FoodBozo.com

By Nicole Winfield, The Associated Press

ROME – Italy’s agriculture minister is defending his sponsorship of McDonald’s new all-Italian burger amid criticism that he is selling out to a multinational corporation and sacrificing Italy’s culinary reputation in the process.

Minister Luca Zaia has argued that McDonald’s new McItaly burger – using all Italian beef, Asiago cheese and artichoke spread – will pump C3.5 million ($4.8 million) more a month into the pockets of Italian farmers grappling with tough economic times.

But for a country that gave birth to the Slow Food movement a quarter-century ago and prides itself on its varied, delicious and healthy cuisine, Zaia’s enthusiastic support of McDonald’s has been hard to swallow.

It didn’t help that Zaia and McDonald’s executives launched the new burger last month at McDonald’s flagship restaurant in Rome’s historic centre near the Spanish Steps, the chain’s first Italian outpost.

The opening of those Golden Arches in 1986 famously inspired a relatively unknown Turin foodie, Carlo Petrini, to launch what became Slow Food – the international movement that embraces local, organic food and home cooking over fast food and the industrialized food chain.

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Writing by Cynthia Johnston; editing by Paul Casciato

DUBAI (Reuters) – A traditional Emirati restaurant in Dubai has added a new entree to its menu billed as a fat-free choice for carnivorous but health-conscious diners: the Camel Burger.

For 20 UAE dirhams ($5.45), the Local House restaurant offers a quarter pound camel burger, loaded with cheese and smothered in burger sauce, the Xpress weekly newspaper reported on Thursday.

Ali Ahmad Esmail, Local House assistant manager, told the paper that the burger patties were fat- and cholesterol-free. But he declined to say how the outlet tenderized the tough camel meat.

“It’s a trade secret,” he said.

Camel meat is widely eaten in some Arab countries, but is not typically sold in supermarkets or served in restaurants.

The paper reported that Local House said it was the first to introduce the burger in the United Arab Emirates. A fast food outlet in neighboring Saudi Arabia put baby camel burgers on its menu last year.

The camel burger, a hit with residents and tourists, could soon also be on offer in the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower formerly known as Burj Dubai, where Local House may open a branch, the paper said.

The burger is served with fries or potato wedges, and the paper suggested it could be washed down with a soft drink or a camel milkshake, also available in Dubai.