We admit, we rode the Mac N' Cheetos bandwagon — hard. As we broke the news, we were completely oblivious to the glaring act of culinary piracy taking place. All you need to know is that Burger King stole the entire Mac N' Cheetos concept from our friend and Internet chef personality, The Vulgar Chef.
Per usual, The Vulgar Chef is pissed off, but how would you feel? His ideas are being ripped off left and right by publications, like BuzzFeed and Thrillist, and now went fully mainstream with Burger King's version of Mac N' Cheetos.
"At first I was like what the fuck? Like...you're fucking Burger King," he explained to FOODBEAST. "It actually is a little flattering that a company as large as BK would take an idea from a fat, drunk, illiterate food blogger who is basically an Internet food troll. Kind of sad if you ask me."
In September 2015, the Vulgar Chef created "Cheetos Crusted Mac N Cheese Fries," and showed the world via YouTube. Nearly a year later, BK dropped the exact same recipe and it was gross.
Look familiar? Those aren't from Burger King.
Now Burger King has been added to the same list of abhorrent degenerate corporate leeches that we placed Giordono's Pizza and the Chicago Cubs on, after they were caught pawning off Vulgar Chef recipes as their own.
It's happened so much that he keeps a running tally on EVERYONE that he catches stealing his recipes without credit.
"There was actually some cunt working for Buzzfeed that was ripping myself and Nick from DudeFoods off almost every fucking week," he said. "I was able to email the dude making the rip-off recipes on behalf of myself and other food bloggers and let him know how much of a fucking hack and pile of shit he was. Vulgar Chef - 1, Buzzfeed - 0."
In fact, he believes he's the reason BuzzFeed actually credits people now.
"After that, any Buzzfeed recipes videos posted would tag appropriate food bloggers who inspired their shitty videos," The Vulgar Chef told FOODBEAST.
Kyle Marcoux, also known as, The Vulgar Chef, is a creative foodie who deserves full-credit for everything he brings to the table. He's proud of what he's built on the Internet, but it's not without hard work and sacrifice.
"I've submerged myself entirely in the brand, creating something entertaining for the food world that lets me be myself, and allows me to tell those who aren't onboard to fuck off," he said.
Marcoux is a family man, and blue collar to the bone. He works at a factory and plays guitar in a metal band, but that's why he's important. Being the Vulgar Chef is a full-time commitment, but it's not a full-time job.
The Vulgar Chef shift starts after working a double-shift as a factory worker. Creative cooking is his outlet and passion; which makes the corporations stealing from him that much more cheap and despicable.
His persona as The Vulgar Chef is unhinged — but it's real. It may seem like he takes this personal, because to him it is, and he's standing up for food bloggers everywhere.
We are witnessing a depressing trend, corporate fast-food analytic teams continue to purge the Internet for new ideas and end up profiting off the ideas of the little guy, in this case — specifically the Vulgar Chef.
It's a brutal reality, but in the Internet age, piracy runs rampant and those without a legal support system are helpless to the plans of sleazy corporations hungry for ideas. Without copyrights to his recipes, The Vulgar Chef knows there's only one way his ideas will survive — even then, there will always be a limited shelf life.
"I would literally have to copyright every single recipe I put out. At the end of the day someone is going to rip you off," he said. "So, I just keep plugging along and try to be ahead of the curve with my recipes."
If he could personally address the stealing fast-food thieves, he would. From this perspective, it's not fame or fortune — but giving credit where credit is due. Although, he wouldn't mind, "a bag full of money," or, "a large pot of fucking gold," he admits seeing, "The Vulgar Chef's Mac & Cheetos" on the BK drive-thru menu as the biggest reward.
"If I could write an open letter to the fast food bitches I would tell them I love them and their artery clogging food, and if they want any help creating new exotic menu items to drop me a fucking email," he said. "Don't just skim through my blog and try to sneak one over on me. All of us food bloggers want at the end of the day is credit."
It's interesting to note that someone on the corporate end of this knows exactly where Mac N' Cheetos came from — and it wasn't the product of analytics or surveys — it was taken, without permission. If Burger King was in the Vulgar Chef's shoes and found out that Jack-In-The-Box started selling grilled hot dogs, a copyright lawsuit would already be filed, probably followed by a plethora of lame corporate subtweets from both companies.
Unfortunately, there's not much the Vulgar Chef can do. His recipes are fair game, in an unfair, unleveled playing field. One thing is for sure, The Vulgar Chef's recipes kick ass — and it becomes more and more evident each time they are stolen and redistributed on a corporate level.
