Herb Peterson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Herbert Ralph "Herb" Peterson (January 5, 1919 – March 25, 2008) was an American fast food executive and food scientist most known for being the inventor of the McDonald's Egg McMuffin in 1972.[1][2] The breakfast business that he pioneered with this item has grown to an estimated $4-5 billion dollars in annual revenues for the fast food restaurant chain McDonald's by 1993.[3]

As a vice president at D'Arcy Advertising in Chicago, which was McDonald's in-house advertising arm,[1] Peterson coined McDonald's first national advertising slogan, "Where Quality Starts Fresh Every Day."[1] He later became a franchise co-owner and the operator of six McDonald's restaurants in and around Santa Barbara, California.[4]

Peterson developed the Egg McMuffin, which has become a McDonald's breakfast signature item, in 1972.[1] Peterson was said to like eggs benedict, so he worked to develop a breakfast item which was similar to it for the fast food chain.[1] Peterson eventually came up with the Egg McMuffin, which was an egg sandwich consisting of an egg formed in a Teflon circle with the yolks broken, topped with Canadian bacon and a slice of cheese.[1] The Egg McMuffin was served as an open faced sandwich on a buttered and toasted English muffin.[1]

The Egg McMuffin was first sold at a McDonald's in Santa Barbara, which Peterson co-owned with his son, David Peterson.[1]

Peterson died in Santa Barbara on March 25, 2008 at the age of 89.[1][4][5] He was survived by his wife, son and three daughters.[1] A memorial service for Peterson will be held on April 23, 2008 in Montecito, California.[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Egg McMuffin inventor Herb Peterson dies in California at 89", Associated Press, International Herald Tribune, 2008-03-27. Retrieved on 2008-03-27. 
  2. ^ Date of birth, and that born in U.S.A., from Genealogue Challenge #123
  3. ^ Steve Weiss (June 1993). The scoop on the egg McMuffin. Restaurants & Institutions. Retrieved on 2008-03-27.
  4. ^ a b Denise Petski (2008-03-26). Egg McMuffin inventor dies at 89. Associated Press. Seattle Post Intelligence. Retrieved on 2008-03-27.
  5. ^ Egg McMuffin inventor dies at 89. Los Angeles Daily News (2008-03-26). Retrieved on 2008-03-27.
United States This United States biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
 This food-and-drink-related biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.