Colonel Sanders Called KFC Gravy 'Wallpaper Paste,' Triggering 1978 Lawsuit
Updated
Updated · Fox News · May 31
Colonel Sanders Called KFC Gravy 'Wallpaper Paste,' Triggering 1978 Lawsuit
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 31
1978 court records show Colonel Harland Sanders blasted KFC's gravy as "horrible" and likened it to "wallpaper paste" after recipe changes made following his 1964 sale of the chain.
Sanders said the revised gravy was made from cheap water, flour and starch, lacked nutrition, and no longer matched the quality of the original version he had served.
A Bowling Green, Kentucky, franchise sued Sanders and the Courier-Journal over the remarks, but the case was dismissed and the Kentucky Supreme Court upheld that ruling because he criticized KFC generally, not that outlet specifically.
Decades later, the gravy still has a loyal following, with online fans split between defending it as comfort food and arguing Sanders-era gravy used a richer recipe with cracklings, milk and cream.
Why did KFC's founder publicly call his own famous gravy 'wallpaper paste'?
How did a legal battle allow Colonel Sanders to publicly criticize his former company?
What was the secret to Colonel Sanders' original gravy recipe that KFC abandoned?