Our Story
We may never find out which came first (the chicken or the egg?), but we do know who invented and patented the first commercial pressure fryer back in 1954: our founder, L.A.M. Phalen.
Broaster Pressure Fryers Changed the Game

You see…Phalen was both a brilliant inventor and an innovative visionary. Drawing heavily upon his vast knowledge of both pressure cooking and deep frying, he combined the two processes into a single, commercial cooking appliance.
The result? A combination of quality, flavor, and cooking speed the world had never seen. A process so revolutionary and so special, it required its own distinct name: Broasting®.
Along with patenting his unique invention, Phelan wisely trademarked the words “broaster™” and “broasted food™” to ensure his cooking method would always remain proprietary, as it does to this day.
With all the legalities wrapped up, L.A.M Phelan began manufacturing the first Broaster Pressure Fryers under the moniker of Flavor Fast Foods, Inc.
And from this platform in 1956, Broaster Company was hatched.
There’s Only One Genuine Broaster Chicken
It wasn’t long before Genuine Broaster Chicken began gaining notoriety as an ideal solution for Wisconsin Supper Clubs looking to serve signature menu items to their patrons.
Prepared with the freshest available chicken, proprietary recipes, and our unique cooking process, Broasted chicken fit the bill perfectly.
And, as our reputation grew, we expanded our line of Broaster Foods coatings and marinades to include new ingredients that could be used to pressure fry fish, vegetables, beef, and pork products – providing the versatility to create mouthwatering entree options and keep customers coming back time and time again.
Although Broaster’s roots run deep in Wisconsin’s Supper Club culture, as the years went on, we began serving a variety of new food service operators with increasing demands for faster, more portable menu options.
In order to keep up with these newfound needs, we introduced a full line-up of frozen foods under the Broaster Recipe label in the 1990s, so operators could expand their menus and serve high-quality items with greater convenience.
The Taste of Chicken…Perfected.
With Genuine Broaster Chicken providing exceptional solutions for sit-down restaurants, Broaster Company has since released two additional branded trademark food programs – Broaster Express and Rock County Smokehouse.
These two drop-in concepts are tailor-made for convenience store, grocery store/deli, and other, more limited food service environments and allow operators to offer the same, delicious Broasted chicken despite having different service levels.
Broaster brands and products can be now found in almost all foodservice segments, such as:
- Restaurants
- Convenience stores
- Grocery stores
- Food trucks
- Hospitals
- Veterans service centers
- Colleges & universities
- Food courts
- Even major restaurant chains!
For over 65 years, Genuine Broaster Chicken has been providing delicious, pressure-fried, broasted chicken to operators focused on one main objective: serving the best-tasting chicken to satisfy customers and keep them coming back.
Our success is built upon our commitment to helping our operators fulfill that objective with a great range of signature menu items – from classic Genuine Broaster Chicken to Spicy Bone-In Chicken to Genuine Broaster Chicken tenders, and more.
Are you ready to upgrade your menu?
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