Fancy Restaurant? No Thanks. Dolly Parton Chose This American Chicken Chain When Visiting Australia

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Only one person simultaneously holds the titles of singer, dancer, actor, national treasure, and unofficial Patron Saint of the American Library. In addition to all these accolades, the late great Dolly Parton was also a prolific home cook. She was a famous lover of Southern food, sharing her honed recipes, and when she was dining out, her no-frills, down-home culinary preference remained. It's the reason why Dolly Parton chose to eat at KFC while traveling abroad — capturing a taste of home, even in Australia.

The story is shared in an episode of the Sydney-based Ricki-Lee and Tim podcast. Australian entertainer Tim Blackwell recounts the last time Parton was in Melbourne during her Blue Smoke World Tour in 2014. Per the lore, Parton was being driven around the city by a friend-of-a-friend of the podcast co-host, and it was time to get something to eat. Quoth Tim, "Denise [the driver] said to Dolly, 'Do you want to eat at Cicciolina's in St Kilda, like a really fancy restaurant. Or Florentino's in the city?' And Dolly said, 'Let's grab a KFC bucket and sit under a tree in the park,' which they did in Carlton Gardens."

Back in the States, Parton was known for cooking up Southern comfort foods for guests when entertaining at home. From her famous 3-ingredient cake to her crowd-pleasing 5-layer casserole, her penchant for good, simple food ran deep — and, apparently, it even followed her to the other side of the globe in Australia. 

Parton's personal favorite foods included Southern classics like chess pie, banana pudding, hickory ham, catfish, and ribs. However, fried chicken held a special place of prominence throughout the singer's career. As Parton shared in an interview with TODAY in 2022, "Growing up in the South with my mom being the greatest cook in the world — and my aunts and my grandmas — I just remember things like fried chicken on Sunday was one of the greatest things ever," especially when paired with a big bowl of potato salad on the side. Nowadays, die-hard fans swoon for the iconic fried chicken served up at Dollywood theme park. There's even a KFC location at 933 Dolly Parton Parkway in Sevierville, Tennessee, the county in which Parton was born.

Later, in 2024, she told the outlet that the meal held a regular place of importance for her family and siblings growing up: "I think there's something about Sundays and fried chicken — even in the country — that was just a special treat." The same year, she co-authored the New York Times' bestselling cookbook "Good Lookin' Cookin': A Year of Meals – A Lifetime of Family, Friends, and Food" with her sister, recounting the recipes they grew up on together. Fried chicken was always a fixture at Parton's table, whether she was dining in the U.S. or The Land Down Under.