McDonald's has been in the wars many times over its menus and criticised, sometimes unfairly, about its food. Barry O'Keeffereports on a different "battle" it had in Italy.
When Italian baker Luigi Digesu agreed to rent his brother-in-law's small vacant retail unit beside fast food giant McDonald's, little did he know that he would become a local hero and then an international star.
Digesu is a somewhat reluctant hero, credited with single-handedly running McDonald's out of town, portrayed as a modern-day David, who slew Goliath in the battle for customers. The reality is a little less romantic, but nonetheless remarkable.
Digesu is a baker who used to run a family bakery in Altamura in southern Italy. Five years ago his brother-in-law developed a site with retail units on the ground floor and apartments overhead. He let a large unit to McDonald's and offered a small unit next to it to Digesu. "I said 'what am I going to do beside McDonald's?' I was afraid if I took the opportunity I would lose money and I could not afford to make a mistake. I already had another small place," says Digesu.
In the end, Digesu decided huge crowds would be drawn to the fast food outlet and that he would be able to "steal a few customers." "Everyone thinks I went to war with McDonald's but I didn't have the money to do that. I just did what my dad taught me to do," he says.
Digesu comes from a long line of bakers - fifth generation - and is based in the little town of Altamura, about 45km south of Bari in the southern Italian region of Apulia.
Digesu gave his customers filled paninis, fillings which included mozzarella and eggs, local cheeses, basil and tomato, and his own local version of bruschetta - toasted bread, with olive oil, salt and a covering of chopped tomatoes. He offered them pizza and focaccia bread with tomatoes and mozzarella fried in flour and baked and a range of sandwiches filled with meat and cheese.
He says his shop's location is surrounded by offices and schools. His clientele are eight to 30 years old. Children stop for something on their way to school and again on their way home. Office workers drop in at lunchtime for sandwiches.
At first McDonald's attracted good crowds, drawn by the novelty of the fast food. But the fast food giant also upset local people, first with the size of a sign advertising the outlet on the approach to town and secondly because local people are very fond of their traditional Apulian food.
Onofrio Pepe who founded an association dedicated to local delicacies held some low-key protests about the presence of McDonald's and to highlight local food.
According to Digesu, McDonald's diet is based on salty and sweet flavours. Local people, he says, are not used to these flavours and have grown up tasting "more complex flavours". As time went on, interest in McDonald's appeared to wane. The company, having been open for about two years, then left. "Young children in Apulia preferred focaccia to McDonald's food," Digesu says. That said, he acknowledges the undoubted popularity of the fast food giant. "It works well in large cities," he says.
Digesu says many parents were glad when McDonald's shut up shop because they knew their children would now be eating better food in shops such as his.
He doesn't believe he single-handedly forced McDonald's to close, but does feel he should share some of the credit, because he set up next door. In many ways, Digesu rose without trace.
Digesu's brother-in-law did not fall out with him when he lost his valuable American tenant. The McDonald's lease next door was reassigned and is now a bank.
For Digesu, his "battle" has boosted his profile both within and outside Italy, particularly among those advocating a return to real food. He has been invited by various groups to share his experience with others. The US group Oldways Preservation and Exchange Trust - an independent food issues think tank to address chefs, food importers, food writers and nutrition experts - invited him to address them about local food.
A strong advocate of the Mediterranean diet, Oldways, an independent food think tank, prides itself on promoting good food in a consumer-friendly way with education programmes, conferences and events in different countries.