Now that’s good taste — a Big M-inspired collection
● Munching McDonald’s isn’t the usual A-List fare — but that’s what I did when the brand with those famed golden arches invited me to a shindig celebrating 50 years of the Big Mac.
We are gathered at the local HQ of the global fast-food chain on Wednesday evening, sipping slightly too-sweet cocktails, when along comes a tall man in a suit to introduce himself. The friendly guy is the CEO of the company, Greg Solomon, a humble type who says he pushes burgers for a living.
Greg tells me that, while the burger chain was slow to take off here, today it serves a whopping 8.1 million customers every month. “So basically we serve about a quarter of the population every month.”
Not one to correct the host (census figures claim South Africa has just under 56 million warm bodies), I ask which outlet flips the most burgers: Durban’s Old Fort Road holds that title.
“Today, though, we’re here to celebrate an iconic fashion designer, and an iconic burger,” he says.
In walks someone who is neither a designer nor a burger but is certainly iconically flamboyant — Idols judge Somizi Mhlongo with his much younger fiancé, Mohale Motaung, in tow.
While Somizi greets other guests, I chat to Mohale, who tells me he is a junior accountant and is studying part-time.
Somgaga dismisses my request to take a pic of the happy couple, who have just come back from a sponsored trip to France, saying: “We’ll only pose for pics when we are married.”
A bit rich, friend, considering your lovedup pics are all over your Instagram.
Then it’s into the venue where that recent University of Cape Town grad Nomzamo Mbatha, wearing a black-frilled skirt with a ketchup-coloured top emblazoned with that distinctive “M”, gets up on stage.
“I am going to try not to have too many Big Macs tonight, but then again there’s nothing wrong with that,” she says.
Proceedings move on to the big announcement — that sweet local designer with the kuif, Gert-Johan Coetzee, will be revealing a special McDonald’s-inspired collection at South African Fashion Week next week.
We get a sneak peek of the collection, which is big on golden arches. “Even though Big Mac is turning 50, I designed this for the millennials, the glam-club kids,” says GertJohan.
Proceeds of the branded apparel will go to Ronald McDonald House, the company’s nonprofit that supports disadvantaged kids.
Turning to Kelly Khumalo, who is wearing a yellow tee proclaiming “It’s All Good”, I ask if the collection is her taste, to which the sultry chanteuse provides this salty reply: “If I had to wear an ‘M’, it would have to be the last name of someone very rich.”
As for the food — it took much longer than the wait in a fast-food queue for us to be served, but chef Martin Kobald made a noble attempt at cordon bleu fast food: Maccas patties were fashioned into meatballs with peppadew and cream-cheese centres, Oreo McFlurries became a tasty parfait, and my fav was the vetkoek with a beef patty, gherkins and lettuce and finished off with that McDonald’s special sauce. Greg, add that to the menu and I won’t be surprised if those missing six million South Africans also walk through your doors every month.