Burn is the word: How Nashville hot chicken took over America

Hot chicken is a Nashville original that now can be found coast to coast. But the original Nashville hot chicken can be found at Prince’s. The family-run business has been burning tongues for nearly a century. Today, Prince’s Hot Chicken is run by André Prince, who took over the restaurant more than 40 years ago.

According to family lore, hot chicken began in a fit of jealousy. Thornton Prince, a well-known ladies man, provoked his girlfriend’s ire with his wandering ways. She sought revenge by cooking him a fried chicken breakfast so spicy it would make him scream. Instead, Thornton devoured the hot chicken and realized he should sell the recipe.

André Prince, who later this month will be inducted into the Nashville Entrepreneur Hall of Fame, spoke to Southern Kitchen about the allure of hot chicken and the future of her family’s restaurants.

Southern Kitchen: Prince’s Hot Chicken is known for making some of the hottest chicken around. How do you like your chicken?

André Prince: I don't eat it hot. The original is the “mild” today. But after I took over in 1980, I started the different levels of plain, mild, medium and hot. Some people wanted it hotter.

SK: Hot chicken is now popular across the country. Why do so many people love it?

AP: My family was the first in the country, almost 90 years ago, to sell chicken spicy hot on a commercial basis. I noticed more young people are eating it now. It used to be pretty much an old school thing. Of course, more pregnant women eat it. They crave it while they're pregnant. Doctors recommended it when they're overdue. It wakes those babies up, because they get so comfortable in there. And people eat it for different medicinal reasons, for asthma, for ulcers, for sex reasons. It definitely has an effect on people. People crave it, and they become addicted to it. One man comes in twice a day, at lunchtime and then again in the evening.

SK: Have you ever tried hot chicken made by somebody else?

AP: I have to confess, I have never tasted somebody else's hot chicken. Everybody who's serious about opening up a hot chicken place, they’ve got to come to Prince's Hot Chicken to inspire them.

SK: You have locations in Nashville and Greenville, South Carolina. Where else have you considered opening a Prince’s Hot Chicken?

AP: I mean, I'm having people every day wanting a place in their city. Matter of fact, I've been asked four times to come to Dubai. But I'm just too old to cross that ocean. Oh, my goodness. I'm just too old. There’s only one that I would like to see open, and that’s on the street we originally started near Tennessee State.

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SK: Did the musician Prince ever eat at Prince's Hot Chicken?

AP: Not that I know of. James Brown used to come. A lot of musicians. A lot of them, like Kid Rock and Lorrie Morgan. Porter Wagoner of country music would come. Their drivers pick it up. We’ve had famous football players and a whole lot of politicians. And President Obama sent his Secret Service.

To learn more about Prince’s Hot Chicken or find a location, visit www.princeshotchicken.com.

Note: The interview was edited for clarity and length.