McDonald’s restaurants in Luton two of only 28 branches trialling new burger range

The restaurants in Luton Leagrave and George Street in the town are part of a UK pilot for new premium burgers on the menu at McDonald’s.

The Luton fast food outlets have been chosen as two of 28 restaurants to trial the new range. The new burgers were created by McDonald’s team of food specialists and their prestigious Chefs Council.

The council is a team of chefs with a wide range of experience from Michelin starred restaurants to cooking for international royalty.

This range of premium burgers features a thicker beef patty made from 100 per cent British and Irish beef and available in three flavours: The Classic, The BBQ and The Spicy each served in a brioche-style bun.

Headed up by Duncan Cruttenden, food development director at McDonald’s UK, the team of experts used customer insight to create a new range of premium burgers. Three key areas arose from the research which explored the customer’s expectations from a premium burger at McDonald’s – a thicker beef burger, high quality ingredients and freshly prepared.

McDonald’s food development team then worked alongside the Chefs Council to create the new range which aims to deliver on all these areas.

Mr Cruttenden said: “At McDonald’s we are committed to listening to our customers and evolving our menu to offer something for everyone.

“When the Chefs Council started to develop this new premium offering, we worked with a brief generated by our customers – they told us they wanted thicker beef patties, high quality ingredients and freshly prepared.

“We’ve crafted a range that is a truly exciting permanent addition to our menu - every product has to earn a place on our menu and our customers have told us the Signature Collection has done just that.”

The Signature Collection is served in new black packaging, with fries served in matching fry cartons with every Signature order.

As part of the ongoing restaurant transformation programme, McDonald’s has introduced new lay-outs and increased technology to the kitchens, meaning all iconic menu items will be made specially to order for customers.

Due to the thicker patty the new burger takes a little longer to cook than other burgers on the menu which means at quieter times there could be a short wait for a Signature Collection burger.

The trial is taking place in 28 restaurants in London and the South, including Luton, and is set to roll out across the country next summer when the Signature Collection will become a permanent item on the menu in about 400 restaurants already refurbished as part of the ongoing ‘Experience of the Future’ transformation programme.

The new burgers are priced at about £4.69 for a sandwich and about £6.19 for a meal.

Full list of restaurants:

01. Sleaford

02. Kettering Stanier Retail

03. Caxton Gibbet

04. Bedford High Street

05. Milton Keynes - Midsummer Arcade

06. Milton Keynes - Kingston Centre Retail Park

07. Bedford Interchange Retail Park

08. Royston

09. Colchester Stadium

10. Luton Leagrave

11. Luton George Street

12. Welwyn Garden City

13. London Colney

14. Barnet

15. North Finchley

16. Haringey

17. Walthamstow

18. Barkingside London

19. Ruislip

20. Swiss Cottage

21. Cambridge Circus - Charing Cross Rd

22. Cannon Street

23. Bow

24. Hayes

25. Wandsworth Drive Thru

26. Balham

27. Woolwich - Church Street Drive Thru

28. Woolwich Powis Street

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