This falls into the category of “surely you must be joking”.
In efforts to improve its flagging sales, McDonald’s recently held media events to convince critics that what is served in their restaurants isn’t fast food but “good food served fast”.
McD’s employed celebrity chefs to make gourmet dishes using their food for these events. Gnocchi made from French fries and kung pao chicken from Chicken McNuggets joined a spiced biscuit called “biznut” and slow-roasted beef (NOT from a typical McDonald’s franchise) on the fantasy menu.
The corporate director of culinary innovation explained, “a lot of our guests don’t believe our food is real.” Got that right.
Trying Times for MickeyD’s
McDonald’s has suffered consistent losses in the last three quarters. This comes along with–or maybe as the result of–various scandalous events: a lawsuit in Russia over misrepresentation and food poisoning, employees found using expired meat in China, declining sales in Europe, a ruling by general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board that the corporation is jointly responsible for labor violations of its franchisees, and the unadulterated fail of its new mascot, Happy.
Greater Market Share Through Diversification
The fast food giant has been pushing the envelope over the past fifteen years, increasing and expanding its menu to include salads, wraps, a variety of drinks, and specialty items in an effort to attract a more diverse customer base.
The latest media appeal was an attempt to get the driving forces on board to change the image of McDonald’s fare as low-quality. Any foodie worth his/her salt will be able to easily see through the ploy. No matter what sauce you put on a McNugget, it’s still a genetically-modified, chemical-ridden excuse for sustenance.
Their Bread and Butter has Gone Stale.
McDonald’s staple menu item–the one thing that made it what it is back in the 1940s–isn’t pulling its weight; a survey reported by Consumer Reports found that most people ranked the McDonald’s hamburger the worst-tasting of fast food burgers. If they’re smart, McD’s will pay attention to the results of the survey of over 32,000 people:
“Despite many restaurants’ best efforts to include healthier items such as soup, salads, and grilled-rather-than fried items on their menus, Consumer Reports’ survey revealed that most fast-food diners aren’t concerned about dieting when they eat out. Only 20 percent of respondents said they consider the availability of healthful menu options when choosing a restaurant; just 19 percent said they ordered a healthful fare during their most recent restaurant visit.”[1]
People are Eating Out More Than Ever Before.
It seems they are therefore beginning to care a lot more about quality–it’s not just about price. But McDonald’s continues to fall short.
We’ll just mention here that fast food in general is full of salt, trans fat, hazardous chemicals, and genetically-modified organisms. These factors cause obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disease, allergies, cancer, etc. McDonald’s is just the historical poster child.
So while you can dress it up, you shouldn’t take it out.
sources:
[1] https://www.consumerreports.org/