Post-horsegate, the beef burger has got the bit between its teeth again.
If you don't believe me, witness the George Osborne set-up picture, in which the Chancellor was seen with a take-away burger at his elbow while preparing his comprehensive spending review. It was swiftly pointed out that his evening meal (minimum price £6.75, with fries an extra £2.95) was posh, and definitely not a 99p cheapo.
The intended message was that here was a man of the people, getting down with the kids. Beef burgers, the original fast food, do have an on-trend street food vibe these days: squeaky-clean ethical sourcing, transparency of provenance and slick presentation are key factors.
People power is gaining momentum. Sales of frozen beef burgers slumped by 43% during the horsemeat scandal as consumers steered clear of products they feared might not be quite what they claim on the label. Data from the market research firm Kantar Worldpanel shows sales of frozen ready meals have also been hit, down 13% since the Food Safety Authority of Ireland said in mid-January that it had found horsemeat in beef burgers destined for sale in British supermarkets.
A Quality Meat Scotland survey of about 300 members of the Scotch Butchers Club revealed 92% of butchers had experienced increased footfall and that they believed this trend would continue over the next 12 months. McDonald's, which sources its beef from 17,500 farms in Britain and Ireland, conducted its own poll of 2000 UK adults and found that almost three-quarters said they preferred to buy food that is produced from farms with high standards of animal welfare in place. The world's largest fast-food chain has also switched to 100% Freedom Food pork from British farms that meet strict RSPCA animal welfare standards across its entire UK menu.
Next week in Glasgow a new beef burger idea opens for business, with two young men from Michelin-starred Scottish restaurants in the saddle. Ben Dantzic, most recently the manager at Restaurant Andrew Fairlie in Gleneagles Hotel, and his chef friend James Forrest, who met while working at Geoffrey Smeddle's Peat Inn in Cupar, Fife, say they spotted a gap in the market in Glasgow for "posh" burgers: a classic burger at Burger Meats Bun will cost between £7.50 and £9, with an additional £3 for chips. The boys spent months sourcing what they reckon are the best artisan suppliers, such as the Aberfoyle Butcher for beef, Gartmorn Farm in Alloa for chicken, and the Big Bear Bakery in Glasgow for brioche and gluten-free buns. With a drink (local craft beer optional), a tray meal will cost around £15. They've taken their influence from London street food outfits and burger passionistas Patty & Bun and Burger Bear, and talk eagerly of such burning issues as how long the beef has been aged, its fat content, and how their chicken burger will be a flaked confit of tasty thigh and leg meat.
Burger Meats Bun will be close neighbours of the Meat Bar, another recently opened, right-on burger joint.
The stable door has closed. The burger has bolted.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article