‘They not like us': Overseas influencers can't keep up with the tastes of Mzansi
'I've got Kentucky Town envy, obviously,' said Vanilla Bland when she heard about Lawrence's adventure. 'But the truth is if I had one bite of the Jalapeño Blaze Double Down, or one sip the Chilli Choc Krusher or Cherry Boba Bliss, it would all be over. I'd never be able to go back to London. So maybe it's better that I just stay here and dream ...'
The Kentucky Town menu is available at participating KFC stores across SA throughout August while stocks last. Click here to find your nearest participating store.
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TimesLIVE
2 days ago
- TimesLIVE
‘They not like us': Overseas influencers can't keep up with the tastes of Mzansi
Insiders say there are no limits where Kentucky Town is concerned, and when Lawrence takes on the fierce Jalapeño Blaze Double Down, it's going to be fire. 'I've got Kentucky Town envy, obviously,' said Vanilla Bland when she heard about Lawrence's adventure. 'But the truth is if I had one bite of the Jalapeño Blaze Double Down, or one sip the Chilli Choc Krusher or Cherry Boba Bliss, it would all be over. I'd never be able to go back to London. So maybe it's better that I just stay here and dream ...' The Kentucky Town menu is available at participating KFC stores across SA throughout August while stocks last. Click here to find your nearest participating store.
Daily Maverick
4 days ago
- Daily Maverick
Hotel Foibles and Feisty Fowls — no, this isn't Fawlty Towers
On a journey from Cradock to Durban, we survive the urban nightmare of Komani to lick our psychological wounds in a surprisingly good small-town restaurant, and continue to Kokstad, where a feisty bird falls foul of your food editor. On the long roads, when we're pulling in for the night here, for petrol there, or stopping at that place over the road for dinner or breakfast, and when we have all those hours behind the wheel to fill our heads with thoughts we normally don't have the time for, we might play a little game. We might ponder on the weighty matter of which chicken dish was the best on the journey towards Durban. In particular: how would that eccentric fowl on your plate in Komani have fared if it had encountered that feisty little chook that somehow made it onto that menu in Kokstad? Not without a fight, I don't doubt. I see feathers flying in every direction as the plucky little fella from timber country lays waste to the plump hen from Queenstown. And what would the denizens of Kokstad, living their lives in the desultory timberland bypassed by travellers making their way from the interior towards the coast, make of the food served at The LivingRoom at Summerhill, which happens to be your destination? Mysterious little twists and curls of who knows what, with drizzles of this and squeezes of that, each morsel tasting exquisite yet unlike anything served on any menu in the region. So different from the Cape, where there are now many restaurants indulging in the intriguing new ways of the contemporary world-wise chef. Chef Johannes at Summerhill actually cooked us a farmyard chicken when we finally did reach Durban. Hêrrie Hoender from Kokstad would have seen that one off too, I have no doubt. And those crunchy, spicy deep-fried prawn balls in Queenstown. Were they really as good as you remember them — and in Komani, which you didn't even know had any restaurants more interesting than a KFC or Spur until this trip? And what the hell was that thing I had for a starter in Kokstad? I had no recollection of it when I went through my camera roll back home. Komani, if you're wondering, is the new name for Queenstown, which is regarded as a sort of informal capital of the Eastern Cape. Komani has become almost unrecognisable to those who may have known it in earlier decades. Though it's a small town, relatively, its CBD is a shambolic urban nightmare. You might feel you're in the middle of a large African city, with cars and trucks paying no attention to traffic lights, and wonder how the hell you're gonna find your way out. Honestly, I gave up trying to be a gentle, respectful driver and just did what everyone else was doing — ploughed forward, through robots, turning left or right while holding my breath and hoping for the best, otherwise I wouldn't have got anywhere. I waved my fists at sneering drivers, who barked through their windscreens only because I was doing precisely what they all were. Just donnering ahead and to hell with the consequences. I'd punched Game (the store) into the GPS. Somewhere on the endless road through town, which presents eyesore after eyesore on either side, the GPS man (I call him Kirby, after the hilarious voice recording on FlySafair flights) told me to turn right. Whereupon, we were in another place altogether. 