Fast Food’s Quest To Feed Body And Soul During Lent And Beyond
NEW YORK — Fast food aficionados and practicing Catholics alike are often familiar with the Filet-O-Fish story.
When a 1960s McDonald’s manager in Cincinnati was struggling to sell enough hamburgers on Fridays during Lent, he blamed the dip in sales on Catholics who refrained from eating meat during the 40-day period leading up to Easter.
Meatless Fridays was — and remains — a common practice. This economic reality necessitated innovation. So the manager cooked up the Filet-O-Fish, put it on the menu and never took it off. The ability on the part of McDonald’s to modify its menu to cater to the devout was not an isolated incident.
READ: Can Catholics Eat Plant-Based 'Meat' During Lent?
In fact, many fast-food chains have been quite happy to adjust their business models and menus in order to appease a variety of religious communities in the United States and around the world.
Here are several examples of how these chain restaurants have been on a quest to feed all faiths, regardless of any dietary restrictions:
Photo courtesy of Swig
Last drink left
For the typical Mormon, the Word of Wisdom forbids the consumption of hot drinks and alcohol — something that complicates the use of establishments like Starbucks and, of course, bars. So, for most, the last drink left is soda.
In Utah, where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ headquarters is located (and where 55% of the population identifies as Mormon), it’s no wonder someone saw the profitability in providing fun drinks for this group.
In 2010, Swig was founded in Salt Lake City. While Swig does have a few small food items like cookies and pretzel bites, the clear priority of its menu is drinks. Swig features over 70 beverages, which it calls “dirty sodas.” Essentially, these are just traditional sodas such Coke, Sprite and Dr. Pepper, which are mixed with some kind of cream — usually coconut — and a variety of flavored syrups.
In addition to sodas, they also sell “revivers” and “refreshers.” The difference is that revivers replace the soda base with an energy drink and refreshers do the same with sparkling water. The one thing all the drinks have in common is that they are loaded up with lots and lots of ice.
The only hot drink on the menu is hot chocolate. Which, upon a very literal understanding of the Word of Wisdom’s position on the matter, seems to be inappropriate for Mormons to consume. Despite this — whether they can have it is debated — it doesn’t necessarily disqualify Swig as being anything less than completely Mormon friendly.
Photo courtesy of McDonald’s India
Where’s the beef?
The Big Mac is notoriously critiqued as having too little burger and far too much bread. But, when McDonald’s started expanding to India, this particular complaint was not likely to be brought up.
A burger chain in a country comprised of mostly Hindus ascribing to a beefless diet doesn’t make a lot of sense — unless you take out the beef, which the restaurant of course did. India is now home to over 500 McDonald’s restaurants.
Their menu is void of any beef, but it is full of potato burgers, chicken sandwiches and cheese-like paneer patties. All of these are labeled as burgers. Burger, it seems, does not imply beef for McDonald’s. Even its Big Mac isn’t safe from this. The “Big” is dropped right along with the beef. Instead, the Indian menu features the Maharaja (or “Royal”) Mac.
The alternate Mac comes in a “veg” version, as well as chicken. It’s shaped in every way like the Big Mac, but in place of sauce McDonald’s provides either cocktail or habanero sauce. And instead of pickles, the Maharaja Mac is loaded with jalapeños.
Photo courtesy of McDonald’s India
Jain friendly
McDonald’s hasn’t just catered to Catholics and Hindus. It has also sought to empty the wallets and fill the stomachs of people who adhere to Jainism.
Though only 0.4% of Indians identify as Jains, that’s still some 5 million people. Of those, 92% are vegetarian, and 67% of these vegetarians also abstain from root vegetables. As a result, the McDonald’s “Jain friendly” meal excludes all meat, onions and garlic.
The meal is heavy on cheeses. It features a McCheese Burger Veg along with a Classic Cheesy sauce for dipping. In addition to this, McDonald’s also sells the Oreo McFlurry and some root-free ketchup. Perhaps the most-interesting addition is the replacement of french fries with a cup of corn.
Photo courtesy of Burger King Israel
King in the ‘Promised Land’
While Burger King rarely ranks high in the United States, it is certainly fast-food royalty when it comes to international distribution. Burger King is the fifth-most popular chain in the world — and 17 of those locations are located in Israel
Over half of these restaurants are officially certified and advertised as kosher, but even without the official declaration, it is clear Burger King Israel is catering to a kosher palette.
The kosher commitment is clear when one realizes that it is impossible to locate a menu item that allows meat and dairy to touch. There is not a single cheeseburger on the menu. In fact, there doesn't seem to even be cheese on the menu. It is no wonder Burger King has been so capable of embracing a cheeseless burger menu when the original Whopper itself does not come with cheese.
Its casual ability to go cheeseless was clearly not as easily embraced by McDonald’s, which features many burgers that have both a cheese and non-cheese option. Despite being such a staple of American food, bacon is a much harder sell in a kosher establishment. Burger King, for example, has abstained from using traditional bacon in Israel — Jews don’t eat pork — and bacon burgers instead use turkey bacon.
Wendy’s does not have a location in Israel (it tried and failed to survive), but it does have locations in the nearby United Arab Emirates. The chain’s iconic Baconator has been renamed the Beefanator and is loaded with beef bacon since practicing Muslims, too, abstain from eating pork.
Photo courtesy of KFC
Popeyes and KFC
In the United Kingdom, an attempt to sell Popeye’s to Muslims features all locations being halal certified. On the U.S. side of the pond, however, only four Popeyes locations were halal.
KFC, however, was a bit more strategic in its halal certification. Like Popeyes, Kentucky Fried Chicken only has a few official halal locations. While Popeyes’ halal locations were scattered around Virginia, Minnesota, Connecticut and upstate New York, KFC’s halal establishments focused on more diverse areas, with half in New York City and half in the Houston metro area.
But KFC didn’t just dabble with halal. Over the past several years, it has pushed a Lent menu in Guam since the island features an overwhelming Catholic majority. The menu features several different types of fried shrimp, fish filets, fish sandwiches and even a deep-fried monstrosity called the shrimp burger.
In 2017, KFC even sold a seafood pot pie. It’s no surprise that during this time of year, the chain advertises itself as “Your place for Lent.”
Photo courtesy of Chick-fil-A
What about Chick-fil-A?
Perhaps no list of fast-foot restaurants and faith would be complete without mentioning Chick-fil-A. The chain was founded by S. Truett Cathy, a Christian who stubbornly kept restaurants closed on Sunday and was known for supporting Christian causes. However, when it comes to innovating in order to serve other religions, the chain has been mostly uninvolved.
This is largely because Chick-fil-A restaurants are located in dominantly Christian and secular areas — with no incentive to adapt. However, this may change in the coming years as Chick-fil-A is set to go international in 2025. Perhaps its journey outside the U.S. will force the company to mix things up a little when it comes to its menus.
Matthew Peterson is currently the John McCandlish Phillips intern at Religion Unplugged. He is a student at Baruch College in New York City.