Topic for Oct. 13. ( Fri )

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Special Sauce: The History of the Big Mac

When you think of McDonald's, what's the first thing you think of? Chicken McNuggets? French fries? A nice, cold McFlurry?

Or maybe it's the Big Mac.

The Big Mac was first created in 1967, 27 years after the first McDonald's opened. Jim Delligatti, who ran several McDonald's restaurants in Pittsburgh, thought he needed a bigger burger to get more adults into his stores.

He created a double burger that at first had names like "Aristocrat" and "Blue Ribbon Burger." It was finally named "Big Mac" by Esther Glickstein Rose, a 21-year-old working at the McDonald's offices in Chicago.

Delligatti was at first allowed to test the burger at just one of his restaurants. He was supposed to use standard McDonald's buns, but he wanted something bigger, so he got three-piece buns from a local bakery instead.

When sales at that one restaurant went up, Delligatti was allowed to try the burger at his other restaurants — where sales rose again.

In 1968, the Big Mac was added to McDonald's menus across America. It sold for 45 cents — twice the cost of a regular cheeseburger. More than 50 years later, it's one of the bestselling McDonald's menu items of all time — after only French fries.

Big Macs are also famous for their "special sauce."

First called "secret sauce," there have actually been a few versions over the years. For a while two different sauces were even being used at the same time! But in 2004, then-CEO Fred Turner reintroduced the original sauce.

For his burger's 40th anniversary in 2007, Delligatti and his family opened the Big Mac Museum Restaurant in North Huntingdon, a suburb of Pittsburgh. It includes a statue of Delligatti, a 4-meter-tall Big Mac statue — and, of course, a McDonald's restaurant.

Exercise

Special Sauce: The History of the Big Mac | Engoo Daily News

Exercise 4

Discussion

1. What are your thoughts on the history of the Big Mac?

2. Are there any other fast food menu items you think are as iconic as the Big Mac?

3. Would you be interested in visiting the Big Mac Museum Restaurant?

4.What's your favorite McDonald's menu item?

5.Are there a lot of McDonald's restaurants in your town or city?

Further Discussion

1.How often do you eat fast food? Has this changed over the years?

2.What are your country's biggest fast food chains? Are any of them popular in other countries?

3.Are there any fast food items you've tried abroad that you wish were available in your country?

4.How often are you disappointed after ordering fast food?

5.What fast foods would you find it hard to give up?