utspoken food critic Gordon Ramsay can be harsh on broken emulsions and sub-par steaks. But, when it comes to fast food, the chef is singing the praises of the In-N-Out Double-Double burger, animal style. As Ramsay shares in an interview with Premiere Collectibles, “I will literally go to a drive-thru, In-N-Out, and I’ll wind the window down, and I’ll ask for a Double-Double animal style, and they recognize me and they give me lots of extras. So I just stack them, jump in the backseat, and eat them all.” In-N-Out uses 100% USDA ground chuck, and considering Ramsay has named beef chuck as the star ingredient in the perfect burger blend, In-N-Out’s recipe is right up his alley. “I love In-N-Out Burger! Honestly!” an enthused Ramsay exclaims. “I just wish they’d open up in bloody England because those drive-thrus are amazing.”
The Double-Double is a two-patty burger with American cheese, iceberg lettuce, tomato, onions, and In-N-Out’s signature creamy burger sauce. “Animal style” adds a pickle, extra sauce, and grilled onions, and it’s a part of the chain’s not-so-secret “secret menu.” In another 2022 interview with Thrillist, longtime-fan Ramsay remarked, “No offense to my friend Danny Meyer of Shake Shack [the chain’s founder], but it’s an In-N-Out burger, all the way. Especially when it’s freshly cooked and served animal style. Nothing better.” For vegetarian foodies, In-N-Out’s grilled cheese sando can be ordered animal style, and it includes everything but the beef patties. Folks can order animal style smothered fries, too.
Gordon Ramsay wants In-N-Out as his last meal
In a viral episode of Mythical Kitchen, Ramsay named an In-N-Out burger as part of his ideal last meal (in addition to other items, including a full English breakfast, butter chicken, and a deep-fried Mars bar). “These guys are incredible. The fact that everything’s sourced locally, they stay within California. It’s a perfect drive-thru, you don’t get any hassle,” Ramsay said on the show. “I bring the window down, I give them a little $100 bill as a big thank you, and I pick up my Double-Double. Uh, yeah. Heaven.”
Fellow celebrity chef, the late great Anthony Bourdain, named In-N-Out Burger as his favorite restaurant in L.A. “I like mine animal style,” Bourdain told Eater in 2015, “and I’d tell you what that is, but I’d have to kill you.” Bourdain also said that a photo of an isolated In-N-Out Burger sitting on a table would get more Instagram likes than a picture of himself, Christopher Walken, the Dalai Lama, and Keith Richards in a hot tub doing bong rips.
As far as any future UK expansion goes, Ramsay shouldn’t hold his breath. In-N-Out celebrated its 75th birthday in 2023, and there still aren’t any U.S. locations east of the Mississippi River. As it stands, the largest fast food chains in the UK are currently Costa Express, Greggs, Subway, and McDonald’s (via data analytics firm ScrapeHero) — no animal style burgers here (yet).
