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This Food Blogger Says Burger King Stole His Recipe for Mac N’ Cheetos

The Vulgar Chef cooked up his own version of Mac N’ Cheetos in September 2015—nine months before Burger King announced its monstrous creation.
Photo via The Vulgar Chef

Earlier this summer, Burger King added something called Mac N' Cheetos to its menu, which remains the most unsettling combination of words you could possibly read, other than "lyrics by Fred Durst." The Cheeto-dusted abomination has been euphemistically described as an "experience-driven food," and it generated plenty of buzz for the King. The inescapable product launch alone led to an estimated 3.2 billion-with-a-B impressions, according to Nations Restaurant News.

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They're here. Mac n' Cheetos from BK. Unbox a pair today. #MacNCheetos pic.twitter.com/SeXNqmeanC — Burger King (@BurgerKing) June 27, 2016

But this hasn't been Burger King's best week. On Thursday, the chain reported that – despite all of those impressions and all of those #macncheetos hashtags – Mac N' Cheetos haven't exactly been a financial success. According to Bloomberg, during the second quarter of the year, Burger King's sales fell 0.8% among restaurants that have been open at least a year, and global sales only increased by 0.6%, well short of analysts' predicted 1.6% increase. And all of that was before the news broke that Burger King might have blatantly stolen the idea for its most Dr. Moreau-ish menu item.

READ MORE: America Loves Burger King's Mac N' Cheetos and We're All Doomed

Kyle Marcoux, a foul-mouthed culinary wizard known as The Vulgar Chef, cooked up his own version of what he called Cheetos Crusted Mac N' Cheese Fries in September 2015—nine months before Burger King announced its monstrous creation. In the video posted to YouTube, Marcoux took a carton of Stouffer's frozen macaroni and cheese, cut it into bite sized sticks, dredged them in egg wash and crushed Cheetos before dunking them in his deep fryer. If that sounds familiar to what Burger King has since shoved into a brightly colored cardboard box, that's because it is.

Marcoux told FoodBeast that this isn't the first time his recipes have been swiped, but that he was surprised that one of the country's biggest fast-food chains would be that bold—or that stupid. "At first I was like what the fuck? Like, you're fucking Burger King," he said. "It actually is a little flattering that a company as large as BK would take an idea from a fat, drunk illiterate food blogger who is basically an Internet food troll. Kind of sad, if you ask me."

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Marcoux (who's also a full-time factory worker) isn't getting anything but pissed. He told FoodBeast that he'd love it if Burger King would offer him "a large pot of fucking gold," but he'd settle for acknowledgement that he created these deep-fried heart-stoppers first.

"If I could write an open letter to the fast food bitches, I would tell them I love them and their artery-clogging food and if they want any help creating new exotic menu items to drop me a fucking email," he said. "Don't just skim through my blog and try to sneak one over on me. All of us food bloggers want at the end of the day is credit."

As for Marcoux's blog (and its #EatLikeShit hashtag), he has continued to post his own deliciously hellish combinations, like Taco Biscuits and Honey Bacon Marijuana Popcorn. And if you're an idea-starved restaurant executive, you should probably ignore both of those links.

MUNCHIES reached out to Burger King for a comment, but has yet to hear back.