McDonald's withdraws blasphemous Happy Meal

Hamburgers and religion have proven to be a less-than-tasty combination here in France recently although they've certainly been making the news.

After the French fast food chain Quick sparked a row which took on political dimensions following its decision in November last year to take non-halal products and pork off the menu in eight of its 350 branches, McDonald's has found itself the target of criticism.

And at the centre of the controversy has been its Happy Meal for children, which has upset a Catholic priest in the southwestern département of Tarn, led him to call for a local boycott of the fast food giant and brought about a swift reaction and an apology from McDonald's itself.

It's not actually the food as such that has upset Xavier Cormary, the priest in the town of Saint-Suplice, although there are certainly those who would question its nutritional value and place within this country's cuisine. But that's quite another issue.

Instead it was the booklet that accompanied each meal and which contained a number of games and puzzles, one of which he and some of his parishioners found "bordering on the blasphemous".

The game in question shows a design, taken from the popular cartoon series and books for children, Kid Paddle, in which readers have to try to break a code to discover what a bishop is saying as he addresses a couple about to be married.

Harmless enough in the simple description perhaps, except the bishop, who along with the couple is drawn in the form of a misshapen potato, is holding a crucifix depicting Jesus as a frog, and his words, once the code is deciphered read, ""Do you accept to take Suzanne, here present, for dinner?"



Father Comary was incensed when he was made aware of the puzzle at the end of February and, being more than a little Internet-savvy, wrote exactly what he thought about it on his blog.

"Once again, the Christian faith is ridiculed," he wrote. "Marriage is violated, the bishop is mocked, and the crucifix is represented in a form that is offensive to beliefs that are at the heart of our Christian faith."

The 37-year-old didn't stop there though.

He called on parishioners to boycott branches of the fast food chain in the nearby towns of Gaillac and Lavaur, wrote directly to McDonald's France management and the publishers of the game and the original comic books.

And all to good effect it would appear, because according the local newspaper, La Dépêche, not only has he received an apology, but the booklet containing the game that had "caused offence" has been withdrawn.

Nathalie Febvre from McDonald's France customer services reportedly sent an email to the priest earlier this month in which she stressed there had been "no wish in any way to offend the sensibilities of its customers," and that "McDonald's would no longer be distributing Kid Paddle at its restaurants."

Forget the French fries - L'hamburger c'est magnifique non?

It's probably not the breaking news of the century, but it certainly gives food for thought as many French settle down for their traditional Sunday afternoon blow out here.

The hamburger - that sterotypical all-American food - is fast becoming a standard fare for many French.

There are over 800 branches (or franchises) of McDonalds in France, and fast food in general has been blamed for increasing obesity rates among both children and adults.

But this isn't about what the government is or isn't intending to do to slap taxes on fast food and teach the nation better eating habits.

Instead it's a look at what's happening to the burger à la française.

The French being French of course, aren't happy to leave the humble burger at that. And more and more chefs seem to be getting in on the act to serve up their own slightly more exotic Gallic version.

Think France, think food right? Almost every nook and cranny of what the French often refer to as the "Hexagon" has it's local speciality - many of them renowned throughout the world.

Delicious bœuf bourguignon, washed down with a regional wine - from surprise, surprise Burgundy. The thinnest and lightest of crêpes from Brittany in the west of France, accompanied of course by a great cider.

In the south how about a classic bouillabaisse, a mouthwatering fish stew (the French makes it sound one hundred times more appetising doesn't it) and a local Provençal rosé.

Or in the east of the country a crispy flammekueche or tarte flambée, an Alsatian gastronomical delight covered with crème fraîche, onions and bacon and helped down with yet more regional wine - a Tokay-Pinot Gris, a Gewurztraminer or basically anything that works for you.

Ah yes, France equals food and the list could go on and on. But you probably get the picture. It's a country with a fierce culinary tradition and a deserved international reputation, that has after all lent its name to cordon bleu cooking and dishes out Michelin stars every year to the very best restaurants.

So when you take the very "best" of US cooking and hand it over to the French to do their own thing. What do you come up with? That's right L'hamburger extraordinaire, and no more so than in the nation's capital it seems.

What's on offer isn't perhaps as costly as the world's most expensive hamburger to be found in West London. But some Paris chefs seem to have gone to extraordinary lengths to give the simple burger that Gallic twist, using quality ingredients and charging top prices.

So brace yourself for an appropriately fast food frenzy around some of what's on offer here.

At the Black Calvados (in the VIII arrondissement) for example you can, according to its menu grab a mini-burger dish (actually five of the little devils) as a starter for €18 and follow them up for a complete burgered-out experience with a main course BC burger (€39) made from wagyu beef.

If you want to eat your burger and maintain a social conscience, then the weekly news magazine L'Express recommends you head over to the IX arrondissement to Supernature. It's an organic cafeteria which offers alongside the extensive veggie dishes, what is probably the healthiest burger. Forget the ketchup and mayo though, this one is topped off with bean sprouts and served with lettuce. Price €8.60

Another recommendation from L'Express is what can only be termed the A-list burger at the swanky Regency bar of the Hôtel Prince de Galles just off the Champs Elysées. There for the "princely" price of €33, you can have the foie gras covered filet of beef burger or for slightly less (€27) an hommage to Elvis in the shape of the "Love Me" burger.

A final feeding station - this time from the International Herald Tribune - should your budget not be completely broken and you waistline expanded beyond reason, might be another hotel restaurant, this time in the I arrondissment.

There between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde, you'll find Le Dali, "the casual restaurant" of the Le Meurice, with the not so casually-priced burger (€35) whose description at least doesn't seem too far removed from the original thing.

The list of possible places to discover what French chefs have been doing to the hamburger to make it "acceptable" to the discerning Gallic palate could go on for as long as it takes the French to eat their Sunday lunch.

But as it's exactly that time of day (here) it's time to put the out-burgered tastebuds away and head off for the more classic cuisine.

Bon appetit