secret recipe apart from a few people in America. Not even me. Not even the managing director of KFC UK.

Operations Director, Nagu Boggavarapu, demonstrates the process of preparing the chicken

"We thoroughly clean and check the chicken and remove all the giblets. The oil is checked each and every night in order to keep the product fresh.

"Everything is stored, cooked and kept for specific times and checked thoroughly.

"My team make the difference here. I can't do it alone. They follow the rules and procedures of KFC."

5 things I learnt during my trial shift at KFC

  1. The fast food is fresher than I expected. Chicken on the bone is not frozen and is breaded by hand before being served.
  2. Breading is a meticulously strict routine. I mound on herbs and spices in the kitchen at home but in KFC, they do everything in a specific routine with everything specific to the number of seasoning shakes.
  3. The Colonel's secret recipe is more confidential than I thought. Not even the managing director of KFC UK knows it?!
  4. It's a team effort. Employees assist each other from the breading of the chicken to making the drinks and rotate stations to help out, as I got a flavour of during my shift trying different bits.
  5. It's harder than it looks. Remembering all the different timings, methods and orders takes a lot of juggling. Maybe it would come in time, but I think I should stick to my day job...

For one morning, I was part of that team and was given a tour around the kitchen discovering how everything works.

I put my branded hat on, slid on my shoe protectors and washed my hands like I've never washed them before.

Job done!

Aemie Davey, restaurant general manager, and Karina Ocampo, area coach, took me around the stock rooms.

Deliveries are made three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to the large separate walk-in refrigerators.

After watching Mr Boggavarapu - who first joined KFC as a cashier in 2002 - take a trip down memory lane by showing me the ropes of how to make the much-loved fried chicken, it was my turn to jump into the deep end of the giant seasoning bath.

Time Line

The Colonel's strict method of cooking chicken

  1. Breading

    The chicken on-the-bone is dipped into water inside a large bucket which is then turned three times and drained before being transferred to what looks like a bath of the secret seasoning of 11 herbs and spices.

    A common misconception is that the chicken comes frozen and pre-breaded but all chicken is breaded manually before being served. 

    Employees apply the Colonel's secret recipe by following his rules too, seven shakes, 10 scoops and folds and then a further seven presses to ensure the chicken is thoroughly covered in breading.

    While this may appear simple, everything has to be done to strict order, technique and timings or the chicken cannot be used.

    Legs need to be breaded twice to ensure there is no air under the skin, while wings need to be twisted into a special knot so they are cooked evenly - something that definitely has a certain knack to it from my poor attempts.

  2. Cooking

    Once breaded, the chicken is lined up in a specific formation and then dunked into the fryers for 15 minutes.

    It is then immediately transferred into the hot holding cabinet for a maximum of one-and-a-half hours.

    Chicken is left for another five minutes after being taken out of the 300+ fahrenheit fryer to continue cooking and reach an edible temperature in the hot holding cabinets.

    This means at peak times, when the restaurant in Whitfield can serve between 100 and 150 trays of chicken a day, queues can build as it takes approximately half an hour for preparation and cooking before being served.

  3. Burger

    As well as making the signature chicken, I also got a chance at making their most popular burger - the Big Daddy.

    This contains a chicken breast fillet, hash brown, bacon, cheese, lettuce, black pepper mayo and tomato ketchup.

    At the burger station, I flipped through the instruction manual showing how to create every burger on the menu and followed the step-by-step instructions for my choice.

    Burgers are made to order and fortunately no customers were served my messy effort as I instead got the opportunity to demolish it afterwards.

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