Takeaway / fast food general discussion

dlockers · 16 May 2022 at 12:15

For the cheap skates amongst us: Pizza Hut. You can often get a large Pizza delivered for under £13. And they have a points scheme that means every 3rd or 4th order you get a free side.

robfosters · 16 May 2022 at 12:30

dowie said:
Can even get Big Mac style burger sauce from M&S. Home made burgers or local butchers burgers are so good.

I’d rather have a crappy Rustlers burger than a typical fast food one even, at least I can toast the bread properly etc.. (they’re often discounted to £1.50 in my local Tesco).

This is gonna sound like sacrilege, but I don’t think Rustlers burgers are nearly as bad as people make out. I get the double decker, add a bit of lettuce and onion and the M&S burger sauce and they go down nicel. Maybe even some pickles if I have some Mrs Ellswood in the fridge.

robfosters · 16 May 2022 at 12:40

Haha, I don’t think Itchytrigg’s a Rustlers fan. Strange thing to get angry about.

cainer · 16 May 2022 at 12:44

dLockers said:
For the cheap skates amongst us: Pizza Hut. You can often get a large Pizza delivered for under £13. And they have a points scheme that means every 3rd or 4th order you get a free side.

My local PH do £8.99 for a large collection only offer, but for anything delivered there's a £12.49 minimum spend and £1.50 delivery, they also stopped giving out a free garlic dip

dowie · 16 May 2022 at 13:07

robfosters said:
This is gonna sound like sacrilege, but I don’t think Rustlers burgers are nearly as bad as people make out. I get the double decker, add a bit of lettuce and onion and the M&S burger sauce and they go down nicel. Maybe even some pickles if I have some Mrs Ellswood in the fridge.

For sure, I mean if I want some junk food I could order from Burger King, McDonalds etc.. via deliveroo/uber eats but I could also walk <100 meters to my local Tesco express, grab a rustlers, bottle of coke or milkshake, some of those freezer fries you just throw in the microwave etc.. and I’d have a cheaper and arguably better junk food meal.

I mean the freezer fries come in multi packs ditto to the cokes/Pepsi etc.. so can just keep a supply of those at home and just use when I get the occasional discounted Rustlers. Way cheaper than a fast food place.

robfosters · 16 May 2022 at 13:09

dowie said:
For sure, I mean if I want some junk food I could order from Burger King, McDonalds etc.. via deliveroo/uber eats but I could also walk <100 meters to my local Tesco express, grab a rustlers, bottle of coke or milkshake, some of those freezer fries you just picked in the microwave etc.. and I’d have a cheaper and arguably better junk food meal.

im quite partial to the frozen Fries2Go micro fries. Can’t stand McCains micro chips.

dowie · 16 May 2022 at 13:12

Yeah they’re individually packaged with paper in between each one so they don’t get soggy when microwaving.
Tbh, I quite like having a big pack of regular/non-microwave frozen French fries to just whack in some oil anyway, have been able to get them done perfectly.

builder22 · 16 May 2022 at 13:13

I used to **** about with frying fresh burgers but honestly find the tesco frozen 1/4 pounders cooked (for far longer than it tells you to!) in the oven better

robfosters · 16 May 2022 at 13:17

I don’t know if it’s just nostalgi, but I still enjoy a Birds eye quarter pounder with onion. They do a nice chicken burger too in a range called the chicken shop. Best ones are the sizzler fillet

Itchytrigg · 16 May 2022 at 13:38

robfosters said:
Haha, I don’t think Itchytrigg’s a Rustlers fan. Strange thing to get angry about.

It was the best option available, shocked face was close but it’s called “wow” and I didn’t want you to think I approved lol!

I use to like them as a kid but yeah microwaved meat is just not good…

Tony Edwards · 16 May 2022 at 13:54

Itchytrigg said:
It was the best option available, shocked face was close but it’s called “wow” and I didn’t want you to think I approved lol!

I use to like them as a kid but yeah microwaved meat is just not good…

Sad face is what you want.

Raikiri · 16 May 2022 at 14:48

robfosters said:
5 guys has always been a rip off. £17 for a fast food burger, fries and milkshake. Daylight robbery.

This is how much a burger, fries and milkshake should cost if everything is properly sourced and the employees are fairly paid.

I know people think "but it's only £3-4 of ingredients", but that's the point. The raw ingredients should only be 20-25% of the total cost. It's everything else that costs money, from rent, insurance, fuel, wages, utilities, cleaning supplies, advertising, machinery, seating and so on.

Places like Mcdonald's only work due to economy of scale and either owning supply lines or taking advantage of their huge buying power. If the average Maccy Ds sells 2000 items per day and makes 2p profit per item after costs are covered that's a measly £40 profit.

Barely seems worth it until you realise there are 40,000 of them. £40 per day each is £584,000,00 profit per year.

dowie · 16 May 2022 at 14:59

Raikiri said:
This is how much a burger, fries and milkshake should cost if everything is properly sourced and the employees are fairly paid.

I know people think "but it's only £3-4 of ingredients", but that's the point. The raw ingredients should only be 20-25% of the total cost. It's everything else that costs money, from rent, insurance, fuel, wages, utilities, cleaning supplies, advertising, machinery, seating and so on.

