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n 1992, Kim Prince and her twin, Kelly, rode with their mother, Louise Prince, to Lancaster’s second-ever California Poppy Festival. The springtime event usually coincides with the flower’s annual bloom and draws visitors from around the world just to catch a glimpse of hills covered in a sea of orange and yellow flowers. California’s magnificent state flower is always a draw, but the Prince sisters — who were home from college on a visit — came to see what their father, Martin, was up to.
As the family parked the car and wandered through rows of food and retailers, they caught the scent of something familiar. Right there in the middle of the festival was Kim’s father hovering over a fryer in a small easy-up tent, knee-deep in a familiar process. Martin was busy deep-frying batch after batch of the Prince family’s signature dish, Nashville hot chicken.