Perhaps the secret spices came from Aberdeen

I know this may seem blasphemous but fried chicken originated in Scotland.

It was a Scottish tradition from the Middle Ages to deep fry chicken. The Scottish had a preference for food that had been cooked in fat rather than boiled like the English did. Additionally, fried food was cheaper and quicker to make. The Scots bought this dish over to the Americas with them when immigrating to the Southern United States where it became a staple of American cuisine.