'Thanks, Kirbs,' I muttered. (Yes, I talk back to the GPS.) How can a South African town fall so far without entirely falling apart? How does anyone ever get out alive? You said right, but this is left. Right? Kirbs? Hello? But Kirby was saying nothing. But I pushed forward no matter what. That's how you survive Komani traffic (and pedestrians). And being grateful when you finally make it back to that discordant main road which suddenly feels a much better place to be. We did find the new suitcases we were looking for at Game, by the way. But… (take a bow, Kirbs, we made it out) … Veer off the main road to the left and you find yourself in leafy suburbia. I had no idea. It's quite lovely, in fact, and we stayed overnight in a neat and tidy small hotel called the Positano, where we found ourselves in the Presidential Suite, would you believe, which is a moniker that suggests a certain style, a standard, a benchmark. More than that, a 'Presidential' (or King or Queen) Suite holds, in its very name, a promise: that if you stay in this suite you will be treated like a king or head of state. You will be pampered. Grey is the new beige Now, I don't expect to be fussed over, in fact I hate that: I just book a room, pay right away, and am glad of a bed and something to eat. I'm not fussy on the long roads. But don't claim something and not deliver. On the website, it is called an executive room, which itself suggests that it's a cut above whatever the other rooms must be like. Arriving at the door, I see that it is emblazoned with 'Presidential'. Ooh, look at this. Pleasant surprise. Inside, it's smart in a monotone kind of way. Greys and blacks are the first choice these days when renovating an interior, it seems. Grey is the new beige. But it's what was not in the room that got my goat. No bedside lights, just empty bedside tables. No sweeteners on the coffee and tea setup (I always look for them). That's commonplace, annoyingly, but more to the point? There were no teaspoons either. Cups, sugar, but no spoons. What, you must use your sleeve? Grab a twig from a tree outside? I used the back end of a toothbrush to stir my coffee the next morning, after giving it a thorough wash. There was no rusk or biscuit either. I didn't mind overly, although these are things you find in almost every simple old BnB throughout the Platteland. I'm a coper. As long as there's a clean bed decently made up, I'm not gonna make a fuss. But don't promise a cornucopia and deliver an empty basket. Having said all that, ironically my overall impression of the Positano was strangely positive. And everything I cited above is easy to fix, in a single day. Maybe they will if they read this. We drove a few blocks away to a restaurant called The Gallery for dinner, which we reached late after Kirby got us lost again. This place was really good as small town restaurants go. Part of a guest house too. Maybe they also have a Presidential room. We'll ask them next time we go that way, because then we won't have to take the risk of Kirby leading us back to the wilds of the Komani CBD. At night. (Creepy zither music here, please.) The Gallery? Attractive environment, good service, and well-made food, if a tad eccentric. I had the 'sweet and sour prawn meat' which were round, plump parcels of Chinese-inspired sweet and sour shrimp meat. So much like traditional sweet and sour pork, very sweet in a way that few like these days. They were really good — made me think I was at a local Chinese spot. Then I ordered the 'spicy crumbed chicken breast'. Well. What arrived was two massive chicken breasts 'dunked in our spicy sauce and filled with a jalapeño and cheese mix'. Filling nearly the entire plate. Soooo much sauce, really hot and super-spicy in a good way. I actually loved it and devoured the lot. Everything on the plate screamed: 'not for the fainthearted or squeamish'. Yes please. What the hell was that thing in Kokstad? This was the destination for our second night on the road. This is the older me, I should explain. Back in the day I'd shoot right through to Durban in one day, but now I stop at least once, sometimes twice. Hence having driven from Cradock to Queenstown. (Queenstown/Komani, Somerset East/kwaNojoli? I should explain: I have a personal policy with changing place names: I choose to use both the old and the new name, interchangeably. I will not be dictated to. In a mature society, we should all be able to accommodate and be accommodated. Digression over.) Anyway, back to Kokstad. For decades, we've occasionally travelled this route and stopped at Kokstad for breakfast at the Wimpy, which is on a petrol station forecourt. I booked, online in advance, at a hotel called Mount Currie Inn. Which has a restaurant called the Guinea Fowl. Oooh, sounds quite posh, right? It's on that same forecourt. But it's not all that bad, speaking of the motel rooms at least. Like the Komani stopover, it was freshly painted in greys with black trim. There were zooty bedside lamps. There were sweeteners. There were teaspoons and rusks. And no executive suites. After a glass of wine at a cement table and benches in the grounds, where I took this photo, it was time to meet that scrawny, feisty little