The new Swiss restaurant gauge

"...McDonalds is not native Swiss food...." Restaurants in Switzerland are required by law to source most of their ingredients from Swiss farms/manufacturers; which is why it's so expensive. All of the hamburger CH McDonald's uses for it's Big Macs comes from Swiss Cows, and the bun comes from Swiss wheat, so in many ways it is native Swiss food.

The Big Mac index is an invention of The Economist newspaper as an illustration of the theory of purchasing-power parity, ie that, in the long run, exchange rates should adjust to equal the price of a basket of goods and services in different countries. The Big Mac was chosen because it is available to a common specification in many countries around the world (although not India, where the Maharaja Mac is used as a substitute, and it varies a bit from country to country as well). The index works by calculating the exchange rate that would leave a Big Mac costing the same in each country. The Swiss franc is about 52% overvalued on this basis, and the Indian Rupee 63% undervalued. Just a bit of fun really.

Or simpler, it is a known price comparison point for food, since it's the (essentially) same food here and worldwide. It gives you an immediate idea of what your costs abroad for food will be.

A Big Mac is not a valid comparator even if they are sold worldwide. It makes as much sense as comparing prices using the 33CHF nachos that Stuttgart Sarah reported buying in Switzerland. By that index, Swiss food is 5 or 6 times more expensive than food in the US. It just ain't so. If you compare prices using local dishes instead of a foreign wannabe, you will find food in Switzerland slightly more expensive than in the US, but not double or more as the Big Mac thing suggests. We generally take half board at small family-run hotels, so a very nice, high quality four-course dinner adds 20 to 35 CHF to the cost of a stay. That is starter, soup or salad, main course, and dessert. And it is always very tasty. If we want to dine at restaurants we count on around 25 CHF for a main course and 7-10 CHF if we want to add a salad. That is about the same as we would pay at a nice restaurant in Seattle where I live. As for Big Macs, I've never had one in my life and never will. We only set foot in McDonalds when necessary ( on road trips) to use the restrooms and buy an iced tea.

For the record a Swiss Big Mac (just the sandwich)is 6.50chf,which works out to $7.00 USD: http://tinyurl.com/8pon5hf In the US it would cost half that much. As someone who actually admits to patronizing the Big M at home and overseas, the one thing like about Swiss version is that they sell very tasty and fresh garden salads, which are a good option if you're in a rush/waiting for a train. You can even substitute it instead of french fries if choosing one of the "menu" options.

Substitute for French fries?!! Horrors!

Thank god for the Big Mac Index...I really get confused when people tell me I owe them 100,000 Won or 10,000 Krona for dinner. This traveling thing is getting confusing...next thing you know we'll be talking about Quantitative Easing 3 on the Helpline.

Nigel - Ritual slaughtering is banned in Switzerland (since 1893) so Swiss meat is definitely not Kosher. Kosher meat has to be imported from France. Every attempt to revisit the ban has been shot down by animal rights activists.

Restaurants in Switzerland are required by law to source most of their ingredients from Swiss farms/manufacturers; which is why it's so expensive. All of the hamburger CH McDonald's uses for it's Big Macs comes from Swiss Cows, and the bun comes from Swiss wheat, so in many ways it is native Swiss food. Sorry, this is bogus. Switzerland is part of EEA (European Economic Area) despite being not part of UE. Mandates to private business to source locally are illegal and, when proposed or even enacted by a clueless village, are easily shot down on courts. Now if you are talking of McDonalds sourcing its products within EU/EEA, then I'd agree with you.

Wait a second... McDonald's uses cows in their hamburgers?

Andre the situation ingredients with has been explained to me by multiple restaurants owners/workers. It's a very tricky regulation, but basically the restaurant must use a Swiss food service company, they can't use competing firms from Germany, Italy, or France which would charge cheaper wholesale prices. This Swiss imposed "monopoly" in itself drives up prices, then the food service companies have to give some favoritism to Swiss food producers which is another whammy on the prices. As long as the stuff the being sold to the restaurants isn't exported to the rest of the EU it's supposedly kosher.

That's new to me - I'd never heard that most Swiss food is Kosher.

http://youtu.be/obKLdou0LH0

Switzerland- always looking out for Jewish folks' best interest.

To clarify, I didn't buy those nachos from that crappy looking mexican restaurant, I just noted them and their price on the menu, in Rorsarch, Switzerland. I'm a Californian, when I want good Mexican food in Europe, I make it myself (unless I'm in Berlin, aka heaven). Anyway, I don't really know if we need the Big Mac gauge or if it's helpful, because on the whole McDonald's prices tend to be more consistent across countries and currencies than the food as a whole. In Romania, McDonald's was relatively expensive compared to other "train station food" - in Switzerland, it's relatively cheap compared to everything else. The price does vary, a Big Mac in Romania is still quite a bit cheaper than in Swizterland, but there's less of a differental between non-chain food as a whole, I think.

Nigel, I have to admit too. I go into Mac's once in a while, especially when in France. I like the fries there, and the pistaccio and chocolate macaroons. (Mac'arons.) So sue me.
What makes the fries soooo much better in France, then any other Mac's? Lack of American chemicals? We always use their bathrooms, too, and sometimes take a few squares for later, for places that can't "spare a square".

As an native to the Big Mac index, I often turn to the UBS Prices Report, as it also kicks up some interesting comparisons. I always feel that guidebooks are a bit short on economics and the social sciences. I would like to know more about what the locals do to make a living, the demographics and so on....