12 min

What is the Original Krispy Kreme Donut The Toasty Kettle Podcast

    • Food

Today we are going to talk all about what is the original Krispy Kreme donut? Krispy Kreme always elicits a sort of nostalgia in my life. Growing up I was active in scouts. I participated in countless service projects that all had one thing in common, if the project took place in the evening, we were served Little Caesars. If we were scouting in the morning, then the reward was Krispy Kreme. They always seemed to overestimate the amount of donuts actually needed at these events, and there were always plenty of donuts to go around.







Finally, as I pulled into the drive through, I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself as I remembered a particular activity where I was dared to eat a dozen Krispy Kremes on my own. I proudly downed 13. Now, I know that Krispy Kreme can be polarizing. People seem to love it or hate it. The beautiful thing about today’s episode is that you don’t have to love Krispy Kreme to enjoy its history.







What is the Original Krispy Kreme Donut: Paducah Kentucky







The story starts in 1933 in Paducah, Kentucky. Ishmael Rudolph owned a small general store that served a variety of goods. His nephews Vernon and Lewis Rudolph began working for him selling his ever popular donuts. The origin of the recipe is up for debate. However, the consensus seems to be that the recipe was purchased from a French chef in New Orleans. The recipe was a yeast raised donut recipe. The donuts were a big success. 







During the Great Depression, the general store struggled. Ishmael and Vernon moved to Nashville to continue selling their donuts. They thought the larger city would bring more business their way. 







Finally, in 1937 Vernon decided to strike out on his own. He moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina and began supplying donuts to local grocery stores. People passing by on the street could smell the donuts. However, it didn’t take long for people to start begging Vernon to sell them some donuts. Furthermore, Vernon didn’t want to pass up this opportunity. He literally cut a hole in the side of his building so that he would have a window to sell donuts to people on the sidewalk.







40s and 50s: Expansion and the Need for Consistency







People went crazy for these donuts and popularity soared. Furthermore, the 40s and 50s brought enough success to support a small chain of donut shops. However, like any restaurant that starts to expand, they struggled with consistency. Each shop followed the same recipe. However, they were made from scratch using different equipment from each other. They created a mix plant. This allowed them to mix massive batches of dry ingredients together. Furthermore, now each store could use the same dry mix. Just like that, consistency improved, and the magical donut conveyer belt was born.







60s and 70s: Unified Stores







Now that they fixed the consistency problems with their recipe, the company focused on a consistent look across their stores. During the 60s and 70s, each store began to sport the same iconic green tile roofs and the heritage road signs. However, 1973 brought another challenge for Krispy Kreme when their founder, Vernon Rudolph, died. The company was then sold to Beatrice Foods Company in 1976.







Rapid Expansion







Krispy Kreme began another chapter of their history. In the early 2000s, they rapidly expanded. The company went public on April 5, 2000. They quickly ballooned to over 400 stores. For a few years things couldn’t be better. However, by 2005 the stock had plummeted and the company began to close their less profitable locations. Furthermore, analysts felt that the chain had expanded too quickly and had too many stores in various markets.

Today we are going to talk all about what is the original Krispy Kreme donut? Krispy Kreme always elicits a sort of nostalgia in my life. Growing up I was active in scouts. I participated in countless service projects that all had one thing in common, if the project took place in the evening, we were served Little Caesars. If we were scouting in the morning, then the reward was Krispy Kreme. They always seemed to overestimate the amount of donuts actually needed at these events, and there were always plenty of donuts to go around.







Finally, as I pulled into the drive through, I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself as I remembered a particular activity where I was dared to eat a dozen Krispy Kremes on my own. I proudly downed 13. Now, I know that Krispy Kreme can be polarizing. People seem to love it or hate it. The beautiful thing about today’s episode is that you don’t have to love Krispy Kreme to enjoy its history.







What is the Original Krispy Kreme Donut: Paducah Kentucky







The story starts in 1933 in Paducah, Kentucky. Ishmael Rudolph owned a small general store that served a variety of goods. His nephews Vernon and Lewis Rudolph began working for him selling his ever popular donuts. The origin of the recipe is up for debate. However, the consensus seems to be that the recipe was purchased from a French chef in New Orleans. The recipe was a yeast raised donut recipe. The donuts were a big success. 







During the Great Depression, the general store struggled. Ishmael and Vernon moved to Nashville to continue selling their donuts. They thought the larger city would bring more business their way. 







Finally, in 1937 Vernon decided to strike out on his own. He moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina and began supplying donuts to local grocery stores. People passing by on the street could smell the donuts. However, it didn’t take long for people to start begging Vernon to sell them some donuts. Furthermore, Vernon didn’t want to pass up this opportunity. He literally cut a hole in the side of his building so that he would have a window to sell donuts to people on the sidewalk.







40s and 50s: Expansion and the Need for Consistency







People went crazy for these donuts and popularity soared. Furthermore, the 40s and 50s brought enough success to support a small chain of donut shops. However, like any restaurant that starts to expand, they struggled with consistency. Each shop followed the same recipe. However, they were made from scratch using different equipment from each other. They created a mix plant. This allowed them to mix massive batches of dry ingredients together. Furthermore, now each store could use the same dry mix. Just like that, consistency improved, and the magical donut conveyer belt was born.







60s and 70s: Unified Stores







Now that they fixed the consistency problems with their recipe, the company focused on a consistent look across their stores. During the 60s and 70s, each store began to sport the same iconic green tile roofs and the heritage road signs. However, 1973 brought another challenge for Krispy Kreme when their founder, Vernon Rudolph, died. The company was then sold to Beatrice Foods Company in 1976.







Rapid Expansion







Krispy Kreme began another chapter of their history. In the early 2000s, they rapidly expanded. The company went public on April 5, 2000. They quickly ballooned to over 400 stores. For a few years things couldn’t be better. However, by 2005 the stock had plummeted and the company began to close their less profitable locations. Furthermore, analysts felt that the chain had expanded too quickly and had too many stores in various markets.

12 min