Since opening its first restaurant in the
Sydney suburb of Yagoona in 1971, McDonald's has grown to over 780 outlets employing some 85,000 people who serve more than 1 million daily customers across
Australia today.
As nationwide sales dipped due to lower consumer confidence and increasing demand for better value for money, McDonald's is working at wining back customers. The global fast food giant is focused on offering Australians cheaper items and a greater variety of meals including putting more
lamb on the menu after the company felt that Australians embraced the lamb burger promotion.
Photo by brittgow of Flickr
Most readers will agree that lamb is a Australian iconic meat, frequently appearing as chops on the barbie and roasts in the oven.
To get the combination of flavours and ingredients attuned to the taste buds of Aussies, McDonald's Australia worked with the Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) organisation and spent over 18 months to develop and perfect the product.
The end result were "thick and juicy" patties made of 100 percent Australian lamb, combined with "egg and breadcrumbs, then seasoned with rosemary, parsley, oregano, garlic and real onions to create a mouthwatering taste". Fans of the golden arches would have been thrilled with the possibility of a new burger that might become a stayer on the perennial menu.
Photo by pj_in_oz of Flickr
Although we're a nation of lamb lovers, did a McDonald's lamb burger really made sense? Did Aussies truly felt the lamb burger was worth all the calories and price? Did you really enjoy the burger?
Macca's introduced its 'Serious Lamb Burger' on 15 August 2012 in one of its biggest launches ever Down Under. The burger was for a limited time only in a test market for new menu items. If all went well,, the burger could be introduced to the US.
Sam Kekovich, a popular former AFL player, was featured in a training film explaining how to construct the new burger, beginning with a 5 inch wheatgerm bun as the base, layered with a tomato slice, 3 red onion rings, the lamb patty, an oval cooked egg, 15 millilitres of tomato ketchup, 14 grams of greens, 20 grams of aioli, a slice of beetroot and finally top with the bun crown.
It was so 'serious' that Macca's recommended using both hands to eat the burger. Available in all outlets nationwide, the burger cost a 'serious' AUD7.95 and clocked 805 calories.
I decided to pick one up for a 'serious' taste test from an outlet in
Melbourne CBD when the crowd had abated at night. The burger arrived in a larger than usual box stamped with the glorified 'Serious Lamb Burger'.
Tearing away the seal of 'quality', I came face-to-face with a hefty bun that hinted at a messy meal. It's larger size is also reflected in the premium price.
Although the burger contained all the promised ingredients of tomato, beetroot, aioli, ketchup, egg and onion, it looked nothing like the advertised image. A closer scrutiny of the lamb burger revealed a 1 centimetre thick patty, a well cooked egg with no over-fried edges, a sparse leaf of iceberg lettuce and a large beetroot slice and tomato.
A bite of the hefty burger revealed dry, crumbly and stale-like bun over crispy greens and soft tomato and beetroot. The patty was seriously more like a slice of salty and fatty meatloaf with indistinguishable lamb flavour. It could have been any meat.
Fortunately the overall taste was pleasant and the burger was not overly wet and greasy like some burgers. The accompanying fries were limp and the staff forgot the soft drink in my meal order. If Mary was Down Under and after a "little lamb", she might just think twice.