Former North East KFC worker explains why Krushems and ice cream machine is always 'broken'

The former fast-food employee said it's especially bad news if you have a late-night sweet tooth, with the machine rarely ever turned on after 8pm

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While Kentucky Fried Chicken is best known for it's crunchy and juicy poultry, there are a number of other things on the menu that really get the taste buds watering.

From the thick and incredibly moreish signature gravy, to the melt in the middle cookies - KFC has it all locked off. And who can forget about the coveted ice cream Krushems? which comes in a range of sweet flavours including Milky Bar, Malteser and Oreos.

While the refreshing iced drink is incredibly flavoursome though, more often that not at your local branch you'll have been told that the machine that makes them is either broken or switched off.

Read more: Sunderland council rejects new KFC drive-thru near school over child obesity fears

And if you were wondering why it's so hard to get a hold of the tasty beverage/dessert hybrid, one former Kentucky Fried crew member has spilled the colonel's BBQ beans.

Speaking to Chronicle Live, the former North East employee, said: "It all depends on what time customers would come round. Like, if you blitz round for one [a Krushems] during the day it's usually not a problem, but if you're rocking up ten minutes before we close, you've got absolutely no chance.

"It takes a little bit of time to make one, it's a messy job, and we're usually running around cleaning stuff up just before we shut the doors. It's counterproductive when you've just cleaned the machine and you get someone asking for one, as you've got to clean everything over again...so we just say it's off."

Speaking about the best time to get a Krushem or ice cream at KFC, the ex-staff member noted that the later you leave it, the less chance you have. He added: "It depends who is on shift, but we sometimes used to turn the machine off as early as like 7 o'clock.

"We would shut at 11 o'clock at night and then have to stay behind for hours to clean, so we would try to get a head start where and when we could. And because the ice cream and Krushems machine is a messy job, once it's off and cleaned, it generally stays that way.

"Sometimes the machine is genuinely broken, but most of the time in my experience, we would just tell fibs because we couldn't be bothered with the hassle."

The unnamed source also detailed some of the worst parts of working in a fast food establishment, from clogged up drains to rude customers alike. They continued: "The worst part of the job for me was having to clean the chicken. Obviously when it comes in on the bone, it has guts and stuff still inside it so you have to pop them all out before we can cook it.

"It's brutal to be honest, and puts you off wanting to eat it sometimes. People always say how we make the gravy is grim, but nothing compares to that."

"The drains are another thing that are absolutely filthy," he added, going on: "The sink area is like a massive wet room, but obviously bits of chicken and chips get stuck in the plug hole and into the drains. At the end of the shift you have to unplug the drain and clean out all of the left overs.

"It's absolutely disgusting."