- 1 year ago
The Food Truck NZ - S01E07 - Burgers
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00:00The New Zealand fast-food industry is worth over 1.3 billion dollars a year,
00:06but there's a huge social cost.
00:08Two out of every five deaths have some link to diet-related factors.
00:12Without putting you off your dinner,
00:14us Kiwis need to change what we eat.
00:19Michael van der Elzen is the owner and head chef
00:22at the award-winning molten restaurant and liquid molten bar
00:25in Mount Eden, Auckland.
00:27Let's get this show on the road.
00:29A mobile kitchen on a mission to make fast food healthy food.
00:33All right, open for business.
00:35Yummy.
00:36That's good.
00:37Just tasteless.
00:38Fast food can be exciting, it can be healthy,
00:41it can be food that we serve in our restaurant.
00:43The bit I'm worried about is, are Kiwis willing to go for it?
00:46Last time, Michael took his healthy Mexican food to the Auckland Zoo,
00:50where Kiwi concert-goers stampeded the food truck.
00:54The food truck has sold out.
00:56Shut it down!
00:58Tonight, can Michael create nutritious, affordable burgers
01:02with the quick-tick customers demand these days?
01:05Find out in the food truck.
01:11The burger's been the king of Kiwi fast food
01:14since McDonald's first touchdown in Porirua in 1976.
01:19McDonald's! McDonald's! McDonald's!
01:25To work there, you must have short hair if you're male,
01:28clean fingernails and no pimples.
01:31Ladies and gentlemen, we give you the burger that's fast conquering the world.
01:35In no time, Kiwis were obsessed with burgers.
01:38The other big brands soon arrived,
01:40and more recently, fancy-pants gourmet burger chains have swept the nation.
01:45Burgers are fantastic.
01:47They are such a great comfort food.
01:50As you're eating away, you've got that lovely, flavoursome patty
01:54that's just dripping fat down the salad, the tomato, the onions and the buns.
01:59It's a whole meal in your hand. It's fantastic.
02:02But as burgers get bigger, so do us Kiwis.
02:05Unfortunately, they can be really bad.
02:08In my mind, it's the unknown.
02:10What goes into those patties?
02:12You've got unhealthy, sugary tomato sauces,
02:15fatty mayonnaises, you've got real processed, horrible cheeses,
02:19and I all lay them together in a butter-filled bun.
02:24In a few days, Michael will be selling his healthy take-on burgers from the food truck.
02:29But before he does that, he's got to check out some of our favourite burgers.
02:33Michael's first stop is the Golden Arches to try the quintessential fast food.
02:40I'm going to have to go with the Big Mac.
02:43Why not?
02:45Sell a few Big Macs?
02:47Yeah, yeah, we do. We can sell 300 to 400 a day.
02:50In a day?
02:51Yeah.
02:52Served in less than a minute, it's quick as.
02:54But how does it taste?
02:56I think it's the sauce that makes a Big Mac.
02:58Not so much the meat that's in them.
03:00The patties are quite slim. You can get a lot bigger burgers.
03:03But on the whole, for what you're paying, $8,
03:05where you can get fries, a drink and a hot burger,
03:08you can't go wrong, really, for $8.
03:10Next up, it's drive-through time at Wendy's.
03:13I'll just go Big Classic Combo, please.
03:16And the burger is made in less time than it takes for Michael to change gear.
03:20That's about 40 seconds.
03:23That's outrageous.
03:25Once again, the meat takes a back seat on this burger.
03:28You know, this is your Big Classic.
03:30I always find in fast food burgers, the sauce, or the mayonnaise,
03:34is the dominating flavour above everything else.
03:37You get the meat at the end, but it's all about the sauce.
03:40For his final tasting,
03:42Michael's going flash and checking out Burger Fuel,
03:45the largest New Zealand-owned and operated burger chain,
03:48to sample a bacon backfire chicken burger.
