Jerusalem - Call it a Whopper of a move for McDonald's Corp and its Big Mac.
In an apparent bow to public tastes and the cooking method long used by arch-rival Burger King, McDonald's in Israel is junking its flat griddles and starting to broil its hamburgers over a flame.
"We're moving to charcoal broiling. It's a world first," Omri Padan, managing director of McDonald's Israel, said.
Burger King Israel chief Kobi Hayoun, in a televised confrontation with Padan, said McDonald's had finally recognised that customers preferred the taste of fast food at the Home of the Whopper.
Padan said McDonald's restaurants elsewhere in the world would not be adopting the Israeli changes.
"McDonald's world headquarters are happy with their hot griddles and the reason we decided to look for another cooking method in Israel is because of the special characteristics of kosher meat," he said.
Under Jewish dietary law, salt is used in the koshering of meat and Padan said charcoal- broiling improved its taste.
All the meat used by McDonald's and Burger King in Israel is kosher but not all of the restaurants adhere to Jewish dietary law because they mix dairy products with meat by serving cheeseburgers.
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