McDonald's employees know more about the company's food than anyone. After all, they spend all day cooking, handling and serving the stuff. They subsequently have a pretty good idea of which menu items are great and which are best avoided. Here are four McDonald's products that they are happy to serve you - but would never eat themselves.
Our friends at Business Insider recently quizzed several McDonald's US staff members (both former and current) to find out which menu items they personally avoided. Most of their preferences came down to personal taste, although nutrition also played a part.
While the survey was conducted in the US - and was entirely subjective - it's still interesting to see which products Macca's staff aren't crazy about. Here are four examples that your local fry jockey probably won't be scoffing on her lunch break:
Fillet-O-Fish
Fish often raises alarm bells in restaurants, but the main reason for this product's unpopularity is actually generational: It just isn't 'cool' enough for Macca's younger staff.
One former crew member said they viewed the filet-o-fish as a meal popular with older customers. “I assume it’s easy for them to chew,” they added. Nobody in Business Insider's survey was a fan of the Fillet-O-Fish. (Life hack: they taste much better if you eschew the tartar sauce and add Nando's Peri Peri instead.)
McDonald's Salads
Some McDonald's staff members said they steer clear of the chain’s salad options due to the drab taste and "astronomical" calories. While McDonald's Australia does not sell the exact same salads, the caveat definitely still applies: Adding crispy chicken and/or noodles to your salad ramps up the kilojoule count considerably - and that's before you add any dressing.
Sugary drinks
One McDonald’s employee said the chain’s sweet tea was too sugary for their taste. Again, the sweet tea options in Australia are quite different to the US, but the advice still holds: If you care about your waistline, go for a sugar-free soft drink (or better yet, water.) Adding a scoop of ice cream to your frozen Coke is an indulgence you don't need.
Limited-edition menu items
Curiously, many of the McDonald's staff that Business Insider spoke to weren't fans of the company's fabled limited-edition McRib sandwich.
“The way it looks before we put the sauce on it is absolutely revolting,” one former crew member said. “It doesn’t look like meat at all, it looks like a scab.”
The McRib hasn't been seen in Australia since 2012, but we'd argue that its faddish, overrated nature applies to many of McDonald's limited-edition items. If it's not on the regular menu, maybe it's not that great, eh?