When you think of the folks who come up with McDonald’s menu items, the word “chef” might not immediately come to mind.
But it turns out, there’s a guy out there named Mike Haracz, who once was a corporate chef for the Golden Arches.
His TikTok page is largely devoted to talking about his former gig as corporate chef for McDonald’s.
Haracz has been in the business for two decades, but he spent four years as Manager of Culinary Innovation for McDonald’s U.S. menu, the New York Post reported. That entailed testing the quality and sensory experience and developing new menu items.
Haracz has dozens of TikTok videos that dish up the culinary details on all things McDonald’s, from juicy gossip about founder Ray Kroc (about allegedly making a business deal to take another man’s wife), to consumer queries like, “Why Did McDonalds Stop Selling Salads?” (Answer: “Because you people never buy enough.”)
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Some of the videos draw little attention, but many get tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of views.
For example, the one on “How to get fresh food at McDonald’s every time!” drew over 323,000 views. (Answer: Order your meat or fries unseasoned.)
The one addressing “Is McDonald’s cheese plastic?” did nearly as well, with over 297,000 views. (Short answer: No.)
Possibly his biggest hit was the one featuring a “Big Mac sauce recipe,” which rang the bell with 3.9 million views and counting.
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The worst thing on the menu, in Chef Mike’s opinion? “The premium chicken sandwich,” he declared.
“The McCrispy is not crispy, it’s flavorless. When I’ve ordered it, it is usually dry, overheld, overcooked.
“And I’ve always had a bad experience with McDonald’s premium chicken sandwiches,” he said.
In another video, Haracz listed his top three personal favorite menu items:
In third place, he said, are Chicken McNuggets. “I know what goes on on the inside — it’s chicken,” he assured his audience. “They’re one of the best nuggets out there as far as quality and consistency.”
His No. 2 pick: “The Sausage, Egg and Cheese McMuffin. Lots of people want the biscuit — I think the biscuit kinda cuts down on the flavor a little bit. It’s a little dense.”
His No. 1 favorite menu item: the Quarter-Pounder with Cheese. But timing is everything on this one, he insisted.
“You either have to eat it in the restaurant or eat it as quick as possible once you order it,” he said. “That’s one of the only items that they’re supposed to cook fresh when you order it. So usually, if you order it and get it, it is hot, the cheese is melted, and that is at the point where it’s the most delicious.
“If you wait 15 or 20 minutes to eat it, it is going to taste like the old version [with] the frozen meat.”