03:51Unlike the super-fast mega-chain burgers,
03:54where meat is often pre-cooked,
03:56the Burger Fuel burgers are cooked from scratch
03:58and take just over six minutes.
04:01There's something about the combination of chicken, bacon and brie.
04:05Man, it's a good combo.
04:07It's quite big, but it is $11.20.
04:09That's quite a bit for a burger.
04:11I'm getting a really good picture of what I want to do for my burger.
04:14I think the two keys lie in the bun and also in the patty.
04:17You've got to make that patty taste fantastic,
04:19and the bun's got to be soft.
04:21But I want to cook all my burgers from scratch.
04:24It does mean that I'm not going to be as fast as the likes of McDonald's,
04:27but I'm going to be able to keep up with Burger Fuel,
04:30who cook all their patties from scratch.
04:32I've just got to go and learn how to make a great burger.
04:36But if Michael's serious about challenging burgers,
04:39there's really only one worthy opponent.
04:42A burger with the honourable number one spot
04:45on the Lonely Planet Things To Do In New Zealand list.
04:48Take that, Milford Sound.
04:50And who is this titan?
04:54This behemoth of burgers?
04:58Why, it's just an old lady.
05:00Oh, not that guy. That's Peter.
05:03He owns the legendary White Lady,
05:05a late-night burger institution that's been in his family since 1948.
05:11When it comes to burgers, the White Lady is it.
05:14She really is a bloody legend.
05:16If Michael wants to learn anything about the burgers Kiwis love,
05:19this is the place to start.
05:21We're at the White Lady. I'm going to have to go for a White Lady burger.
05:24Packed with meat, meat and meat,
05:27meet the White Lady burger.
05:29A monster with a price tag to match.
05:32$17. Look at that bad boy.
05:35I don't really know how to tackle this,
05:37but can you actually get your whole mouth into this?
05:43The answer would be no.
05:45It's immense.
05:47But so is the legend of the White Lady.
05:51She's been open for over 22,000 nights,
05:54getting it right for 63 years.
05:57It's like a museum, a piece of art.
06:00I like coming down here with my mates on the weekend,
06:03have a few jars and come and get a big burger.
06:05I come down to the White Lady quite a bit, nearly every day.
06:09If I wouldn't have them, I'd probably just fall apart.
06:12It's the only thing keeping me going.
06:15Pop started the White Lady in 1948.
06:18I started working in the cart in the early 70s
06:22and slowly took it over.
06:24My father claimed he'd never missed a shift
06:26and I can assure you I've never missed a shift.
06:28With his years of experience,
06:30Peter has offered to give Michael a lesson in burgers.
06:33It's making a wine. Meatball.
06:35My moment to shine. I'm on it.
06:38Put your shoulder in it.
06:40Flipping?
06:41What you wait for it to cook.
06:43Put the pineapple on now.
06:45Butter, butter?
06:46Yeah, just a wee bit of butter.
06:48But this old-school student is a bit set in his ways.
06:51Invert your hand.
06:52Use it as if you mean to do something with it.
06:55And he's got a lot of questions.
06:57No seasoning on the patty? No salt on the eggs?
06:59There's no cheese on the Hawaiian?
07:01No, no, no.
07:03Not such a know-it-all, are you, Michael?
07:05Done?
07:06After completing his first burger...
07:09Really, that's a fantastic-looking burger.
07:11Mark out a 10 for my first Hawaiian?
07:13Oh, passable.
07:15Still didn't give you a mark.
07:17How about I try it out on some real plain customers?
07:19Uh, yeah, yeah, OK.
07:22It looks like Michael has put himself at the top of the class
07:25and earned himself a place inside the White Lady.
07:29All right, so I've got two about ready.
07:31Once the onions are ready, we're ready.
07:33And one deluxe.
07:34Burger's on.
07:35Steak's almost ready.
07:37Enjoy that, sir.
07:39Freezer.
07:40Leave that a bit longer.
