CEOs of McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's in playful burger showdown

Dubai: Earlier this week, something unexpected happened in the world of fast food when the chief executive of one of the largest burger chains in the world inadvertently set off a mini “burger battle” on social media, and his fellow industry leaders happily joined in.

What began as a straightforward product announcement turned, quite quickly, into entertainment.

First the McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski posted a video on his personal Instagram in which he introduced the company’s newest sandwich, the Big Arch, a burger built with two beef patties, cheese, lettuce, pickles and a signature sauce.

In the clip, Kempczinski refers to the sandwich repeatedly as a “product” and takes what many viewers described as a very small bite. The first bite was so cautious that social media users joked about whether he enjoyed it.

Even a bunch of official social media pages of other fast-food joints joined in on the fun. @BurgerKingUK commented: “we couldn’t finish it either,” while @Subway.Singapore chimed in: “we have something fresher you can bite into” along with several others joining the playful roasting

Within days, the video had been reshared several times across TikTok, X and Reddit, accompanied by memes, jokes and commentary about a fast‑food boss seemingly unsure how to eat a burger.

Almost immediately, Burger King jumped into the conversation. Tom Curtis, president of Burger King U.S. and Canada, posted his own video in which he confidently takes a hearty bite of a Whopper, the brand’s flagship sandwich in what was widely interpreted as a playful contrast to the McDonald’s clip.

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This was then followed by the Wendy’s U.S. President Pete Suerken released a video of his own. In a light‑hearted clip from a kitchen setting, Suerken assembled and took multiple bites of a 'Baconator', pairing it with a Frosty and joking about how, unlike some competitors, “our machines actually work!” a playful nod at the meme on McDonalds ice cream machines never working.

He also emphasised that the burger features Wendy’s signature “fresh, never frozen” beef and a brand‑new bun, highlighting that everything from patty to bun is fresh.

CEOs eating burgers isn’t something you see every day, and somehow it worked. There were tiny bites, confident bites, Frosty machines that actually worked, and enough fresh buns to make memes for days.

Article contributed by Saarangi Aji

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