Aussie man wants his KFC franchise awarded a Michelin star because it’s ‘bloody good chicken’

But that’s the big dream of one outback KFC franchise owner.

Sam Edelman runs a finger-lickin’ good restaurant in Alice Springs and he believes his restaurant has what it takes to earn the reputable title.

The 37-year-old told news.com.au he wanted his restaurant to be “recognised as not just a fast food place,” even though the Michelin Guide does not publish in Australia.

Mr Edelman has gone as far as starting a Facebook group — “Kentucky Fried Chicken deserves a Michelin Star” — campaigning for the award, with his story going as far as the UK and the US.

“One of the criteria is ‘is it worth a detour or a special journey’ and our KFC is — we have people who travel hundreds of kilometres just to come try our chicken,” Mr Edelman said.

“We are the most remote KFC in the world. We’re about 1200km from the next nearest KFC, and that’s why when I read about the criteria, I thought, ‘Hey, yeah we are unique’.”

When one Facebook member of the group asked if this would then apply to all KFC stores, Mr Edelman simply said: “Alice Springs is in a unique position where we have heaps of customers that go out of their way to visit us. That is why I thought I’ll give it a go!”

He told news.com.au the food was “bloody good”, and it should definitely be referred to as excellent cooking.

Mr Edelman is very passionate about his KFC — he has been with the brand for 20 years after starting out as a cook and then becoming a franchisee seven years ago.

“I can’t comment for other franchises but I have staff that take a lot of pride in what they do,” he said. “I do as well, and I think every franchisee in Australia does that too, but I have that unique location geographically.”

He said his staff thought his campaign was pretty funny and entertaining but supported him all the way.

“Something people don’t know a lot about KFC is we get our chicken fresh every morning,” Mr Edelman said.

“It’s all breaded by hand in store — it’s not just pulled out of the freezer and thrown into the fryer.

“You can see it in the quality of the chicken if the cook is having a good day.”

His idea to apply for the Michelin star was prompted by Netflix’s Street Food series.

He said if a street vendor in Bangkok, Thailand featured in the show could get the accolade, why couldn’t his outback fast-food chain.

Mr Edelman thinks his franchise qualifies for both two and three stars, noting again its remote location and people drive hours just to buy buckets of his fried chicken.

“Just because we are a franchise and considered fast food doesn’t mean it’s not good food,” he said.

“Getting a Michelin star would be the ultimate end goal. It would blow my mind and mean recognition for not only for myself but the KFC recipe that Colonel (Sanders) spent eight years developing and perfecting.”

Mr Edelman said while he wasn’t sure if his plan would work, he hoped it would give his restaurant and team of hard workers, as well as others in Alice Springs, some deserved acknowledgment.