GBK Launches New 15 Minute Lunch Menu

(GayWebSource.com – Gay News & Press Network) – Posted by Jake Simpson – TheGayUK.com

During the week commencing 13th October, GBK launched it’s speedy 15 minute lunch menu guaranteeing your burger on your table within 15 minutes, or your next lunch is on them!

I visited their Waterloo branch where they were coinciding the launch with a rather fabulous lunch-time treat for 1 week only, of a 15 minute performance titled, Burger : The Opera. I asked GBK’s CEO, Alasdair, why Opera?

“We see a lot of retailers and restauranteurs having DJs to launch their latest offers, we thought why not Opera. What better way to describe our passion? People come to GBK for fantastic burgers but also to have a great time, so we wanted to go one stage further and really entertain them. At the end of the day it is good fun and we do like having a bit of a laugh”.

I have a magnetic pull towards the weird and wonderful and was so excited to see how well the marriage of meat & melody would be.

Secret Opera told the story of a controlling father, and his fussy daughter (who ends up falling in love with a GBK employee). Instantly captivating their audience, I was blown away by the talent of this group.

Cleverly written and beautifully sung, Burger : The Opera was laced with comical menu and app references, and modern sayings like “FYI”, “bitchin” etc. Using instantly recognisable pieces of classical / operatic music and laying down a 2014 dialogue on top brought this into the realm of Popera. Pitch perfect and script cute, this felt almost deliciously Disney.

My friend ordered off the main menu and had the almighty “Mighty”- two 6oz patties, mature cheddar, crispy bacon, garlic mayo, relish, dill pickle, salad. For myself, I ordered off the 15 minute menu, which comprises of four core burgers in their simplistic form; beef, cheese, chicken, veggie, and chose the beef. GBK CEO Alasdair said, “Currently, my favourite is The Blazing Sombrero, good crunch, texture, flavour and a hint of spice, try it, you will not be disappointed”.

GBK kept to their word bringing in fact both meals at the same time to our table within the 15 minutes. It was great to see that the quality of the burgers was still intact and not been compromised by the short time-frame they have to cook and create.

I asked Alasdair if they had any plans to extend these unique and quirky dining experiences to other GBK outlets who said, “Well as this is proving so successful we thought we might take it to the West End or maybe even Broadway…we’ll just have to wait and see, but expect more fun. We might well take it on tour to other cities”.

I spoke further with Alasdair and asked him to describe the ultimate burger;

“The meat and bun are critical, our burgers are made from 100% prime beef, hand selected and traditionally reared on independent farms across the South West counties. We only select meat from the top two grades of beef and then we simply add a bit of salt and pepper. It has to be medium rare, you need the juiciness. The bun is so important as well. We’ve spent years refining the bun recipe, it is an endless quest but again, it has to be “clean deck” i.e. absolutely nothing artificial at all in it”.

GBK has been going strong since 2001, but I wondered what Alasdair’s first experience or memory was of being so passionate about food.

“In the mid 70s, yes I am that old, supermarket food was pretty uninspiring but as a treat each week my Mum would buy us all (I am the youngest of 6) a Petit Suisse, a yoghurt brand that’s still going strong. To my mind that was the height of absolute bliss and luxury, I had never been abroad so it was taking me too far off places. It was wrapped in paper in the pot, you would unroll it, I would then cover it in sugar and OMG…I cannot eat one now as that would ruin it all for me!”.

Clearly GBK and their employees are passionate about food and the food that they create. Alasdair felt opera was the perfect vehicle of entertainment to get that across to diners intertwined with a romance storyline. I asked Alasdair what his favourite love story was;

“I am an absolute softie despite having spent 6 years in The Army, so hate violent or scary films, I used to cower to Doctor Who! So I like anything with a happy ending. One place I really enjoy is meeting loved ones at the airport and seeing the bliss and happiness on faces when people are reunited”.

Get yourselves down to GBK to try their new 15 minute lunch menu and keep an eye out for even more unique dining experiences in the future!

by Jordan Lohan