A couple who have been together for 50 years say the secret to their long marriage is – KFC.
Devoted Bob and Pat Fogg met at a branch of the fried chicken restaurant – and go back every week to the table where they fell in love.
Bob and Pat, who have been married 44 years, first saw each other at KFC in Preston, Lancs,.- the UK’s first ever branch.
The lovebirds, who met when they were both students, were even recently invited back to the takeaway to celebrate the restaurant’s 50th anniversary.
Pat, 66, said: “I knew nothing about KFC but once we got together, he would forever be asking if we could visit my family in Preston.
“It never clicked with me that it was KFC which was the attraction.”
Bob, 68, said: “I’ve never lived it down. It’s a running joke with the family that if it wasn’t for KFC, we wouldnt be together.
“I used to come to Preston from Warrington. We heard the KFC had just opened and we didn’t know that it had come from America, but we thought we’d try it out.
“That was it then – we’d had nothing like it before. It was brilliant, we would go to the nightclubs and then to KFC.”
The couple’s favourite take-out even played a part in their romantic honeymoon.
Pat said: “We were eating KFC and listening to the radio when we heard about a deal to go to Paris for a few nights, with Champagne in the Eiffel Tower, a visit to the Moulin Rouge, flights and evening meals, all for #55!”
The couple ended up moving to Preston, Lancs., and went on to have two children and two grandchildren, with one more on the way.
Bob and Pat have enjoyed a whopping 2,500 KFCs over the last 50 years.
Bob, a retired engineer, enjoys a 3-piece meal with chips and gravy while retired teacher Pat opts for a 2-piece meal with chips.
Bob added: “It’s always been a bit of fun for us. It’s still exactly the same today as it was back then, the recipe is just as good and hasn’t changed.
“They’ve brought different meals in but we always have the same, it’s what we like.
“We used to take our children and as they’ve gone on to have children, we like to take the grandkids too.
“I think they prefer McDonalds really because of the toys, but we can’t compete with that.”
Earlier this year there were rumours that the record-breaking restaurant was set to close, but regional manager Tim Adkins assured that the city’s KFC is here to stay.
He joined the team last November and admitted that he didn’t know that Preston’s was the first in Britain, and that he hadn’t tried the gravy until taking on the top job.
Tim said: “I don’t know why Preston was chosen to be the UK’s first.
“I can’t imagine that Colonel Sanders had heard about Preston and wanted to come here, but someone was obviously instrumental in bringing Kentucky Fried Chicken to Preston.
“I don’t think anyone in the UK knows the secret recipe though. It was perfected all those years ago and it’s still a closely-guarded secret.”
He added: “I’ve always liked KFC but I’d never had the gravy before I came to Preston. I’m from the Midlands and they don’t do gravy in chippies.
“They do it at all KFCs, but it wasn’t the obvious choice for me. Now I know what I’ve been missing all these years. Once you’ve tried it, you’re a convert for life.”