I doubt very much it needs to be £17 for the ingredients to be only 20-25% of the total cost!

Where has the claim that the ingredients cost £3-£4 come from?

Raikiri said:
Places like Mcdonald's only work due to economy of scale and either owning supply lines or taking advantage of their huge buying power. If the average Maccy Ds sells 2000 items per day and makes 2p profit per item after costs are covered that's a measly £40 profit.

Barely seems worth it until you realise there are 40,000 of them. £40 per day each is £584,000,00 profit per year.

That seems dubious too, plenty of McDonald's stores are owned by franchise owners who have committed a six-figure investment to the business, I doubt very much they'd be happy with just £40 a day. McDonalds making less that a billion in profit per year would be really bad, in reality, they make several billion a year and AFAIK are quite popular as a solid franchise business too.

Raikiri · 16 May 2022 at 15:15

dowie said:
I doubt very much it needs to be £17 for the ingredients to be only 20-25% of the total cost!

Where has the claim that the ingredients cost £3-£4 come from?

25% of £17 is £4.25. So close enough.

The claim comes from me being a professional chef and knowing how much things cost, at a supply level.

Cheese Burger - 2*4oz patties, cheese, bun plus condiments.

Beef - 250g £1.20
Bun - £0.25p
Cheese - £0.20p
Mayo/Ketchup etc. £0.08
Pickles £0.05
Lettuce/onion etc. - £0.10

£1.88

Fries.

Potatoes - £0.50p (they give you a huge portion)
Seasonings - £0.15p
Dips/Sauces - £0.20p

£0.85p

Milkshake.

Cream (200ml) - £0.85
Sugar - £0.10
Vanilla - £0.20
Milk - £0.15

£1.30

That's £4.03

Factor in 10% wastage and you're at £4.40.

dowie said:
That seems dubious too, plenty of McDonald's stores are owned by franchise owners who have committed a six-figure investment to the business, I doubt very much they'd be happy with just £40 a day. McDonalds making less that a billion in profit per year would be really bad, in reality, they make several billion a year and AFAIK are quite popular as a solid franchise business too.

Yes, and the franchisee will take a wage. I said after costs, which include wages. So maybe they make 5p profit per item on average? Or 10p, the point still stands.

Minusorange · 16 May 2022 at 15:19

Raikiri said:
Yes, and the franchisee will take a wage. I said after costs, which include wages. So maybe they make 5p profit per item on average? Or 10p, the point still stands.

What do the franchisee's do with the profit ? I would have assumed they would have part in savings but some they would keep for themselves on top of their "wage" ?

Raikiri · 16 May 2022 at 15:25

Minusorange said:
What do the franchisee's do with the profit ? I would have assumed they would have part in savings but some they would keep for themselves on top of their "wage" ?

Pay Mcdonald's, mostly. A franchise can cost up to £2,000,000. They often don't pay that up front.

dowie · 16 May 2022 at 15:40

Raikiri said:
The claim comes from me being a professional chef and knowing how much things cost, at a supply level.

That's £4.03

Factor in 10% wastage and you're at £4.40.

Fair enough, that does seem reasonable if they're claiming to use premium ingredients.

Raikiri said:
Yes, and the franchisee will take a wage. I said after costs, which include wages. So maybe they make 5p profit per item on average? Or 10p, the point still stands.

Some franchise owners will employ managers or run multiple locations, they don't necessarily need to take a wage, just profits... McDonalds quotes 20-25% ROI, you can spend a million on a decent McDonalds franchise (or even more) and for that million you'd be expecting to get 200-250k a year.

AFAIK Five guys pay isn't too different to McDonalds pay either

Five Guys Crew Member salaries: How much does a Five Guys Crew Member make in the United Kingdom? | Indeed.com

Explore Five Guys Crew Member salaries in the United Kingdom collected directly from employees and jobs on Indeed.

uk.indeed.com

McDonald's salaries: How much does McDonald's pay in the United Kingdom? | Indeed.com

Average McDonald's hourly pay ranges from approximately £7.41 per hour for Catering Assistant to £16.44 per hour for Massage Therapist. The average McDonald's salary ranges from approximately £11,000 per year for Delivery Person to £35,271 per year for Business Manager.

uk.indeed.com

I don't think staff pay is the reason they charge more.

TrojanWhore · 16 May 2022 at 16:28

dowie said:
McDonald's salaries: How much does McDonald's pay in the United Kingdom? | Indeed.com

Average McDonald's hourly pay ranges from approximately £7.41 per hour for Catering Assistant to £16.44 per hour for Massage Therapist. The average McDonald's salary ranges from approximately £11,000 per year for Delivery Person to £35,271 per year for Business Manager.

uk.indeed.com

Off topic a bit but...

"Average McDonald's hourly pay ranges from approximately £7.48 per hour for Operator to £16.44 per hour for Massage Therapist"
:cry:

what sort of McD's branch needs a massage therapist?!

robfosters · 16 May 2022 at 16:31

You think burgers are a big profit, they’ve got nothing on pizza!

Feek · 16 May 2022 at 16:47

Raikiri said:
Factor in 10% wastage and you're at £4.40.

Are you also factoring in the fifteen toppings they have available on the burgers as well?