Just because fast food has a less-than-stellar reputation doesn’t mean those chains should settle for mediocrity. A KFC in Australia is shooting for the stars — well, a Michelin star. While it’s true that Michelin stars are usually reserved for top-tier restaurants around the world, this KFC owner in Alice Springs believes his franchise is deserving of the honor.
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A KFC in Australia Is Campaigning for a Michelin Star
“We use fresh chickens that are delivered into the store every day and hand-breaded in our kitchen by our cooks,” owner Sam Edelman told Metro UK. “There is some skill involved.”
He made his case for receiving a Michelin star by citing the guide itself. “The criteria for two stars,” he said, “is ‘excellent cooking worth a detour or exceptional cuisine worth a special journey.’ We have people who come to our KFC from 500km or 1000km away. My KFC is the most remote KFC in the world and that’s what sets me apart. I know people make a journey to come to my restaurant…We have done a catering order for a gold mine that was in Western Australia — we’re in the Northern Territory. It was [an] AUS$1000 order. They ordered a private hire car to collect the order and take it straight to the airport. They chucked it on the plane and flew it to the gold mine.”
Edelman was apparently inspired by watching the Netflix show Street Food, in which a street food vendor in Bangkok was awarded a Michelin star. “If this street vendor can get the Michelin star why can’t we?” he asked.
Edelman has even launched a Facebook group called “Kentucky Fried Chicken deserves a Michelin Star,” where you can support his quest and learn about his progress (KFC recently flew him to Paris, and Australian food reviewers came knocking). Unfortunately for Edelman, Michelin doesn’t publish a guide for Australia, so all his efforts will end up being for naught. 