Is McDonald’s going hipster? It’s adding posh £5 burgers to its menu – and even offering table service
The new posh burgers made from 100 per cent British and Irish beef and are serviced in a brioche-style bun
MCDONALD'S doesn't just have to beat Burger King these days, it's also fighting more up-market chains like Five Guys and Shake Shack from taking an even bigger bite out of its business.
The cooler - and more expensive - high street burger restaurants are attracting fast-food fans in their droves and that has forced McDonald's to shake-up its own strategy in order to compete.
Today, the world's most famous fast-food chain announced it is adding posh burgers to its menu permanently as part of its quarterly financial results.
McDonald's has been trialling the "Signature" burger, currently available in 600 of its restaurants, but by the middle of next year the range will be available in branches nationwide.
The burgers are much more Instagram-friendly than the floppy cheeseburger that you associate with the home of the golden arches.
It's all part of a plan to upgrade its restaurants and bring them into the 21st century.
Branches are slowly being "transformed", so that they are equipped with hi-tech "experience of the future" kiosks, which allow customers to order and pay for their food.
The new technology means that customers can also opt to have their meals delivered directly to their table.
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The initiative is targeted at families and customers who do not want to wait at the counter but also hip teenagers who have abandoned the brand in favour of its cooler rivals.
But the posher burgers, which boast higher quality ingredients, come at a higher price - an individual burger cost a whopping £4.69 and a meal is £6.19.
Ahead of today's announcement, The Sun Online met with McDonald's food development director for the UK, to find out if it’s really worth paying five times more for your Signature burger and if you’ll ever find avocado in a Maccy D recipe.
The gourmet burgers are the first range to earn a permanent place on McDonald’s menu in 30 years - although the company has been experiencing with many trials.
Last year, the restaurant unveiled a secret fine dining menu using ingredients from its much-loved favourites in a bid to demonstrate the brand’s quality and versatility.
In September, customers were also stunned to discover they could order an apple pie McFlurry, a Neapolitan shake and a hash brown McMuffin.
This is probably why it took a specially commissioned Chef’s Council about four years to develop the the Signature Collection, Mr Cruttenden says.
Are the new McDonald's burgers any good?
- THE CLASSIC – 100% British and Irish Beef, Beechwood smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, wholegrain mustard mayo, ketchup, Batavia lettuce and red onion all in a brioche bun. Price: £4.79 Calories: 698 kcal
Verdict: A good combination of texture and flavours. Biting in, the first thing you notice is the thicker beef pattie used across the collection - and it's really tasty.
The distinctive wholegrain mustard is nicely offset by the sweetness of the ketchup making it an ideal snack for any meat lover.
- THE BBQ – 100% British and Irish Beef, Smoky BBQ sauce, coleslaw, Batavia lettuce, Beechwood smoked bacon, cheddar cheese and red onion, all in a brioche bum. Price: £4.79 Calories: 782
What we thought: We particuly liked the smokey BBQ sauce, which was nicely complementing the beef pattie together with crunchy red onions . But it's components - especially the coleslaw - do tend to slide in different directions making it very messy to eat, despite McDonald's careful packaging.
- THE SPICY – 100% British and Irish Beef, Jalapeño slices, Pepper Jack cheese, Batavia lettuce, spicy relish and mayo all in a brioche bun. Price: £4.79 Calories : 635
Verdict: This was a favourite by far primarly due to its core ingredients Jalapeño and spicy relish. The combination of beef and spices seemed quite innovative for McDonald's and nothing like we tasted at the burger joint before. Juicy, spicy and fresh - the burger might just be one of the best value for money offer on the high street.
So what's all the fuss about? The burgers made from 100 per cent British and Irish beef and are served in a brioche-style bun with sleek gold and black packaging.
And the burgers are bigger than those usually served by McDonald's.
“It’s the thickness of the beef that’s been really driving the customers,” Mr Cruttenden claims.
The patties are about 20mm thick - the thickest beef pattie in the McDonald’s system globally - and weigh a third of a pound.
The premium burgers come in three flavours – The Classic, The BBQ and The Spicy and all of them include fancy ingredients.
Among the highlights, the BBQ and the Classic both comes with Beechwood smoked bacon and natural mature cheese and the former also has wholegrain mustard grain mayo.
Meanwhile, the Spicy comes with Jalapeño slices, Pepper Jack cheese, Batavia lettuce, mayo and a spicy relish.
But are we getting value for money? The Signature Collection burger is six times the price of a 90p cheeseburger which can be found on the McDonald’s Savers menu.
Despite the higher price, the burgers are still cheaper than the places the McDonald's is trying to beat.
The Shack burger - the cheapest on Shake Shack's restaurant menu - comes at £5.65. At Five Guys you’ll pay £8 for a cheeseburger, while its ‘little cheeseburger’ is a single patty and comes in at £5.50.
Mr Cruttenden said: “We are still seen as a great value brand but it’s about offering great value across the menu and our gourmet Signature collection is a great value across the market place .”
Ultimately, McDonald's priority is to keep customers coming back.
“It’s really about offering customers more choice options and creating more occasions. It’s not about them buying the Signature Collection instead of a Big Mac - it’s about creating another opportunity from an occasion perspective,” Mr Cruttenden said.
“It’s an eat-in as opposed to a drive-through experience or a takeaway experience,” he added.
It is also much more focused on nutrition and has been on a reformulation journey for 10 years. The company is constantly looking at trends in the market - so does this mean we could see poached eggs and avocado on toasts included on its menu?
"I think sliced avocado would probably be too extravagant for us. It’s a good example where you see growth in the market, with the popularity avocado and poached eggs, but I don't think it would work for us."
"Having said that if you go back two to three years ago we wouldn't have had spicy products on our menu - it's seen as quite polarising.
"Whereas now we are looking at how we can give customers a choice around it."
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