In the opening episode, we learn how the huge machine that is 'fast food chicken' works on a mass scale. At the top of the tree we meet managing director Martin as he strives to expand his empire of 850 stores nationwide, while keeping his predominantly young workforce motivated. We follow feisty 17-year-old college dropout Beth, a new starter in Manchester, as she struggles to find her way in her new job. For the first time cameras are allowed inside the chicken farms that supply KFC with a whopping 23 million chickens a year. Here we meet Andrew who, with 35 years experience in the business, is in charge of chicken welfare. We are on the road with Brian, KFC's own internal policeman, as he patrols his patch in the Midlands and drops in unannounced at KFC stores to inspect their restaurant and food standards. It all goes wrong for a store in Merry Hill, Dudley, and Brian awards them such a low score they are forced into emergency measures and given just weeks to improve or face closure. In Middleton, we meet angry residents Pat, Irene and John who are desperate to stop a new KFC from opening up on their doorstep and 'lowering the tone'. All this is washed down with Valentine's Day in KFC Havant, as restaurant manager Dom splashes out on a themed night in the hope that romance will come to his store, boost his sales and get him noticed by his company bosses. While in Glasgow, drama graduate Rico has to deal with raucous customers until the wee hours of the morning.
Two thirds of KFC's UK workforce of 24,000 are aged under 25. For some it's their first job after school, for others it's part-time work to see them through college or a chosen career path to aim for the top. But what is it really like to work inside a giant fast food chain like KFC? In this episode the lid is lifted and the reality of working on the frontline of the fast food industry is shown in detail. While MD Martin faces a show down on Radio 5 Live to defend working in what by many is perceived as a lowly place to work, his workers in Essex begin their daily regime of scraping away the dried-on fat and cleaning the dreaded toilets at 5.00am. In Oxley in the West Midlands, cameras follow the opening of a brand new store - from building site to tills rattling on the first day in just 18 weeks including the recruitment of the team of 50 staff to run the store. Including 19-year-old Travis, who despite having marketing qualifications gets his first paid job at Oxley and sheds the stretchers in his ears, only to realise that intensive shifts on the fries Station, or mop in hand cleaning tasks aren't for him. And Kim, who's only other job was working as an elf in Santa's Grotto and who gets trained up ready for the front till, only to miss the opening day after being bitten by a dog. Cameras also follow KFC's attempts to tackle the huge amounts of cooked chicken they have to throw away on a daily basis. In Glasgow, restaurant manager Mark struggles to keep the homeless away from scavenging in his bins in search of waste food. And in Brixton, a pilot scheme is trialled, as charity worker Mala agrees to take home all the waste chicken to feed the disadvantaged from the community.
KFC has a global turnover of 23 billion dollars a year, and a billion of that comes from the UK alone. Fast food is very big business and 85 per cent of Brits indulge in it at least once a month, but the competition is fierce. In this episode, the future of the KFC UK brand is put under the microscope.