07:41After 25 years of cooking, I never thought I'd say
07:44I really enjoyed being a short-order cook.
07:46I'm the burger guy.
07:48As you can see, I'm going to have a hell of a problem
07:51getting the guy out of the damn cart now.
07:54Looks as if he's been at it for years.
07:56Nothing beats good training, I guess.
07:58You know, I love what they've got going on here.
08:00But they would be the first to admit
08:02that their burgers are not necessarily the healthiest.
08:04So what I'm thinking is I'm going to bring the food truck down here,
08:08I'm going to park it up next to the White Lady,
08:10and I want to see if the people that normally go to the White Lady
08:13would come to the food truck for a healthy burger.
08:16If he can sell healthy burgers, I'm all for it.
08:19I've tried before. People like their salt, people like their butter.
08:22But if he manages to do it, I'm only too happy to follow.
08:25Bring it on.
08:30Gourmet chef Michael van der Elzen is taking on a takeaway staple,
08:35the burger.
08:36In a few days, he'll be serving them from the food truck
08:39in a burger-off with Auckland institution the White Lady.
08:43But before he does that,
08:45he needs to know what hamburger lovers think of his ideas
08:48for a healthy burger.
08:50Today we've come down to a construction site on Auckland waterfront.
08:53These boys here, they work hard all day.
08:55They love burgers.
08:57So I've brought the food truck down, and on their lunch break,
08:59I want to serve them a variety of different burgers,
09:01see what they think.
09:03These construction workers only get a half hour for a feed,
09:06so they want it to be substantial.
09:08We work on the run, so we haven't got the time to be fussy.
09:11So we want something quick, we want something to fill us,
09:14something that tastes good.
09:15I like burgers because I like the meat preferably,
09:18and bigger the better.
09:20Will these blue-collar workers bite on Michael's white-collar burgers?
09:24First up, Mike's chicken burger.
09:26I'm going to rub it with a little bit of Dijon mustard,
09:28let that Dijon mustard penetrate into that chicken.
09:30The burger will be served with a tzatziki sauce,
09:33made with cucumbers, mint, rocket and yogurt,
09:37all things Kiwi blokes love.
09:39There we go.
09:40Michael also wants to test a healthy beef burger.
09:43Instead of using a plain beef patty,
09:46he's throwing vegetables into the mix,
09:48including onions, courgettes and beetroot.
09:51A little bit of Dijon mustard, a little bit of pepper,
09:54and a touch of curry powder.
09:56If you're adding a little bit of spice,
09:57you've got your cumin, you've got your coriander,
09:59you've got your chilli spice,
10:00it gives the patty a bit of background.
10:02To bind the patty together, Michael's using an egg white,
10:05and for that all-important, oh-so-special sauce,
10:08Michael makes an aubergine pickle.
10:10Hot pan, add your eggplant,
10:12saute that off with a little bit of olive oil, salt, pepper,
10:14add your tomatoes, I'm going to add some sunflower seeds,
10:17and some dried cranberries, a little bit of water,
10:20cook that down with a little bit of curry paste.
10:22Beautiful.
10:25Time for tasting.
10:26First up, chicken.
10:28Boys, how are we?
10:30We're hungry.
10:31Are you?
10:32Sure are.
10:33You boys like hamburgers?
10:34This is a chicken, and it's basically what we call tzatziki,
10:37which is like cucumber and yogurt.
10:39So it's not your normal burger.
10:41That's good.
10:43That's really good, dude.
10:44You don't just have to say that.
10:45I like the salad.
10:46It's probably a little bit Greek.
10:47That's what I'm looking for, is the Greek thing in it.
10:50Oh, it's nice.
10:51Yeah.
10:52That's nice.
10:53I'd buy one of these now.
10:54Great.
10:55That'll be $22.
10:56If you took those burgers back, and the boys went,
10:58hey, what have you got there?
10:59And you go, I've got chicken and tzatziki burger.
11:02I tell you what, I wouldn't say a word to them.
