From Homeless Shelters to Fried Chicken That’ll Give You Goosebumps
“It’s almost like he takes stuffing and just wraps it around the chicken,” one diner observed at Sauce Boss Southern Kitchen in Draper, Utah. That’s the kind of reaction Chef Julius Thompson’s fried chicken inspires—and the story behind it is even more powerful than the flavor.
Located about 25 minutes southwest of Salt Lake City, this spot embodies everything Guy Fieri looks for on Triple D: character, story, and real food for real people. But Chef Thompson’s journey to opening this culinary gem took him through homeless shelters, streets, and crack houses as a kid growing up around family members battling addiction.
“As a kid I thought it was a pearl, the way they cherished it, the way they gave it all his attention,” Thompson shared about watching adults with drugs. During COVID, he wrote his autobiography, titling it Pearls—a reference to how those “pearls” ultimately cause decay. “I decided I should do something I love to do, which is cook,” he explained. “Take my pain and turn it into something palatable for other people.”
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The Golden Splendor: A Soul-Warming Fried Chicken Plate
The signature dish Guy dove into is called The Golden Splendor—a massive fried chicken thigh that Guy declared “as big as my head,” served alongside mac and cheese, collard greens, and house-made maple hot sauce.
The fried chicken starts with a dredge of all-purpose flour seasoned with lemon pepper, garlic salt, seasoning salt, parsley, chili powder, and a generous amount of rosemary. Guy raised an eyebrow at the rosemary—”one of those polarizing herbs”—but Thompson knows what he’s doing. The chicken gets dredged in a milk and egg mixture, back into the seasoned flour, then rests for six hours to overnight before hitting a 350-degree fryer for eight minutes.
The result? “You’ve built so much flavor all the way through this,” Guy said. “Crunchy, juicy chicken.”
Collard Greens Worth Traveling For
Finding proper collard greens in Utah isn’t easy—locals at the restaurant admitted they usually have to go out of state for real Southern food. Thompson’s version starts with whole pork bellies from Salt Lake, cut in-house and rendered down. He adds an onion garlic puree, then combines the bacon with boiling water, salt, pepper, brown sugar, butter, and red wine vinegar before adding the greens for two and a half to three hours.
Guy’s verdict: “A lot of vinegar but not too much. A lot of sugar but not too much. That’s a really good green, man.”
Mac and Cheese That Converts Skeptics
Similar to the indulgent approach seen with Truffled Lobster Mac & Cheese on other episodes, Thompson’s version uses sautéed onion garlic puree, heavy cream, parmesan, and cheddar to create the sauce. Pre-cooked pasta gets heated directly in the cheese sauce. Guy appreciated that the pasta maintained texture—”I don’t want just this cheese and some other matter, cheddar milkshake.”
One diner summed it up perfectly: “After three kids obsessed with mac and cheese, I thought it ruined me. But coming here, it’s made me a believer in it again.”
The Maple Hot Sauce Secret
The finishing touch on The Golden Splendor is Thompson’s house-made maple hot sauce: butter, brown sugar, maple syrup, and hot sauce boiled for about five minutes. Guy called it “legit delicious” and joked he’d take a shot of it straight.
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