New Zealand KFC Hands Out Valentine's Day Bouquets of Fried Chicken

A typical Valentine’s Day date involves flowers and a romantic dinner, but this year, a Kentucky Fried Chicken outpost in Auckland, New Zealand, helped fast food fans upgrade those staples. As The New Zealand Herald reports, the city’s Quay Street location handed out edible Valentine’s Day “bouquets”—made from popcorn chicken, crispy strips, and drumsticks—to a handful of lucky couples.

KFC announced the giveaway on Facebook, and hungry lovers tagged their significant others in the comments thread for the chance to score their own meaty bouquet. On February 14, the franchise’s Quay Street store distributed 20 bouquets to winners, and an additional 18 were hand-delivered to "known KFC-lovers,” according to Newshub.co.nz.

The contest was inspired by another successful holiday event. In December, KFC New Zealand celebrated the holiday season by giving away limited-edition, fried chicken-scented candles as part of their “KFC Advent Calendar” social media promotion.

"Following on from the success of the candle, we decided to release a limited edition Valentine's Day item especially for the fried-chicken lover," KFC NZ marketing director Clark Wilson said in a statement, quoted by The Herald. "We think it smells even better than the traditional bunch of Valentine's Day flowers."

And it tastes better, too. "If I had a choice between a bouquet of roses and a bouquet of fried chicken, I'd definitely choose the fried chicken," Ollie Mason-Clarke, one of the lucky recipients, told The Herald. "They both smell nice, but you can't eat roses."