Paul Hollywood Can't Resist McDonald's. Here's What He Orders
At the end of the day, though you may be constantly besieged by people telling you that the franchise fries up unhealthy food, you probably still love McDonald's. You understand that a Sausage McMuffin isn't the nutritional equivalent of a vitamin and kale smoothie, and frankly, you probably don't care.
If you're at all hesitant to own up about loving the Golden Arches, it may help to learn that the restaurant chain made over $13 billion in 2022, so you are most definitely not alone in your affinity for their burgers and fries. A survey carried out by Real Research Media revealed that just under 34% of respondents ate at McDonald's at least once every month. McDonald's is cheap and delicious — can you really ask for anything more than that?
As if you needed any more reason to unabashedly eat at McDonald's, it is the favorite franchise of several celebrity chefs, including Paul Hollywood of "The Great British Bake Off" fame.
Paul Hollywood's go-to McDonald's meal is a classic combination
Hollywood can't get enough of the fast-food restaurant McDonald's. Apparently, after spending long afternoons in the famous competition tent on "The Great British Bake Off," sampling scores of sweet treats from the best bakers in the United Kingdom, he develops an intense craving for a salty snack to offset his stomach full of sugar. A day of filming will often end with Hollywood swinging through the McDonald's drive-thru on the way back to his hotel room. His go-to order is a Big Mac and a large fry. Salt and grease serve as combatants against the piles of carefully crafted cakes he recently consumed. Mary Berry, one of his co-hosts on the competitive cooking show, was less than impressed with Hollywood's fast-food habit.
Interestingly enough, McDonald's has been referenced on "The Great British Bake Off" before, though the competitors are not allowed to call the popular fast-food franchise by its name. Lizzie, a contestant on season 12 of the series, made brandy snaps that were inspired by the flavor profile of the McDonald's Baked Apple Pie.
Many chefs have a high opinion of McDonald's hamburgers
Hollywood is not the only chef of note who enjoys McDonald's signature towering burger. Chef Kevin Tien of Washington, D.C.'s Hot Lola's told Insider that he admires the fact that McDonald's consistently puts out a quality product, and one of his standard orders at the chain is a Big Mac combo meal, which he washes down with a Fruit Punch. In an interview with Eat This, Not That, Tyler Akin of Wilmington, Delaware's Le Cavalier claimed that the Big Mac represents the absolute apex of fast-food items. Ferran Adria, who served as the head chef at the legendary Spanish restaurant El Bulli, which José Andrés said changed culinary mankind, insists in his book "A Day at El Bulli" that no restaurant could recreate a burger that is as good as a McDonald's sandwich for the same price point.
If you want to try the sandwich that Paul Hollywood and a slew of other chefs cannot stop raving about, you can make this McDonald's Big Mac copycat recipe. However, you might consider taking a page out of Hollywood's book and filling your belly with cookies and cakes before your trip to the drive-thru.