How a young chef is taking on McDonald's, others - one recipe at a time

Since October 7 when Israel launched its deadly war on Gaza, people around the world have begun boycotting products made by multinational firms, which are deemed to be supporting Tel Aviv.

Restaurants and cafeterias have removed Coca-Cola from refrigerators, Starbucks sales have plunged, and McDonald's has been forced to shut down its outlets as customers have joined the global boycott.

But one chef has taken the fight against the brands a step further. In minute-long videos, he shows how to make everything from Doritos to Nutella and KFC’s chicken tenders at home.

“Are you boycotting drinks that support genocide, then let’s make homemade Sprite,” says Fadi Salam in one of his recent Instagram videos.

The 24-year-old Lebanese chef was born and raised in Dubai. He has made tens of thousands of followers in the past couple of months, which saw anger rise against the Israeli troops who have killed more than 37,000 Palestinians.

“I have seen children being killed, children without hands; I have seen very bad things online, and as a human being, that's not acceptable,” Salam tells TRT World.

“Actually, my family and I have been boycotting these companies since the war began. Maybe you can help, even ever so slightly, by just boycotting,” he says.

“It is kind of from the heart because if you spend your money on those products, then most of the money is going to them (Israel).”

While there is no direct evidence to show that multinationals such as McDonald’s and KFC have financially supported Israel, consumers have pointed out these companies continue to operate in Israel including in the occupied Palestinian territories.

McDonald’s came under fire late last year when its franchise distributed free meals among the Israeli soldiers - seen by many as a sign of solidarity with the Zionist state.

Starbucks faced criticism after it filed a lawsuit against its employees’ union, which has expressed solidarity with the Palestinians.

The Switzerland-based Nestle - the consumer giant behind Nescafe and KitKat - is on the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) list for having production facilities in occupied Palestinian territories.

In a recent video, Salam threw in powdered cacao, sugar and milk in a bowl, to make what he called a home-made version of Nestle’s Nesquik chocolate drink .

“It actually tastes like chocolate…and not blood,” he said in the video that has racked up more than 1.4 million views.

Activists have called for boycotting companies ranging from clothing and car brands to food chains and software applications - a move that aims to replicate the isolation apartheid South Africa faced.

Twister twist

Salam says he started cooking when he was only 13 with his social media videos, he lets his followers see what goes on in his kitchen.

With its red tablecloth and cosy decorations, his kitchen gives vide of some summer vacation spots where herbs and spices are in abundance.

The first recipe aimed at the boycott of big brands that Salam made was a version of KFC’s famous Twister.

“I was just craving Twister from KFC, but I can't have it from there because I'm boycotting. I decided to make one just by chance, an easy version.”

“Instead of preparing freshly breaded-chicken, I used frozen chicken tenders. This way, home cooks could easily replicate the dish using store bought frozen tenders.”

Besides making his videos fun, he also offers tips to home cooks.

In the KFC Twister recipe, which uses a mix of herbs from paprika to ground ginger, he said the main ingredient in crispy chicken tenders involves dipping chicken breasts into a sauce of milk and vinegar and the herb mix twice in a row.

“I made that video, and then it blew up, I guess, like 2 million views that Twister got, and then I started making more,” he recalls.

“My intention is to help anyone, either in Palestine or other home cooks who are boycotting.”

Salam says boycotts should not be limited to wartime only because the suffering of Palestinians won’t end even if the war ends.

“I believe we should be boycotting even forever,” he says.

What really unsettled Salam was the time when the Israeli franchise of Chicago-based McDonald's distributed “Happy Meals” among Israeli soldiers free of cost.

“If you think about that, it's quite cruel. It’s like I'm feeding murderers,” says Salam.

“If you're an actual human and you have a heart, you should boycott them. It might not change the universe, but it might just leave a little bit of an effect on the company. I think it's something that a human being should do.”