Anybody in the chicken biz knows that
Nashville rules the roost when it comes to hot chicken. Yet, Atlanta-based Church's Fried Chicken is not afraid to go head to head with the singed taste buds of Nashvillians, and have chosen our fair city as one of their main target markets as they roll out their new Spicier Spicy Chicken recipe.
There are several reasons why they chose Nashville, not the least being that they are seeking to re-establish their brand in town after their recent purchase of locally-owned fast food poultry joint Mrs. Winner's. I was lucky enough to get to sample some of the new spicier chicken with Kirk Waisner, who holds the title of (I swear I'm not making this up) Chief Chicken Officer of the corporation.
And Kirk knows his spicy chicken, since he held a similar position at Popeye's prior to making the jump over to Church's. A graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, Kirk has over 20 years of experience in the food business and has been a big fan of Nashville's version of hot chicken for a long time. He knew going in that there was no way to reproduce the fire of Prince's or Bolton's in a way that would be appropriate for fast food diners.
