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 had 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. 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 Goleta, California (near 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 was held on April 23, 2008, in Montecito, California.[1]
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