The Special Frosty Machine Dedicated To The Founder Of Wendy's
What would you do if you found yourself the CEO of your favorite fast food company? Would you use your influence to get free food as much as you wanted, or would you go so far as to even ensure that your favorite item would be personally delivered to you each day in the comfort of your own home?
This may have been the mindset of Dave Thomas, better known as the man who founded the fast-food juggernaut Wendy's. Thomas was a man who seemed predestined to play a major role in the world of fast food, considering his previous work with another legendary fast-food figure, Colonel Sanders (via Mental Floss), and a supposed childhood dream at the tender age of eight of owning his own restaurant (via Wendy's). A businessman who understood the basic concept that people wanted quality food, Thomas turned what was once a humble restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, into a multi-national conglomerate of burgers, fries, and of course, those famous Frosty's.
But aside from his career and appearing in Wendy's commercials for many years, Thomas still enjoyed sampling the fruits of his legacy — or the soft-serve of his empire in this case. In one particular legend, the CEO of Wendy's requested not just a Frosty in his home, but an actual working machine.
Dave Thomas ordered the 15,000th Frosty machine
As Wendy's tells us, Fred Kappus was the manager and CEO of Kappus Company, an Ohio-based food service equipment distributor. In 1969, Kappus received a call from Dave Thomas with a strange request. You see, since Kappus' company distributed ice cream machines, Thomas reasoned that Kappus may have an idea for a new soft-serve treat for his company. Although that was an odd request for someone whose job was to oversee equipment deliveries, Kappus nonetheless shared his idea, and the resulting brainstorm lead to the creation of the Frosty.
As Kappus would recall later, sometime in the late 1990s, Thomas rang up the engineering department with another strange request. He wanted a Frosty machine — an actual, working machine — brought to his island home on Buckeye Lake in Ohio. Kappus went to the manufacturer for assistance.
Perhaps to commemorate the great occasion, they decided to call this particular machine the "15,000 Frosty Machine" and took it out to the Thomas home to install it. Kappus would describe how following the installation of the machine, he, Thomas, and the other men enjoyed a delicious, fresh Frosty on the island's dock.
Of course, the Wendy's founder would be very close to a Frosty machine not just because he liked it, but to ensure strict criteria were followed.
The Frosty has some pretty strict rules
Wendy's is as serious about its never-frozen beef and never-soggy fries as it is about the criteria of how its Frosty's are made.
In 2006, then-executive vice president Ian Rowden explained that Dave Thomas' idea of a Frosty was a dessert "so thick you had to eat it with a spoon." To ensure that the dessert remains at the perfect consistency (not too thick, but not too soupy), the Frosty machines themselves are built as combination refrigerators and soft-serve and shake machines.
Food Network's series "Unwrapped" explores these machines in more detail, with an employee explaining that each machine contains a freezing chamber and a refrigeration system, allowing the Frosty mixture to remain in a state between a thick shake and creamy soft-serve. This also helps to keep the mixture at the appropriate 19 to 21 degrees Fahrenheit — any changes to the temperature could change the taste and texture of the Frosty as it's still being mixed.
For something that seems so simple, it's clear that there is a lot of history behind this cold and creamy treat. Chew on that next time when you're dipping your fries into a Frosty. And no, you can't get a Frosty machine installed in your home like Dave Thomas.