When Chad Brauze came to Burger King as senior director of culinary innovation and sustainability two years ago, his first major project was to develop an indulgent new handheld.
The result is the Melt—a one-handed, craveable hot sandwich that resembles a patty melt served in a classic diner.
Burger King’s iconic flame-grilled patties were the starting point, but from there, Brauze tapped into his fine-dining cred to elevate this patty melt while still making it easy to execute across the Miami-based chain’s 7,000-plus U.S. locations.
Following the R&D journey
After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Brauze worked at Daniel Boulud’s Restaurant Daniel and Thomas Keller’s Per Se, training with Spanish superstar Ferran Adria in between. While he doesn’t exactly translate those experiences into fast food, they do inspire his creativity and passion and that of the four chefs on his Burger King team.
That’s how caramelized onions ended up on the new Melts—a technique and preparation not often seen in fast food.
“We started making the onions in the back of house and nailed the flavor profile,” said Brauze. “They bring a touch of sweetness to the build.”
Since Burger King’s units are not equipped to make caramelized onions from scratch every day, Brauze partnered with a supplier to produce them in volume. The chef visited the production facility himself to make sure they were made according to his specs. Once delivered to BK’s locations, the caramelized onions just need to be reheated.
The onions are a new SKU, and to create the Classic Melt, they’re layered with two flame-grilled Whopper Jr. patties, melted American cheese and Stacker Sauce on two slices of toasted bread. On the line, cooks toast the bread and melt the cheese.
The bread is also a new SKU. Instead of a traditional burger bun, Brauze opted for ¾-inch thick bread slices to achieve the desired texture, flavor and authenticity of a patty melt.
He “borrowed” the Stacker Sauce from Burger King’s pantry. “It’s a lot like Thousand Island dressing and works well with the richness of the melted cheese,” said Brauze. “We always try to keep new SKUs to a minimum, and used a lot of existing SKUs, but in different ways.”
Perfecting the build
After five months in development, the Melts achieve Brauze’s goal “of an indulgent, craveable one-handed item you can eat while still driving your car.” He has since expanded the line with two additions to the Classic: The Spicy Melt, which adds roasted jalapenos to the build and swaps in a creamy, spicy sauce for the Stacker Sauce; and the Bacon Melt, which adds crispy bacon to the Classic’s components.
Brauze and his team, which includes a food scientist and an intern in addition to the four chefs, discarded a couple of ideas before perfecting the Melts.
“We tried one with ketchup, but the flavor profile was off,” said Brauze. “Pickles didn’t work well either.”
Spicy Chicken Fries are the latest iteration of a Burger King guest favorite. / Photo courtesy of Burger King.
What’s next?
Feedback from guests has been positive, he added, but for now, the Melts are remaining an LTO, on the menu until May 14.
“This has been a passion project for the team and we’ve developed 15 to 20 more Melt variations that are in the Burger King pipeline,” said Brauze. “It’s an easy platform to play with.”
Spicy Chicken Fries, debuting this month along with the trio of Melts, are also running through May 14. These are the latest riff on the popular BK item. The chicken fries’ heat comes from four types of spice: Ghost peppers, cayenne, black pepper and paprika, with garlic and onion powder adding more flavor notes.
Chicken fries are a guest favorite, and Brauze is playing around with line extensions. “It’s easy to get flavors to stick to them,” he said. “We’ve tried everything bagel seasoning, blackened Cajun and more.”
The team has also made churro fries and mozzarella sticks in that shape. “There are a lot of fun things in market test,” Brauze said, “and lots of room to grow in non-carbonated beverages, too.”