A burger of our own

At the end of this week, anyone will be able to order Wendy’s sandwiches with a special secret recipe created by UVU students for UVU students. This recipe, officially named  “Wolverine Style,” will be available to add to any single, double or triple burger, or any of the three chicken sandwiches available, including home style, grilled or spicy.

Kim Pumphrey, the owner of five different Wendy’s stores across the valley, but most notably the University Parkway location right across the street from campus, decided that this secret recipe would be something fun and exciting for students of UVU. She says that this isn’t the first time that Wendy’s restaurants have created signature recipes for their regional schools. There is an infamous “Buckeye Burger” for Ohio State fans, but this is the first time that UVU has been recognized in such a unique way.

This style started as a fun contest that the restaurant put together during the Week of Welcome. Wendy’s created a “co-branded” tumbler that features both UVU and Wendy’s official logo that they gave away during WOW, as well as green and white pens and courtesy cards for free food. During that time, they asked students to come up with a new recipe that could be offered at their restaurant. They got a total of 19 different recipes, ranging from the simple to complex. The most interesting recipe they received included toppings of french fries and cheese sauce, which student tester Josh Phillips insisted was actually very good.

A panel of eight UVU students chose the winning formula on Sept. 1. Cameron Duckworth, Ben Knell, Jared Roberts, Kristopher Lange, Nathan Packer, Paul Chavez, Russell Fawcett and Josh Phillips gathered at the University Parkway location to taste various Wendy’s ingredients alone before trying them all together.  The ingredients included everything from chipotle sauce to guacamole, pico de gallo to avocado ranch dressing.  After tasting each ingredient, the panel voted on their top five favorite combinations and those recipes were created on both burgers and chicken sandwiches.

Those five recipes were then judged by taste, texture, assembly and presentation to find a winner.  The winning “Wolverine Style” combination includes bacon, Swiss cheese, creamy red jalapeno dressing, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and guacamole. There is also an option of “Wolverine Style with a kick,” which adds jalapeno peppers into the mix for a bit of extra flavor. Phillips, a sophomore majoring in Animation, referred to the recipe as “a taste explosion worthy of the Wolverine name.”

There will be a slight extra charge for the option, but Pumphrey assures it will be no more than a dollar. So, if a regular single costs $2.99, to have that “Wolverine Style” would cost no more than $3.99.

The recipe will be available to the public on Friday, Sept. 17, which is the three-year anniversary of the University Parkway Wendy’s, and, for the time being, will only be available at that location. There will be free 16-ounce, co-branded tumblers given to the first 50 customers buying a Wolverine Style combo.

This Wendy’s location is an incredibly student-friendly environment and has been a great friend of UVU since their opening.  The restaurant has sponsored UVU athletics since 2007 and has Wolverine Wednesdays at Wendy’s, where green and white balloons decorate the store and all Wendy’s employees wear UVU apparel.

Also, students and employees of UVU can get 10% off of all their combos and premium salad purchases. In addition, there is a drawing every Wednesday for MAWL members, where five free small combos are given away. There is also free Wi-Fi in the restaurant and a large, quiet dining area where students can gather or study. Students should definitely take advantage of these accommodations, the great location and now the fantastic, newly-specialized UVU signature recipe.