11:04So you'd keep it to yourself?
11:05I'd keep it a secret.
11:06The chickens are hit,
11:07but will these workers turn up their nose
11:09at a beef patty that's half vegetable?
11:14Yeah, that's a pretty good burger, mate.
11:16That's lovely.
11:17On a rating of 0 to 10?
11:198 or 9 to 10.
11:208 or 9?
11:21Yeah.
11:22That's pretty generous.
11:23Yeah.
11:24I like the flavour.
11:25It's got plenty of flavour in it.
11:26Is that something you'd normally eat?
11:27Yeah, pretty much.
11:28Anything with meat in it, but this is pretty good.
11:30I've got 50% vegetables in that patty.
11:33Fooled me.
11:35Construction workers today were fantastic.
11:37You know, they're honest people.
11:39They tell it as it is.
11:40The triumph today was the vegetables and the meat patty.
11:44You know, I put truckloads of veggies into those patties
11:46and not one of them noticed.
11:48That proves to me I can produce a healthy meat patty.
11:54The next morning, Michael and his sous-chef, Matty,
11:56head into the Molton kitchen
11:58to take what Michael has learned at the construction site
12:01to try out two possible menu items for game day.
12:05First up is a big burger.
12:07You know, all the construction workers spoke about was,
12:10you know, they wanted lots of meat in their burgers.
12:12I'm going to do my take on the Big Mac.
12:15It's going to be tasty, it's going to be healthy.
12:17I'm going to call it the Big Mike.
12:19Michael's running with his successful veggie and mince patties
12:22for his burger, but as he discovered earlier,
12:25the success of a burger is due to the sauce.
12:28I believe the special sauce is a mayonnaise-based sauce,
12:31so it's got a mayonnaise base
12:33with lots of ingredients added into it.
12:35I want to make that healthier.
12:37I'm going to make an emulsion which uses soft-boiled eggs
12:39opposed to raw eggs.
12:41Then you only need to use a quarter of the amount of the oil.
12:44He's rounding out the sauce with fresh shallots, honey,
12:47baby gherkins, tomato puree,
12:50vegetable stock and a small quantity of oil.
12:54But his first go hasn't captured that magic just yet.
12:59The acid in the shallots has just split the egg just slightly.
13:02The taste is there, but the texture is quite grainy.
13:05So if I cook shallots out,
13:07I know I'll have a smoother, more mayonnaise-style sauce.
13:12For Michael's other menu item, the chicken burger,
13:15he's revisiting his successful tzatziki sauce.
13:18But he's got some other improvements in mind.
13:20While the construction boys liked the chicken burger,
13:22I felt it was actually lacking something.
13:24So I'm going to take my chicken, which I've painted with mustard,
13:26and then I'm going to smoke it.
13:28I'm going to take my aubergine pickle, which is quite chunky,
13:31I'm going to blitz that up and I want to make it more like a sauce.
13:35Two of Michael's burgers will be served on home-cooked,
13:38wholemeal, nut-encrusted buns.
13:40Yeah, Matty, Big Mike time. Big Mikey? Yeah.
13:47What do you reckon? We'll make it bigger. It's pretty close.
13:50It's got that same lettuce mess that Big Macs do. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:53The chicken burger is all original,
13:55with aubergine pickle puree on the bottom
13:57and tzatziki and baby spinach on top.
13:59Matty, I think they look fantastic. Let's try all of them.
14:04Yeah, baby.
14:06While Matty heads off to take on the lunch service at Malton,
14:09Michael tackles his final burger.
14:11I want to make a vegetarian delight.
14:13The veggie content starts with the bun,
14:15with Michael supplementing white flour dough
14:18with a roasted kumara infusion.
14:20Not only are you eating more vegetables,
14:22when you bite into it, you're getting that beautiful sweetness
14:24of that golden kumara.
14:26For my patties, I want to load it with vegetable goodness.
