Fast-food joints are having a lil’ face-off that social media has dubbed “burger wars.” It all started with McDonald’s CEO, Chris Kempczinski, tasting a new product. Between his tiny bite and facial expressions, the internet had a field day! Now, more top officials from restaurants like Wendy’s and Burger King are trying to prove their burger is good enough for a big ‘ole bite. Also, Popeyes, KFC and even Church’s Texas Chicken are on social media bragging about their products! Meanwhile, Wendy’s is putting $100,000 into proving that its food tastes best, all while throwing shade and salt at its competition.
Chile, let’s get into this random kiiiii of the week!
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McDonald’s CEO Kicks Off The “Burger Wars”
What started as a way to promote a new product quickly became a social media trend that all the major burger spots want a bite of. Last month, Chris Kempczinski shared a video of himself trying McDonald’s ‘Big Arch’ burger, which became available on March 3.
“I love this product. It is so good,” Chris said in the video before unveiling the Big Arch and taking his bite. “That is so good. That’s a big bite for a big arch. It’s distinctively McDonald’s. Only McDonald’s could do this type of burger, but it’s also unlike anything else on our menu. It’s a delicious product.”
His Instagram video has more than 11.4 million views and over 26,000 comments. Reactions range from IG users clowning his “McNibble” to others doubting he actually likes the burger. Even the international branches of spots like Wing Stop and Subway weighed in with hilarious clapbacks like, “Is the big bite in the room with us?”
Burger King CEO Enters The Chat, Company Denies Shading McDonald’s
BK went double or nothing with their moment! First, in Chris’ comment section, Burger King’s IG account reportedly wrote, “We couldn’t finish it either.” That reaction racked up over 71,000 likes. Then, on the day McDonald’s released the Big Arch, Burger King added salt to its shade! On Instagram, the restaurant shared a video of its CEO Tom Curtis taking a huge bite of a Burger King special. Unlike McDonald’s CEO, Curtis taste-tested his product inside of a BK kitchen. After his huge bite, he jokes, “only one thing missing, a napkin.” The caption on the video reads, “Thought we’d replay this.”
That video? 1.3 million views and more than 3,000 comments, including other fast-food spots. Popeyes wrote, “Wear the crown for a reason” while Carl’s Jr. added, “If it doesn’t get all over the place, it doesn’t belong in your face.” Other businesses like Ali Express, Welch’s Fruit Snack and even Hooters Mexico also dropped reactions! The next day, Burger King denied its video was a jab at McDonald’s.
“We can confirm that this video was not created in reaction to anything,” a Burger King spokesperson told NBC News. “While the timing may seem quick, the video was part of ongoing efforts to spotlight the recently elevated Whopper and Tom’s direct engagement with Guests.”
The spokesperson statement added, “We believe leadership should genuinely enjoy and stand behind the food we serve, and it was important for him to experience the Whopper the same way our Guests do as we continue building momentum around our menu updates.”
Wendy’s President Steps Into The Kitchen For Taste Test
While Burger King had its moment, Wendy’s too joined the “burger wars” and showed NO mercy! The restaurant shared a video of its President Pete Suerken on Wednesday via LinkedIn. Less than a minute long, the clip shows Pete cooking his “fresh never frozen beef” patty, then grabbing a frosty. He even threw a lil’ shade at McDonald’s rep for having broken ice cream machines.
“…You gotta have a frosty with your burger. Is this set up today? Oh wait, our machines are always working,” Pete said.
When he sat down to eat, he took a huge bite, saying, “Now, that’s a burger.” He ate about half of it and dipped fries into a chocolate frosty. The LinkedIn post caption says:
“Lots of chatter this week about burgers. Thought we’d remind everyone what fresh, never frozen tastes like. Our U.S. President Pete Suerken knows a burger that’s worth a second bite. What’s your favorite way to eat a Wendy’s hamburger? 🍔”
On X, Wendy’s also reposted a tweet with the video of Pete. It captioned the retweet with, “This is what it looks like when you don’t have to pretend to like your ‘product’.”
This is what it looks like when you don’t have to pretend to like your “product” https://t.co/AR6KfZsdG6
— Wendy’s (@Wendys) March 4, 2026
On Thursday, Wendy’s doubled down on its shade, using a still photo of the video of McDonald’s CEO. The company teased a new position, “Chief Tasting Officer” and opened up the competition to the public with a $100,000 pay promise for the winner.
“Our first Chief Tasting Officer application is in, and lets just say the bar is LOW. Apply now and make your video more than a McNibble. Link in bio to enter the first #WendysCTOcontest.”
Our first Chief Tasting Officer application is in, and lets just say the bar is LOW. Apply now and make your video more than a McNibble. ⁰Link in bio to enter the first #WendysCTOcontest pic.twitter.com/JXujBHw5pP
— Wendy’s (@Wendys) March 5, 2026
Popeyes And Wendy’s Trade Shots, Church’s Chicken Jumps In
On Thursday (March 5), Popeyes dropped a lil’ advice for the “burger wars” participants: hire somebody! This came amid Wendy’s announcing it’s taste-tester competition. Specifically, on X, the chicken spot, wrote, “They really do need to hire someone to taste their food to be fair.”
It looks like Wendy’s wasn’t feeling the tweet and replied, “Flopeyes.” On Friday, Popeyes clapped back with, “Maybe your new chief tasting officer can make a better comeback,” adding a clown emoticon.
Church’s Texas Chicken saw an opportunity on Thursday and took it, chile! It responded to Popeyes’ advice about hiring taste-testers. With two side-eye emojis, it wrote, “And who taste tested your biscuits??” On Friday, Popeyes responded, “Glad we could make you relevant again.”
glad we could make you relevant again
— Popeyes (@Popeyes) March 6, 2026
About 30 mins later, Church’s replied, “A comeback as dry as them biscuits.” Popeyes didn’t back down, though. The company responded, “You’re as salty as your chicken.”
you're as salty as your chicken
— Popeyes (@Popeyes) March 6, 2026
