Few donut brands are as classic and iconic as Krispy Kreme. Not only are the desserts delicious, but the company changed the game by making Krispy Kreme donuts also available in grocery stores, essentially doubling the brand’s reach. It’s so big that now even certain McDonald’s locations are selling Krispy Kreme treats.
Krispy Kreme has celebrated nearly a century of success, but not many know where it all began. The company wouldn’t be anything without its secret donut recipe, which is still kept pretty under wraps. What many don’t know is that the instructions were actually bought. According to Krispy Kreme’s website, founder Vernon Rudolph purchased a yeast-raised donut recipe from a New Orleans French chef, which he then used to make and sell Krispy Kreme donuts.
The fact that the donut recipe wasn’t actually invented by the founder is already one of many fun facts about Krispy Kreme that most people don’t know. What’s more interesting is the many stories in which Krispy Kreme supposedly got its iconic recipe to begin with. The most commonly believed theory is that founder Vernon Rudolph bought it from an unnamed French chef, but it is far from the only one.
Theories about the recipe
While the theory about Vernon Rudolph has been put out by the company itself, there are also stories that suggest it was actually Rudolph’s uncle, Ishmael Armstrong, who bought the recipe from a French chef named Joe Lebeau in 1933. This particular theory also claims that the donut shop, including the Krispy Kreme name, were included in this purchase as a package deal. This story also claims that this initial shop, located in Paducah, Kentucky, failed, and that Vernon Rudolph later took the name and recipe to open the Krispy Kreme we now know today.
The lack of historical evidence of this transaction, as well as the existence of Joe Lebeau himself, has led to less people believing this particular story. There’s another variation of this story, as told by Carver Rudolph, son of founder Vernon Rudolph, that claims there was a man named Joseph G. LeBoeuf, who was famous for his donuts. The story goes that Ishmael Armstrong liked the donuts so much that he asked for the recipe, and LeBoeuf decided to share it with him, no payment required.
There is some credence to this story, as Carver Rudolph went so far as to contact the descendents of Joseph G. LeBoeuf. The LeBoeuf family confirmed his story, stating that they believed LeBoeuf would have shared the recipe without charging a fee for it. However, despite this story gaining more traction, as well as decent evidence, Krispy Kreme still stands by its own story.
