No word yet from the Vatican on a request for Pope Benedict XVI to bless KFC's new Fish Snacker Sandwich. I doubt KFC president Gregg Dedrick, who sent a personal letter to the Vatican, will recieve a reply via smoke signals. Raises the question: how will McDonald's react if papal approval is bestowed?
The connection between Lent and the fish sandwich escaped me until I caught a story by Paul Clark in the Cincinnati Enquirer (via USA Today) about the man who invented the Filet-O-Fish sandwich for McDonalds. A long-time fan of the FOF (dry, thanks, sans the overly generous heaping of tartar), I have Lou Groen to thank.
Groen opened the first Cincinnati-are McDonalds in 1959. He soon learned that the locals, a vast majority of them Catholic, all but abandoned his fast food restaurant on Fridays. Back then, as the article notes, most Catholics avoided meat every Friday, not just during Lent, the 40-day period of repentance that began Wednesday.
Groen came up with the fish sandwich idea in 1962. It was an instant hit, with 350 sold the first day, and was added to McDonalds original menu. Some 300 million Filet-O-Fish sandwiches are now sold each year.
Time will tell if KFC's Fish Snacker will be a success. It's not a full-size sandwich, thus the 99 cent pricetag and Snacker name. It's made from 100 percent Alaskan Pollack, compared to Atlantic Cod for the FOF. The Lent launch and papal plea are obviously aimed at Catholics. But this non-Catholic is certainly willing to give it a taste.
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