Former McDonald’s corporate chef Mike Haracz (@chefmikeharacz) has built a community of 300,000 followers on TikTok by sharing insider information about the McDonald’s menu.
In a recently uploaded video, Chef Mike Haracz explains why salads at McDonald’s are more expensive than burgers. The video is in response to a previous video from Chef Mike Haracz explaining why McDonald’s stopped selling salads, which were removed from the menu in 2020, according to the Washington Post.
In that video, he claims McDonald’s pulled salads off its menu because “people never buy enough.” In a comment, TikToker @scottpmasters asked Chef Mike Haracz to “Explain to me why a fresh salad costs $9 and a cooked beef burger costs $1.59.”
Haracz explains, “The biggest reason is that salad doesn’t last long and by salad, we are talking about iceberg lettuce, romaine, leafy greens, and things of that nature.”
Yet compared to beef, he argues, “You can freeze beef, you can refrigerate beef, for self-life extension.” He also cites the fragility of lettuce. “The same trucks that transport beef also transport lettuce. You can’t compound it. You can’t crush it. You have to be very delicate with it, or it gets bruised, and people won’t buy it,” he says.
Haracz continues, “If it looks weird, even though is perfectly fine to eat, people just don’t want to buy it.” However, with ground meat, “You can use a variety of different portions of the animal that are ground so you don’t know what it looks like, you can mix fat content and things of that nature, “
@chefmikeharacz Replying to @ScottMasters Former #McDonalds corporate chef talks about why salad is so expensive. #McdonaldsLife #McDonaldsTikTok #mcdonaldssecrets #McDonaldsSecret #FastFood #FastFoodSecrets #FastFoodTikTok #FastFoodLife #fyp #Salad #salads #saladsoftiktok #saladfingers #saladrecipe #salada ♬ original sound – Chef Mike Haracz
The viral viral has 16,000 views, with many viewers sharing their opinions on the matter. Some viewers provided suggestions on how to extend the life of greens.
“We can shorten the supply chains. Vertical farms closer to point of use will extend the useful life of greens,” one shared. Another added, “I don’t know why but if you wrap a head of lettuce in aluminum foil it lasts 2 weeks.”
Other viewers reminisced on other McDonald’s menu items that are no longer offered. “I really miss the McDonald’s Broccoli and cheese soup. A lot of people said it was just the Campbell’s broccoli. And cheese soup, but it definitely wasn’t the stuff from the store,” one commented.
The Daily Dot reached out to Chef Mike Haracz for comment via email.
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