KFC: Note Isn't Colonel's Recipe

Monday, January 29th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

SHELBYVILLE, Ky. (AP) â€” A handwritten note found in the basement of a home once owned by Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Colonel Harland Sanders does not contain his secret recipe, KFC said Monday.

Restaurateurs Tommy and Cherry Settle, who bought the home in the 1970s, found the leather-bound 1964 datebook 16 months ago. It contained a recipe listing 11 herbs and spices in specific proportions.

Tommy Settle wanted to authenticate the recipe in hopes of selling the book to a collector, and contacted KFC, said the Settles' attorney, Glenn Cohen. KFC responded last week by suing for possession of the book and recipe.

``We thoroughly examined the list of ingredients Mr. Settle threatened to sell through public auction, and it is definitely not the secret original recipe,'' Amy Sherwood, a spokeswoman for KFC parent company Tricon Global Restaurants Inc., said in a statement.

However, KFC did not immediately drop the lawsuit. Calls to KFC were not immediately returned.

The Settles' attorney said the daybook, which is being held by the court, should be returned right away to the Settles. ``It does have value and they have the right of ownership to that document,'' Cohen said.

The Settles bought the white mansion in Shelbyville from Sanders and his wife, Claudia. The Settles operate the Claudia Sanders Dinner House next door. The restaurant specializes in Southern-style cooking.

Cohen said the couple have not divulged the recipe and do not use it at their restaurant.

Sanders came up with his famous fried chicken recipe in the late 1930s for Sanders Court and Cafe, his roadside eatery in Corbin, Ky. Sanders died in 1980. According to KFC, only a few people know the recipe, and they have signed strict confidentiality agreements.

``One company blends a formulation that represents only part of the recipe. Another spice company blends the remainder,'' according to the company's Web site. ``Neither company has the complete recipe.''

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On the Net:

KFC: http://www.kfc.com