bird. It looks idyllic but it really is just the fenced yard of the motel that backs onto the petrol station complex. We strolled past all the other chalets with their cars parked outside and went inside to find the Guinea Fowl restaurant. No grand expectations required. A functional, canteen-like space with attentive service and food no one is ever going to write home about. Except to say that this poor bird should have been left in the yard to live out its life. Ag shame, man. I actually said that when I saw it: Oh, about that thing on my plate in Kokstad. I've just run the photo through Photoshop and blown it up. And it was cheese-topped mushrooms, gratinated and, now that my memory has kicked in, really not bad at all. Funny how a detail in a photo can prompt a memory. A good one, this time. Certainly a better one than the feisty little fowl whose short, sad life will haunt my dreams forever. The destination for this first part of the trip from Cradock to KwaZulu-Natal was Summerhill in Cowie's Hill, where we were expected for dinner. Talking of which, here's great news for Durban foodies. Chef Johannes Richter and his wife sommelier of The LivingRoom at Summerhill are friends with chefs Kobus van der Merwe (Wolfgat) and Vusi Ndlovu (Edge) in Cape Town, and the pair will be guests at Summerhill on Friday and Saturday, 29 and 30 August, when the three will present lunch and dinner with paired wines for R2,500 a head (that's inclusive of wine). Details and bookings for those dates here. DM
IOL News
7 days ago
- IOL News
Kentucky Town is back, bolder than ever
Starting this week, Kentucky Town is going nationwide. And the brand new menu is so extreme that one of the world's leading food influencers is flying in from the US to taste it. Seven bold new tastes will be available on a never-before-and-potentially-never-again menu at 560 KFCs across the country, for a limited time only. The buzz is global: US food influencer Tyshon Lawrence, with 19 million TikTok followers, is flying in to experience the menu after KFC's viral social teasers caught his eye. Joined by DJ Mateki2Shoes, Tyshon will hit the Kentucky Town roadshow engaging fans and tasting these wild creations. Image: Supplied KFC's social teasers about the Kentucky Town menu quickly went viral, and they caught the attention of Tyshon Lawrence, whose TikTok following tops 19 million. Now the 27-year-old will join the former Kentucky Town 'mayor', DJ and designer Mateki2Shoes, on a Kentucky Town roadshow in and around South Ah from 6–8 August. 'South Ah's the home of Kentucky Town, and this menu takes it to a different level. We can't wait to show Tyshon and KFC fans that there are no limits where Kentucky Town is concerned. South Africa is well known for starting trends that break the internet – things like viral dance moves and amapiano – and we fully expect the world to go just as crazy for Kentucky Town as our local fans,' said KFC Africa Chief Marketing and Digital Officer Grant Macpherson. 'Since then, it's been to Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and Bloem – and it's even been exported to Namibia, Thailand and Mauritius – but this Kentucky Town will be the biggest yet.' Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Kentucky Town has become a phenomenon since the first one in Joburg at the end of 2021. Image: Supplied KFC has partnered with Six Gun Grill spice and Doritos to take the Kentucky Town taste outside the lines. 'The Six Gun Grill Zinger Braai Burger with its blackened bun is one of the heroes of the menu. In his TikTok videos, Tyshon loves to explore local cultures, so we're looking forward to hearing what he makes of this crazy combination of braais and a legendary South African seasoning. Who says you can't braai without a grill? The Doritos Cheezy Nacho Burger and Doritos Cheezy Loaded Fries have an amazing flavour (Doritos can definitely be a topping!), and the Hot Honey Dunked Wings is a sweet-meets-spicy taste explosion – it's like a party in your mouth. The Jalapeno Blaze Double Down, where chicken replaces the burger bun, doubles down on the bunless heat, and the drinks – Chilli Choc Krusher and Cherry Boba Bliss – are so hot they're cool,' said Macpherson. Macpherson added that Tyshon heard about Kentucky Town when he saw the KFC teaser on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. 'He posted a reaction the following day, saying he'd love to taste the menu, and Mateki replied with an invitation. Before we knew it, he was on the plane.' Tyshon and 2Shoes will be tasting the Kentucky Town menu at the Van Der Hoff KFC store in Potchefstroom on Wednesday, in Hartbeespoort, Sediba Mall KFC on Thursday and at the Fourways Crossing KFC in Joburg on Friday. 'This is a great chance for Kentucky Town fans to meet a food super-influencer and get as excited about the new taste on the menu as he is. But most of all we want to hear from South African KFC fans about what they love – and what will keep them coming back for more,' Macpherson concluded.
