McDonald’s Begins Testing an Oven Baked Menu

With rising healthy-eating awareness taking place across the world, South Australian McDonald’s locations are testing a new Oven Baked range of products in an effort to address such concerns. According to a note out of BurgerBusiness, McDonald’s is acknowledging the health advocates on two fronts: by testing oven-baked items in Australia and voluntarily posting calorie information on the menu boards of their 1,200 United Kingdom stores.

The Oven Baked menu, currently circulating in 44 restaurants in South Australia, includes a rather eclectic bunch of items not available at other McDonald’s locations: Texas Chicken Skewers, Chicken Parmigiana Burger (oven-baked marinated chicken patty), Fish Bakes, Maple McGriddles and a Baked Choc Pot.

Australia’s foray into Oven Baked goods raises a few key questions for the brand going forward. How will these new oven baked items be received by the customer? At what level does the response become worthy enough of a broader rollout of oven equipment (we assume the oven baked process requires special ovens)? For those who have been in the proximity of a location with McDonald’s Oven Baked menu test, what do you think of the available products? Tasty? Healthy? Pointless?