Instagram-baiting burgers don’t cut the mustard with top chefs
TOP chefs and restaurateurs have hit out at a new trend of towering burgers fuelled by social media, that they argue “defeat the purpose” as diners can’t fit a bite in their mouths.
A burger that has to be cut up with a knife and fork is pointless, industry experts have said, arguing that for a burger to be acceptable, one must be able to get all components in one bite, and be able to hold it in one hand.
Photographs of burgers on Instagram show creations stacked high with risotto fritters, pulled pork and gargantuan chunks of pickle, but Stevie Parle, who runs multiple restaurants in London, including Pastaio and Palatine, argued that simple burgers are best.
He told The Daily Telegraph: “Cooking for looks is clearly not a new thing, but these days we somehow feel we have to cook for likes. Of course, we have to do what we can in this industry to get people through the door, but this attention-seeking goes way too far when a ‘freak shake’ or a burger is so massive and over the top it’s impossible to eat in the normal way.
“I’m no burger expert, but it strikes me restaurant burgers are often too big, maybe to justify the price tag needed to maintain spend in a full-service restaurant.”
Ryan Simpson, who was awarded a Michelin star when he was the head chef at The Goose in Oxfordshire, and now runs his own restaurant, Orwell’s in Henley-on-thames, agreed.
He said the trend was “terrible” and that for a burger to be a success “you have to fit it in your mouth. You don’t want to be cutting it up. You want the bun to soak up the juice.”
Mr Simpson said: “A better burger will be much uglier. One of my best burgers ever was in New York at Shake Shack. That was messy.” He added that “every burger should have bacon, cheese and a nice slice of gherkin”.
Scott Collins, the managing director and co-founder of burger chain Meatliquor, said: “We don’t do anything for novelty’s sake. There’s lots of people out there just desperate for social media coverage.
“If you can’t eat it and hold it in one hand, it’s not a proper burger. It defeats the purpose and what a burger was designed to be.”