KFC opens the doors to its first tasting menu in the world available at the pop-up restaurant in Sydney

KFC has successfully turned to fine dining with its secret herbs and spices, transforming the quintessential “dirty bird” experience into pure luxury.

The chain’s famous restaurant offers a fancy eleven-course tasting dinner for die-hard KFC fans, complete with chicken covered in gold.

The experience is only available at a secret location in Sydney for three nights, from April 1 to April 3.

But the world-famous restaurant opened its doors to a host of notable guests including established chefs, foodies and celebrities for an exclusive taster on March 31.

The event brought together many culinary stars, including MasterChef’s Reynold Poernomo, Sarah Tiong and Pete Campbell. TV personality Anna Polyviou, chef Mitch Orr, Peking Duk stars Adam Hyde and Reuben Styles, reality TV stars Sophie Tieman and Tina Provis were also in attendance.

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“Customers were encouraged to forget their preconceptions about fine dining and have fun with their food,” said Vincent Yeow Lim, owner of Chinese restaurant Lawson and TikTok celebrity chef.

KFC pulled out all the stops to make the event an evening to remember, including treating guests to a glass of champagne and rolling out the red carpet before their decadent dinner.

Kristi Woolrych, CMO at KFC Australia, commented: “We are delighted that our KFC Degustation launch party guests were blown away by the innovative and theatrical ways of presenting our food, truly proving that it is high quality enough to a fine dining restaurant.’

She added, “Now we look forward to hosting our fans for three nights this weekend to enjoy a premium dining experience they can have fun with that is uniquely KFC.”

The popcorn chicken will accompany the gnocchi in this very elegant dish

Following the announcement of KFC’s Degustation restaurant earlier this month, more than 20,000 fans joined the waiting list to secure a spot at the hottest new restaurant in town.

The meal will feature the chain’s biggest sellers from popular restaurants, just served a little differently.

The sumptuous 11-course tasting was developed in partnership with Nelly Robinson, patron chef and owner of Sydney’s Nel Restaurant.

“We’ve truly created a unique experience by fusing KFC and fine dining,” he said. “There’s nothing better than watching guests in awe as they’re taken on a culinary journey full of unexpected delights!”

The dining experience begins with ‘You Call That A Burger?’ – a ‘tomato-ey’ marshmallow with secret dusting and cheese.

Then comes the Zinger Katsu, a delicious bite consisting of a mini zinger, katsu juice, curry mayo and dill on a potato cushion, followed by supercharged wings cooked on a bed of charcoal.

A decadent potato and gravy served as a wax candle is next on the list, after which the world-famous chicken restaurant proves their seafood dishes are just as delicious. The Zinger Kingfish is presented on a yogurt salad with lobster.

Diners then receive the colonel’s face prepared from some of their most popular sauces.

“Don’t be shy, there are no rules here!” Grab your plate and lick the Colonel’s face to savor the flavors of Kentucky Fried Chicken, tomato, lettuce and pepper mayonnaise,” KFC said.

Supercharged wings are cooked over a bed of charcoal and will be served first

Chicken popcorn makes an appearance next, accompanied by a soup of celery root, mushroom gnocchi and basil topped with an edible floral garnish.

The original recipe’s signature drumstick is served next, and the chicken is sprinkled with quinoa and gold – earning the dish the nickname “Fried Gold”.

KFC’s dessert dishes were equally indulgent, the first being fries served with acacia seed ice cream and burnt pineapple. This was followed by a nitrogen-soaked chocolate mousse topped with a Petit Krusher – bringing back an old favorite in a piece of chocolate-peppermint goodness.

The menu includes nitrogen-dipped chocolate mousse

Menu items are designed to be comfortable in a fine dining setting

Potato and gravy are presented like a candle, according to a first look at the menu

Drumsticks will be served with gold flakes – to celebrate their place on the menu

The 11-course broadcast is a world first for The Colonel and costs $75 per person, with 100% of proceeds going to the company’s charity partners: The Black Dog Institute, ReachOut Australia and Whitelion.

Tasting expert Nelly Robinson also added, “We have designed an upscale dining adventure, just like customers would find at my own restaurant.

“So we can’t wait to see their reactions to each of the devilishly good dishes.”

Lucky KFC fans were contacted on March 23, 2022 to find out if they had landed a spot at one of KFC’s tasting parties.