Founder of KFC - Colonel Sanders. Biography, activity and history

Colonel Sanders (real name Garland David) is a well-known founder of the fast food chain KFS. The signature recipe of these establishments were pieces of fried chicken in batter, seasoned with a special mixture of spices and aromatic herbs. The stylized portrait of Sanders still flaunts on all the restaurants and company packages of the company. In fact, Garland was never an officer. The title of "Colonel" he received from the governor of the state for outstanding public services. In this article, we will present his brief biography.

Childhood

Many customers of restaurants "KFS" do not even know what year Colonel Sanders was born. Now we will fix it. Garland Sanders was born in Henryville (Ind.) In 1890. The father of the boy worked as an assistant to local farmers. This brought the family a small salary and allowed the mother to stay at home with children. But the boy's father suddenly died when he was six years old. To feed the children, the mother went to work, and the future Colonel Sanders sat at home all day and looked after his sister and brother. Such a life allowed the boy to discover the talent for cooking. A few months later, Garland knew how to master some of the most popular dishes in the family. Of course, the boy had no time to study, and the school had to be visited in snatches.

First job

At the age of 10, he got a job at the farm. In a month he was paid only $ 2. After a couple of years, his mother remarried and sent the boy to the nearby town of Greenwood. There he again got to the farm. At the age of 14 Garland finally left school. That is, the total length of his studies amounted to only 6 classes.

Search yourself

Until 15 years, the future Colonel Sanders led a semi-migratory lifestyle, changing places of residence and occupation. And then Garland began to work as a conductor of a tram. At the age of 16, the young man decided to join the army. He got to Cuba, which in fact was at that time a colony of the United States. There Garland served for six months and fled, settling later as an assistant blacksmith. Because of low wages, the young man decided to change his profession and become a stoker. In this position, Sanders stayed longer. Life of Garland began to improve, and he even married his friend Claudia. But after the appearance of the child's spouse Sanders unexpectedly fired. His wife strongly loved Garland and was already used to his search for himself.

At one time, the future owner of the "CFS" tried to engage in mental work - he enrolled in correspondence courses for law to continue work in court. A few months later he was bored with this occupation. Up to 40 years old, he tried many jobs: car mechanic, tire salesman, ferryman, stevedore, insurance agent, etc.

Life begins at 40 years old

So imperceptibly for himself Garland began to approach the fifth ten. He met the 40th anniversary in a deep depression. All the youth passed, and Sanders had neither permanent work nor his own home. Somehow he listened on the radio humorous speech Will Rogers. And one of the comic phrases made a deep impression on Garland and turned his life around. It sounded like this: "Life begins only with forty years." We can say that from that moment the story of Colonel Sanders begins. Henceforth, Garland decided to work exclusively for himself.

Car and snack shop

Small savings allowed Sanders to open his own workshop. He very successfully chose a place near the 25th federal highway, which connected Florida with the northern states. This provided a large client flow. The future Colonel Sanders lived with his family right there at the car repair shop.

Over time, Garland began to offer tired food from the road to customers. He loved to cook and did it in the home kitchen, and placed the visitors in a separate room. There was only one table and six chairs. Mostly on the menu was chicken, which Sanders did best. A year later, Garland had regular customers, and he noticed that the lion's share of the revenue is brought by the eatery, and not by the car repair shop. It was decided to give the mini-establishment a name. Above the entrance Sanders hung a sign "Kentucky roast chicken according to a special recipe." He also came up with a technical novelty. Many of the diner customers often hurried, and half an hour for frying the chicken seemed to Garland a very long time. The solution was found quickly. Sanders visited the advertising presentation of the newly appeared pressure cookers, where food was prepared under pressure. He bought himself one of the models and learned to cook juicy chicken in just 15 minutes. A pressure cooker and spices - that was the secret of cooking Kentucky chickens.

Success

For the first time in his life, Garland was pleased with his own work. First, he was paid for a hobby, and secondly - no one could fire him. The glory of Kentucky chickens spread quickly. By the mid-1930s, all people who had visited Sanders's diner perceived them as a "national" dish of Kentucky. Perhaps, it was Garland's main success in introducing his product into the public consciousness. Many people did not understand how a person with six classes of education and unfinished legal courses managed to achieve this.

Getting the rank

In 1935, Robi Lafun (Governor of Kentucky) took Garland as a member of the honorable "Order of Kentucky Colonels" with the following wording: "For Contribution to the Development of the Roadside Food Industry". The received rank of the colonel warmed up in Sanders concealed conceit. He decided to build a restaurant and a motel nearby.

New restaurant

The opening took place in 1937. Founder KFC Colonel Sanders appeared before the guests in a white suit with a black bow tie. The image ended with a wedge of a wedge and gray hair.

This character had a huge success with the public. Now Garland always went only in a white suit. Clients lined up. The number of chickens sold could be determined by the amount of seasoning required. Sanders kneaded it like cement in the back room of the cafe. A few bags could have gone in a day.

Those years were gold for Garland. Any problems were only encouraging and forced to go forward. In 1939 there was an unpleasant event, witnessed by Colonel Sanders. KFC is completely burned out. But Garland rebuilt it anew in the shortest possible time. In the same year, Duncan Hines (culinary critic) mentioned his institution in his guidebook, calling the colonel's chicks a special attraction of Kentucky.

Loss of business

In pleasant hassles, the years flew by unnoticed, and Sanders was already thinking about quiet old age, but fate gave him an unpleasant surprise. In the beginning of 1950, bypassing the 25th federal highway, the 75th was completed. The client thread dried up overnight. In 1952, Garland was already short of money for the maintenance of the "CFS". Colonel Sanders sold it at an auction to pay off creditors. At age 62, he lost everything he had: money, home and work. The only thing Garland could count on was a pension of $ 105.

New business

But Colonel Sanders did not want to live as a poor pensioner and came up with a new business. He began to tour the nearest restaurants and cafes, inviting them to use his author's seasoning. For this they had to pay him 5 cents per chicken. Very few agreed. Nevertheless, by the end of the 1950s, Garland had already worked with 200 eateries. By 1964, the number of franchises increased to 600, and Sanders received a proposal to sell the business. The buyers were a group of investors who paid $ 2 million for KFS.

Last years

At the age of 84, Colonel Sanders, whose biography was described above, published a book entitled "Life is zealously licking hands". In it, he fully described his life's path. Having performed this sacred "debt" before the society, he retired, and until his death he indulged in harmless pleasures like a game of golf. The only thing that upset Garland, this changed after his departure from the "KFS" taste of Kentucky chickens. In his interviews, he often stated: "They are too carried away by commerce and cook the chicken as if it were horrible." Sanders died in 1980 from leukemia. The colonel was 90 years old.