I work in Burger King – the secrets customers never spot like how we lure you in & how to make the best Whopper

BURGER King serves 11 million customers every day, but have you ever wondered what goes on behind closed doors?

Channel 5’s Burger King: How Do They Do It? reveals how the fast food chain lures in customers without you realising - and what really goes into their famous Whoppers.

Burger King is the second biggest fast food chain in the world behind McDonald’s, but they have a specific strategy when it comes to attracting people.

Sara Collinge, consumer branding expert, said: “Burger King actually spends a lot less on advertising than a lot of their competitors.

“They spend a fraction of what McDonald’s spends.

“But what Burger King focuses on is tapping into cultural moments, being humorous, being interesting and doing PR stunts.

“You’ve got to court controversy and that’s something Burger King does to great effect.”

Adam Layland, editor of The Grocer, said it is the brand’s “cheekiness” that makes them stand out.

One of the examples given was when Kayne West tweeted saying “McDonald’s is my favourite restaurant”, to which the Burger King account replied “Explains a lot.”

Burger King chains can also be found in half of the top 10 busiest train stations and airports, helping to them to attract a large volume of customers.

The Burger King Whopper is their signature serving, with a billion being served every year, but what goes into the process?

Adam said: “The Whopper is cooked in what can only be likened to those hotel toaster machines except that it has flames in it.

“It is a giant broiler and the burgers sit on this tray and they go round - and there is a flame underneath and a flame on top - so they are cooked on both sides.

“Then they come to the end and they fall off into the juices from all the other Whoppers.

“So what you are getting is genuinely flame-grilled and then it is soaked and juicy because it is in the juice from the grilling process.”

Burger King staff member Claire, who has been with the business for three years, demonstrated the process.

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She said: “We cut the tomatoes and onions fresh every morning. The lettuce is freshly packed.”

Burgers arrive at branches frozen in boxes of 400 - and burgers can be constructed in seconds.

Claire continued: “Once we get an order through for a Whopper.

“So what we do when it comes is take one and put it in the toaster.

“It only takes 10, 15 seconds for the bun to be toasted.”

“They say on average it takes 23-25 seconds [for the burger to be fully constructed], I have heard the record for it is 13 seconds, mine is 15 seconds. 

“We use one bit of meat, four pickles which we separate out. Tomato ketchup and three onions.

“You can add on cheese or bacon but that is just your standard Whopper.

“Then we fold it up and put it on the chute.”

The Whopper famously only has one patty, compared to McDonald’s Big Mac which has two.

Their fries are also unique, as they have a coating of a special blend of potato starch, water and baking powder, which gives them their crunchy flavour.

Consumer journalist Harry Wallop added: “One of the ways the Whopper stands out against main rival the Big Mac is it is whopping big piece of beef.

“I know many people who go to McDonald’s and they are not extraordinarily greedy, but they buy a Big Mac and they say it’s not enough.

“It’s a crucial extra 20g of beef, most people have a Whopper and say that’s enough.”