Everybody loves Ezell’s Famous Chicken, and so when co-founder Lewis Rudd reached out about his collaboration with Salt and Straw you know we had to head over and check it out. Besa Gordon checked in with Rudd and Salt & Straw Co-Founder Tyler Malek to hear about the process behind the unique Cinnamon and Chicken flavor and what went into its creation.

“You have to eat the chicken and the ice cream side by side,” Malek said. “We took croissants and deep fried them in chicken fat and then took the spices that Lewis uses and folded in the bits of fried croissants.”

The flavor has notes of honey and cinnamon, and is very sweet. Along with Ezell’s famous chicken, it creates a combo that reminded Gordon of her childhood. The flavor itself has been in the works for a while.

“At first I thought it was a joke,” Rudd said. “Chicken flavored ice cream? They were so persistent and they love the brand and the values. After the samples started coming in, I was on board.”

Salt & Straw will also be a sponsor the the annual Black leadership conference, which Rudd is heavily involved in.

“For us, we know who’s the best of the best,” Malek said. “We looked at the entire country and thought Ezell’s was the most important story we could tell and the best collaboration.”

You can find the ice cream at Salt & Straw shops around the country.

This segment originally aired on Back2Besa. Make sure to tune in every Saturday at 10:30 pm on Seattle’s FOX 13 and stream the replay every Sunday at 10 am on FOX 13+.

Photos by Seattle photographer Susan Fried on behalf of Converge Media