Colonel Sanders’ Mystery Recipe Planner Sells For $30,000 At Auction
A leather-bound 1964 planner belonging to KFC founder Colonel Sanders sold for $30,000 at a Shelbyville, Kentucky auction. The planner contained a handwritten list of exactly 11 ingredients — the same number linked to KFC’s legendary secret recipe — sparking speculation it held the famous formula.
The Settle family discovered the book in Sanders’ former home basement around the turn of the century. KFC sued to suppress the list but later dropped the case, concluding Sanders had likely written a stuffing recipe instead. Auctioneer Bill Menish called the planner “a keepsake.”
Other items also drew strong bids — Sanders’ clip-on bow tie fetched $8,000, while his 1955 honorary Kentucky Colonel certificate sold for $23,000. Sanders sold KFC in 1964 but remained its public face until his death in 1980.