Posted on 11/30/2016 11:25:47 AM PST by Buckeye McFrog
THE inventor of the Big Mac has died at the age of 98.
Michael “Jim” Delligatti came up with the iconic McDonald’s burger nearly 50 years ago.
McDonald’s initially did not approve of deviating from its strict formula of simple hamburgers, cheeseburgers and milkshakes.
But the creation of a two-patty burger with lettuce, cheese, gherkins, onions and “special sauce” proved an instant hit, and was rolled out to his other 47 outlets across the US.
McDonald’s spokeswoman Kerry Ford confirmed that Delligatti died at his home in Fox Chapel, Pittsburgh, surrounded by his family on Monday night.
He opened his first McDonald’s restaurant in 1957 and went on to spread the brand across Pennsylvania and beyond.
His son revealed that Delligatti ate at least one 540 calorie Big Mac every week, according to CBS.
In 1970, he invented the Egg McMuffin which paved the way for the breakfast menu which started two years later.
Delligatti is said to have created the Hotcakes and Sausage breakfast meal to feed the state’s steelworkers at the end of their night shift.
“We will remember Jim as an insightful franchisee, a knowledgeable businessman, and an honorable gentleman who left a legacy of four generations of family members running great restaurants in Pennsylvania and North Carolina.”
The Big Mac became one of the defining symbols of McDonalds and the fast food business.
In 2007, Delligatti opened the Big Mac Museum in Pennsylvania, with financial help from McDonalds Corp, which included a bust of the burger’s inventor.
After studying at Michigan State University, the innovative businessman became one of McDonald’s original franchisees in the 1950s.
The fast food icon has left behind his two sons, his loving wife Ellie – as well as five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.
(Excerpt) Read more at thesun.co.uk ...
When I was young, I knew one of his grandsons. Nice, unpretentious kid.
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