There are few foods that have travelled quite as far, both geographically and socially, as the humble hamburger.
What began, in one form or another, as a variation of the Hamburg steak brought to America by European immigrants eventually became one of the world’s most recognisable foods. Cheap, convenient and easy to eat, the hamburger fitted perfectly into an increasingly urban and fast-moving America.
Then came the fast-food revolution.
Companies such as White Castle and, later, McDonald’s discovered something that the hospitality industry still relies on today: people like consistency. The customer knows roughly what they are going to get, wherever they order it. The hamburger became not just food, but a remarkably successful hospitality format.
And then we decided to make it complicated.
The humble burger went gourmet. Brioche buns appeared, along with truffle mayonnaise, pulled pork, exotic cheeses and increasingly extravagant toppings. For a while, the burger became almost a competition to see how much could be piled between two pieces of bread.
But something interesting has happened. The pendulum is swinging back towards simplicity. Good meat, a good bun, crisp lettuce, a decent sauce and properly cooked chips can be more appealing than a burger requiring a set of engineering instructions to eat.
South Africa has developed its own burger culture too. Our burgers have absorbed influences from American fast food, international dining trends and, inevitably, the braai. The result is something distinctly South African — and the current interest in smash burgers and braai-inspired burgers shows that the format continues to evolve.
There is a useful lesson here for hospitality businesses.
The hamburger works because it is simple, recognisable and adaptable. It can be cheap or expensive, casual or sophisticated, traditional or completely reinvented. What matters is not how complicated it becomes, but how well the fundamentals are executed.
Perhaps that is why the hamburger has survived every food fashion thrown at it.
Sometimes the simplest things in hospitality are the hardest to get right — and the most profitable when you do.
