/R E P E A T -- KFC Schools Customers, Colonel Sanders Style/

Brand announces world-first KFC Cooking School

TORONTO, Feb. 24, 2017 /CNW/ - KFC Canada is opening its doors and letting customers behind the counter with the world's first KFC Cooking School. On Sunday, March 12, 2017 class is in session as students have the chance to attend one hour classes at locations in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto where they'll learn how to cook KFC's finger lickin' good chicken.

Although KFC franchises around the world have allowed customers and fans behind the scenes in the past, letting the public cook their own meals is a KFC world-first. "We've heard our consumers say they want to know more about what they're eating, so we're giving them the chance to learn exactly what goes on in a KFC kitchen," says Beverley D'Cruz, Marketing Director, KFC Canada. "Real cooks are at the heart of every KFC kitchen. They make our chicken from scratch every day, using real chicken sourced from farms across Canada, prepared with the same time and pride you would at home. We're giving our customers the chance to find that out first-hand."

Not only is the chicken served at KFC restaurants 100% real, Canadian farm-raised chicken, but every single piece is hand-breaded and cooked with pride by real KFC cooks. In the past six months, every KFC cook went through recommitment training to ensure that they continue to take the care to hand-bread every piece of chicken, just the way KFC founder Colonel Sanders did in 1952. Now KFC is offering the same training to its customers, giving them the opportunity to sign up and learn from KFC's own dedicated cooks the proper nine step, 30-minute process to cook KFC chicken from scratch.

"I have met and watched KFC chefs in action, and I have so much respect for their dedication to what they do," says Bob Blumer, celebrity chef and KFC spokesperson, who was in Toronto to help announce the KFC cooking school. "It's not easy. The colonel's way has stood the test of time, and these cooks are truly committed to following every step and delivering the perfect product every time. They take as much care as I do when I'm cooking in my own kitchen."

The KFC Cooking School is part of KFC's larger scale recommitment to its heritage that began with Colonel Sanders and his passion for creating great-tasting fried chicken for over 60 years. Since 2010, KFC Canada has been actively improving its customer experience, which includes the revitalization of its stores, an awareness campaign surrounding it's 100% real, Canadian farm-raised chicken and increased transparency about its cooks and their commitment to not only doing things the right way, but the Colonel's Way when it comes to cooking KFC chicken.

How Can Canadians Attend?

• Visit www.KFC.ca/KFCcookingschool to select your location, preferred time and sign up.
• Registration opens on Monday, February 27, 2017 and closes once all classes are full.
• To register and reserve a spot, prospective students are asked to make a $5 tuition deposit, which is donated directly to Add Hope, KFC's global CSR initiative.

Fans and prospective students can visit www.KFC.ca/KFCcookingschool to learn more and tag #CookWithTheColonel on any of KFC's Canadian social channels - @kfc_canada on Twitter and Instagram or KFC Canada on Facebook.

But the real question is, will students find out the Colonel's top secret?

"They can try," D'Cruz tells us. "Trust me, they'll learn plenty of cooking tips that have never left a KFC kitchen before, but our 11 herbs and spices will always be kept with the Colonel!"

About KFC Canada
Founded by Colonel Harland Sanders in 1952, KFC is now the world's most popular chain of chicken restaurants. To this day the Colonel's own blend of 11 herbs and spices is still used to season our Original Recipe® chicken and it still remains a very closely guarded secret. KFC's specialty is our famous Original Recipe® chicken, but we also feature a variety of freshly prepared sandwiches and wraps, on the go snack items, home-style sides, desserts and beverages.

Today KFC Corporation is a subsidiary of YUM! Brands Inc. and operates more than 15,000 restaurants in 109 countries around the world including more than 600 locations right here in Canada.

To learn more about KFC Canada, visit our website KFC.ca.

About Add Hope
KFC Add Hope is KFC's global Corporate Social Responsibility initiative. KFC cares about the Community in which it serves and most importantly cares about world hunger and how it affects many people around the world. Add Hope's aim is to highlight and drive action in the movement to end world hunger by increasing money raised annually for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and other hunger relief agencies around the globe, and encouraging volunteerism.

Since 2007, KFC's efforts have raised $600 million for WFP and other hunger related organizations and is helping to provide 2.4 billion meals to the WFP and save the lives of millions of people in remote corners of the world.

SOURCE KFC Canada

Media Contact: Graeme Morrison, Edelman, [email protected] / 416-850-0163