Written by Belinda Cleary, Daily Mail Australia
01:08 January 12, 2024, updated 01:16 January 12, 2024
Australian chef Curtis Stone says McDonald’s Double Big Macs should be served with a health warning.
The celebrity chef, known for sharing $10 meal ideas for Kohl’s, told TMZ that burgers are an “eat at your own risk” situation.
The 48-year-old said the burger had around 740 calories and may have been created to help people cope with abnormal cravings, but it “does more harm than good”.
“There’s a lot of meat in this. It’s like gulping down a hamburger,” he said.
“And when you stop and think about how much you need to take, you have no idea.”
The celebrity chef said he’s “all for splurging,” but when he first saw the Double Big Mac go viral, he was shocked.
“In my humble opinion, it should come with a health warning,” he said.
His comments came after the burger, which was launched in Australia in March 2020, was previewed in the US market.
Fast food lovers were horrified as they labeled a burger with four layers of meat, three buns and the restaurant’s famous pickle sauce “sneaky”.
It will be released in the US from January 24th.
It was initially advertised as “twice the fun” when it was released in Australia, but foodies in the US say it should be tagged with “twice the chemicals” or “twice the calories.”
One person teased the “new” burger on the restaurant’s social media, writing: “Yeah we have to get fatter.”
Another said, “Are they going to call it Heart Attack Mac?”
But for some, the excess calorie content is the main selling point.
“You’ll feel disgusted after eating one, but you’ll definitely enjoy every minute of it,” one person wrote on Facebook.
Another said: “McDonald’s Double Big Mac will be coming to US restaurants soon.” I don’t usually eat Big Macs, but I’d love to try it. ”
The Double Big Mac is already sold in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK and Japan, but one diner couldn’t help but notice a “problem”.
“There’s only one piece of cheese left,” the man said, using an eye-rolling emoji.
The price of the Double Big Mac in the US has not yet been announced, but it could be around AU$30.
McDonald’s prices in the US rose by 14% in Q3 2023, with one restaurant found in October charging AU$27 for a regular Big Mac combo menu.
The high price tag is another hurdle for Stone, who said he could get a plate of food at a good restaurant for the same price.
McDonald’s menu has a “double” option for most of its burgers, including the Double Quarter Pounder, Double McChicken, and Double Filet-O-Fish.
The Double Big Mac was originally introduced for a limited time in the US in 2020 and quickly became a hit with customers.
