Burgers of The World, The Big Mac
There are few burgers as iconic as the Big Mac. Indeed there are few products as iconic full stop.
“Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame-seed bun” as the jingle goes. Our hero burst onto the scene in the 1960’s, but it’s birth wasn’t a smooth one.
Michael James ‘Jim’ Delligatti
Our hero was a WWII veteran by the name of Michael Delligatti, or ‘Jim’ as he was known. Jim, opened his first franchised McDonalds in 1957 in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. A successful store saw him eventually opening just short of 50 stores.
Jim, found that his key customers weren’t entirely satisfied by the burgers he served. After a hard shift in the local steel mills, they wanted something more substantial. Local diners tended to sell big sandwiches, and it was this he took as his inspiration.
The Boss Says No
Hard to believe given its superstar status. At first, the higher ups in the McDonalds organisation were reluctant to stray from their established formula. McD’s worked because it was a standard offering across the nation. Wherever you went, you knew exactly what you were getting, because they all tasted the same.
Jim, refused to back down, and eventually in 1967, he was given the green light to create his masterpiece. They did have one condition though, he had to use only products which were already in use at McDonalds. Being the maverick, though Delligatti replaced the existing burger buns, with a double sliced sesame-seed topped bun.
The Big Mac Is Born
After coming up with its signature secret sauce, he launched his creation at his Uniontown store for the price of 45 cents.
At its launch though it wasn’t called the Big Mac. It was at various times called the Blue Ribbon Burger and the Aristocrat. Enter the second of our hero’s in the story. A young advertising secretary, Esther Rose is widely credited with coming up with the name Big Mac.
The burger was a roaring success. So much so that the bosses at McD’s performed a 180 degree turn and decided to roll the creation out nationwide.
Today’s Big Mac, is pretty much the same as its original version. Though the secret sauce has been tinkered about with over the years, but evidentially was restored to its original recipe in 2004.
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