- Original Chicken Sandwich
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This article is about the Burger King food item. For the standard food item, see Chicken sandwich.
Original Chicken sandwich 
Nutritional value per serving Serving size 1 sandwich (219 g) Energy 660 kcal (2,800 kJ) Carbohydrates 52 g - Sugars 5 g - Dietary fiber 4 g Fat 31 g - saturated 8 g - trans 2.5 g Protein 24 g Sodium 1440 mg (96%) Cholesterol 70 mg May vary outside US market.
Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults.
Source: www.BK.com (PDF)The Original Chicken Sandwich is a chicken sandwich sold by the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King. It is the "basic" chicken sandwich sold at Burger King. The Original Chicken sandwich consists of a breaded, deep-fried white-meat chicken patty with mayonnaise and lettuce on a sesame seed sub-style bun.
Contents
History
The Original Chicken Sandwich was introduced in 1978 as part of BKs "Specialty Sandwich" line.[1] The products were some of the first by the company to attempt to capture the adult-oriented market, members of which would be willing spend more on a higher quality product.[2] The sandwiches were a part of a plan by the then-company president Donald Smith to expand Burger King's menu to reach the broadest demographic in order to better compete with McDonald's and fend off Wendy's growing market share. The plan was successful and the company's sales increased by 15%.[3]
The other "Specialty Sandwiches" were:
- The Veal Parmesan Sandwich[4][3]
- The Chicken Parmesan Sandwich[3]
- The Ham & Cheese Sandwich[3]
- The Long Fish[3]
- The Steak Burger[3]
- The Roast beef sandwich
LTO variants:
- A grilled meatloaf sandwich with ketchup and onions;
- A grilled Italian sausage patty sandwich served in one of three ways: with onions & peppers, parmigiana style with mozzarella cheese & marinara sauce or all four ingredients.
- The Bull's-Eye Barbecue sandwich included two hamburger patties, American cheese, 4 half pieces of bacon and Kraft Bull's-eye brand barbecue sauce. Another variant of this sandwich called the BBQ Hero added lettuce, tomato and onions.[4]
All sandwiches were served on the same style 7" sesame seed roll.
The Long Fish was eventually discontinued and replaced with the Whaler sandwich and the Steak Burger sandwich was discontinued all together, although two different steak sandwiches made from steak fillets or restructured beef were introduced as limited time offerings. The ham and cheese sandwich replaced an earlier version ham and cheese sandwich called the Yumbo that was served hot and was the size of a hamburger.[4]
Advertising
One of the promotions used when the Specialty products were first introduced was a scratch card game called What's my Specialty? Customers would get a card and would have to match famous people with their profession. The commercial explained that if you expected to lose, you would be disappointed, as all cards were winners. Prizes included fries, sodas and sandwiches. The Meatloaf sandwich was part of the BK Dinner Baskets and promoted as part of the BK Tee Vee ad campaigns.
In the autumn and winter of 2007 BK advertised the Italian Chicken sandwich with a commercial that played the "Have it your Way" theme on an accordion with a simple text insert that asked the consumer if they had a problem with the sandwich being sold only at BK. This insert played up the Italian "toughguy" stereotypes.
Naming and trademarks
Burger King currently does not have any trademarks on the Original Chicken Sandwich name or the line of Specialty sandwiches in the US, Canada and Europe. The alias Long Chicken is trademarked in Spain, King de Pollo in Argentina and Chicken Royal in the Middle East; all are displayed with the "circle-R" (®) symbol.
Variants
Regional, limited time offerings (LTO) and discontinued varieties:
- The Italian Chicken Sandwich - a Chicken Parmesan sandwich with marinara and mozzarella.[4]
Sold in the US, Argentina, Canada and Chile. - The French Chicken Sandwich - a Chicken Cordon Bleu sandwich with ham and Swiss cheese.[4]
Sold in the US, Argentina and Chile. - The American Chicken Sandwich - mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato and American cheese.[4]
Sold in the US, Argentina and Chile. - The Chicken Club - mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato and bacon
Sold in the US and Italy - The King de Pollo Picosos - a choice of jalapeño, chipotle or spicy cream sauce and lettuce
Sold in Mexico and the UK/Ireland, called the Spicy Royale. - The Hawaiian BK Chicken - mayonnaise, lettuce, bacon, American cheese and pineapple
Sold in New Zealand. - Burger King Germany expanded the Long Chicken sandwich variety (non-LTO variety) to include 2 new Long Chicken sandwiches (known as the Specialty Line): The Jamaica Barbecue and the Western Barbecue. The Jamaican Barbecue is served with extra chicken breast, lettuce, mayonnaise and spicy barbecue sauce. The Western Barbecue is served with mayonnaise, lettuce, 2 large onion rings and barbecue sauce.
Available as a permanent menu option in Germany and as an LTO option in Austria and Switzerland.[5]
Aliases and international naming
- The American Chicken Sandwich was also called the Chicken Deluxe.
- In Turkey, the Middle East and most of Europe the Original Chicken is called the Chicken Royale.
- In Italy, the Chicken Club variation is called the Chicken Royale Deluxe.
- In Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Austria it is called the Long Chicken sandwich.
- In Mexico, El Salvador, Argentina and Chile it is called the King de Pollo (King of Chicken).
- In New Zealand and Brazil it is called the BK Chicken.
- In Australia it is known as the "Chicken Royale"
Related products
- The ham and cheese sandwich - 4 pieces of ham, 2 slices of American cheese, mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato and served on the same sub-style roll. It is served either hot or cold, as specified by the customer.
Sold in the US as an optional product and sold in El Salvador as a regular menu item called the King de Jambon con Queso. - The X-tra Long cheese or Limo burger - 3 hamburger patties, 2 slices of American cheese, pickles, ketchup and mustard and served on the same sub-style roll.
Sold in Europe and El Salvador
See also
- TenderCrisp
- TenderGrill
- BK Baguette line
- BK Big Fish
- The Angus burger (Burger King)
Similar types of chicken sandwiches by other vendors:
References
- ^ In Student's Encyclopædia (2007). "Burger King Corporation". Britannica Student Encyclopædia. http://student.britannica.com/comptons/article-9318268. Retrieved 2007-12-04.
- ^ John A. Jakle; Keith A. Sculle (1999). Fast Food: Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age. Douglas Pappas. JHU Press. p. 119. ISBN 080186920X. http://books.google.com/books?id=0nYcgnWKWXgC&pg=PA119&lpg=PA119&dq=burger+king+specialty+sandwiches+-nutrition+-subservient+-fries&source=web&ots=QB_8C1kT31&sig=WEY-ls2LOHOTMmPLACVkhQj8Ns8. "To appeal to the growing adult market, "Specialty Sandwiches" were introduced, including chicken, fish and ham and cheese."
- ^ a b c d e f FundingUniverse.com. "History of Burger King Corporation". Answers.com. http://www.answers.com/topic/burger-king. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
- ^ a b c d e f Peter J. Romero (1988-08-11). "Chicken Internationals take Burger King test". Nation's Restaurant News. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_n31_v22/ai_6551468. Retrieved 2008-03-01. "Burger King is testing a new line of sandwiches called Chicken Internationals, each consisting of a chicken fillet topped with cheese."
- ^ "See burgerking.de/main, then Menu and finally Specials". http://www.burgerking.de/main.
Categories:- Burger King foods
- Television commercials
- 1978 introductions
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