14:30With lightly cooked chickpeas,
14:32tamari roasted almonds,
14:34quinoa, roasted pumpkin,
14:36blanched spinach, green lentils,
14:39buckwheat, fresh carrots,
14:41low-fat coconut milk,
14:43whole-grain mustard, two kinds of pepper,
14:45and egg whites to bind the whole thing together,
14:48these patties pack a huge nutritional punch.
14:51Put it into the fridge, let it sit, and then we'll wait.
14:55Patties in the fridge and buns in the oven,
14:57it's time for the sauce.
14:59Michael uses almond butter instead of traditional peanuts
15:02for a satay sauce,
15:04then whips up a beetroot pickle made with golden raisins,
15:07honey, and sherry vinegar.
15:09He reduces this on the stove while he cooks his patties.
15:13The final burger comes together with the help of
15:15cos leaves and alfalfa sprouts.
15:19This burger's been thought out through and through.
15:21Will people go for it? Who knows?
15:24But I think it's worth a try.
15:29Chef Michael van der Elzen has been researching
15:32what Kiwis love in their burgers.
15:34After working in Auckland's iconic burger cart,
15:37the White Lady,
15:38Michael has decided to bring the food truck back downtown.
15:41The challenge, to sell his healthy burgers
15:43to the White Lady's late-night patrons.
15:45I am full of confidence that if we put on a healthy burger,
15:49they will go for it.
15:51Right now, I feel on top of the world.
15:53But it's not the world he's taking on.
15:55There she is.
15:56Tonight, Michael van der Elzen takes on...
15:59It's quite big, isn't it?
16:01...the White Lady.
16:03I'm **** scared.
16:05Look at the poor little food truck
16:07getting swallowed up by the big White Lady.
16:10It was a good idea at the time,
16:12but now it seems Michael is scared of this old lady.
16:15It's damn daunting, really,
16:17because I'm going to bang out great burgers by myself
16:22and I'm next to the White Lady breathing down me.
16:25And tonight, she's breathing fire.
16:27The White Lady, via her official spokesman,
16:30has retaliated and has challenged Michael to a burger-off.
16:34White Lady takes on the food truck.
16:36Oh!
16:38Can Michael sell more healthy gourmet burgers
16:41than this legendary lady in just one hour?
16:44Or is Michael out of his depth?
16:47Oh, I think I'll be surprised at the sort of clientele he gets.
16:50I've created a menu of three burgers.
16:52I love a burger!
16:53Lovely.
16:54More about your menu later, Michael.
16:56With this Saturday night crowd,
16:58you might be better off in the food truck.
17:00Do people really care about healthy burgers
17:02when they're coming from a bar?
17:04Do they really care about health?
17:06Drunk people just want meat and they don't care about health.
17:09Chicken with cheese! Chicken with cheese!
17:12It has to be proper, 100% pure prime beef.
17:15Michael's beef patties are 50% vegetable.
17:18Doesn't matter about salad.
17:21It just has to be that beef with the cheese melted over the top.
17:25Ah, well, there's no cheese in Michael's burgers either.
17:29But there is a visitor in his food truck.
17:34That's fantastic, mate.
17:36Thanks, bro.
17:37You can go outside now, OK?
17:39This step is greasy.
17:41I just lost half my bloody patties.
17:43They just fell onto the floor.
17:45I had it on a box and the box just tipped over.
17:47I had enough here to do 30 Big Mike's, maybe 40 Big Mike's.
17:51Now I'm probably lucky if I get 20.
17:53Now there's my revenue gone.
17:56Not letting the botched burgers bother him,
17:58Michael bounces back and kicks off the competition.
18:01My healthy burgers are going to kick your ass.
18:06I wish him good luck.
18:07And it sounds like he really is going to need it.
18:10Let the battle commence.
18:13Surprisingly chipper for someone who's just dropped half their patties,
18:17Michael's ready for the flood of diners.
18:22But they're all down at the White Lady.
18:29Hopefully that's not how many they've sold.
