Daviot Kelly, Staff Reporter
Left: Here's the chicken! General Manager of Restaurants of Jamaica, Mark Myers (centre), unveils the new KFC product, Curry Crunch Chicken, with Philip Hibbert and Michelle Myers-Mayne. The launch was held at the Courtleigh Hotel, Knutsford Boulevard, New Kingston, on Saturday, July 15. Right: These little ladies greeted guests at the KFC Curry Crunch Chicken launch. - PHOTOS BY WINSTON SILL/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
THE SECRET is out! KFC is now offering curry chicken! The new product, the Colonel's Curry Crunch chicken, was officially introduced to the Jamaican public on Tuesday, but the media and other specially invited guests were given a sneak peek, we mean taste, at the Courtleigh Hotel on Saturday.
There was definitely an Indian flavour at work here with sari-wearing children greeting guests, Hindu god decorations and the Garden Terrace of the Courtleigh looking like a scene from the movie version of Arabian Nights. Dancers from the Anjali School of Dance weaved their way into the gathering and were followed by KFC officials led by Mark Myers parading juicy-looking pieces of the new taste.
In case you haven't seen what this curry creation looks like, it doesn't seem any different from the regular fried chicken. However, the taste is the Colonel providing his unique version of curry! The curry flavour is unmistakable and guests seemed to savour it with regular KFC side orders coleslaw, biscuits and sweet corn.
Tina Myers-Matalon, marketing manager of KFC, said that the Colonel's Curry Crunch was the first new chicken-on-the-bone product for 10 years. (Chicken-on-the-bone refers to whole pieces of chicken so even though popcorn chicken, for example, is still fairly new, it doesn't fit the category). The recipe was developed in Malaysia, where it's a huge success.
Taste tests have been done on the curry chicken and the results were so good, after a year of planning and preparation, the curry chicken was unveiled. The Jamaican KFC stores are the first to offer their customers the new treat, with Trinidad and Tobago to follow soon.
The only downside for lovers of the curry chicken is that it will only be around for six weeks. For that time, Mrs. Myers-Matalon admitted that the hot-and-spicy chicken was going to be off the market. Big risk they know, but hey, that's business!
So, feeling like a little curry? At least for a few weeks, you don't necessarily have to cook it yourself!