18:32It's not looking good for Michael.
18:37Meanwhile, back at the White Hot White Lady,
18:39their burgers are on a roll.
18:42This one, only just.
18:44And back at the food truck.
18:46The food truck has no one in front of it.
18:48They walk straight past it.
18:50A little disappointing, I must admit.
18:52Because I think we're doing a fantastic product.
18:54Hey, the night's still young.
18:56Cheer up, Michael, because here comes your first customer.
19:00Peter from the White Lady.
19:01I'll have one of each.
19:03Knowing your enemy is one thing, but feeding them is another.
19:07Michael works like a man possessed
19:09and churns out his burgers in record time.
19:12Well, let's face it, he's got nothing else to do.
19:14Six minutes and five seconds.
19:16Faster than the White Lady by a minute.
19:18Well done, Michael.
19:19Enjoy.
19:20OK.
19:21After 64 years, getting their heads around healthy burgers
19:24might be easier than getting their mouths around them.
19:27First up, Peter and his wife, Anna, try the Big Mike.
19:31Yeah, the beef patty tastes lovely.
19:33There's lots of flavour in the whole burger.
19:35The Big Mike gets a tick.
19:37Now, the Big Chick for $9.
19:39The smoked chicken on the chicken burger
19:41is something that I think we should look at for our burgers.
19:44Wow, big praise indeed.
19:47But what will they make of Michael's $8 veggie
19:50with his special kumara-infused bun?
19:52The bun is a bit...
19:54cold.
19:56Oh, it's not toasted, that's why.
19:58Anna wastes no time taking her findings to Michael.
20:01I just wanted to say it was a bit cold.
20:03The kumara bun, I'm going to toast them now.
20:07Need to get a little bit of heat in them.
20:09So I've got the...
20:10No, it's got something more big in it.
20:12Just send some customers down if you want.
20:14OK.
20:15And indirectly, she does.
20:17It's an interesting by-product
20:19of the white lady's extraordinary turnover
20:21that finally gives Michael some momentum.
20:23It's less of a queue.
20:25I'll have a chicken burger, please.
20:26Absolute pleasure.
20:27Veggie, please.
20:28Pleasure.
20:29Eight bucks.
20:30Do you want a burger, sir?
20:31Chicken.
20:32OK.
20:33This is more like it.
20:34Big Mike.
20:35Good man.
20:36A late run of burgers for the food truck.
20:39Michael's unlikely to catch the white lady,
20:41but at least he's caught the attention
20:43of the brave souls who dare put health before hangover.
20:49The proof is in the taste.
20:51It tastes healthy.
20:52It doesn't taste greasy or fatty.
20:54I don't actually miss the cheese.
20:55Really good without it, actually.
20:57As the hour challenge draws to a close,
20:59it seems the food truck has gone for quality, not quantity.
21:03At least everyone loves Michael's burgers.
21:05So good.
21:06This is definitely the best burger I've had tonight by far.
21:10How many burgers have you eaten tonight?
21:12Don't ask.
21:14I've had a few.
21:16Well, in the end, Michael's sold more than a few.
21:19I did 12.
21:20Just.
21:21We did 46.
21:25That's a lot more than what I did.
21:27Maybe we're being a little bit full of ourselves
21:29to think that we can park the food truck up next to the white lady
21:32and try and take something home that's been there for so long.
21:3663 years.
21:38Longest running business in Auckland.
21:40Yes, yes, we get it.
21:41But there is some very good news to come out of Michael's food truck flop.
21:45And I fully intend to actually run with his burgers
21:48or at least give them a try and see how they carry on.
21:51Hopefully he hasn't made them too fancy for us.
21:57That's fantastic.
21:58The white lady are going to run my healthy burgers on their menu.
22:02At least they'll get something out of tonight.
22:04That's thousands of people that are going to have the option
22:07of a healthy food truck burger.
22:10It's another victory for the food truck.
22:14I just wish I had sold more burgers.
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