From McBaguettes to McSpaghetti, This Book Logs McDonald's Regional Dishes From Around the World

So, you think you know McDonald’s, huh? It makes sense. The global fast food purveyor is among the most ubiquitous chains on earth. Its golden arches are an avatar of American capitalism. Big Macs, Quarter-Pounders, McFlurrys — what’s not to know? 

But author Gary He is determined to show you a side of the eatery you never knew existed. And since he happens to be an award-winning photojournalist he’s doing so in expressive detail with a colorful new coffee table book entitled McAtlas. 

With the aid of more than 200 mouthwatering photos taken in 55 countries across six continents, the tome turns its attention primarily towards international peculiarities served up at McDonald’s beyond American borders. Some examples, such as France’s McBaguette and the McSpaghetti out of the Philippines have courted social media stardom in recent years. But He also chronicles lesser-known architectural curiosities exhibited in far-flung franchises, including a “teardrop-shaped spaceship” of glass in Batumi, Georgia, and the world’s only ski-in McDonalds, buried in snowdrifts 200 miles north of Stockholm, Sweden.   

The idea for the project was born five years ago in Marrakech, when He dined on a Ramadan-friendly meal kit consisting of harira soup, dates, chebakia, and a yogurt milk drink. 

“When I tried to search for more information about McDonald’s Ramadan menu, it was difficult to find — just bits and pieces scattered across various websites,” he recalls of the fateful feast. “I also discovered that the last book about the company’s operations was published in the 1980s. This is the largest restaurant in the world that we’re talking about here! At that point, I realized it was a subject matter that I’m really curious about, plus a gaping hole in the coverage of a very important company, meant there was an opportunity to cook up an interesting project. McAtlas was born.” 

What ensued was a journey of discovery, one that wanders well beyond the novel flavors and glimmering outposts he so artfully captures on the page. Ultimately there was a realization that McDonald’s isn’t just some corporate monolith barking marching orders out of a Chicago office tower. According to He, the company actually awards its franchisees a stunning degree of autonomy. It results in wholly unexpected offerings entirely reflective of the specific markets in which they are born. Like the Marinated Chicken Bones He enjoyed at a McDonald’s in Shenzhen, China last year. 

“A lot of the localized menu items and ideas started out rogue, like the earliest form of the Happy Meal, which was deployed in the Guatemalan market without permission from HQ,” he tells Food & Wine. “Even in the news today, you can see the company struggle to contain damage wrought by some franchisees, like the $18 Big Mac meal in Darien, CT that caused an uproar about high prices.”

Though a self-avowed gourmand, He’s obsession with McDonald’s is entirely un-ironic. For years he has been a voracious consumer of the eatery’s (in)famous Sausage Egg McMuffin. “A more delicious breakfast item at that price point and speed does not exist,” he contends. “If McDonald’s had all-day breakfast, I would certainly perish.” 

Indeed, if it wasn’t for this genuine passion, the book would unfold as hollow. Instead, it feels as authentic as it is authoritative on the subject matter. Which is why He has to now be counted on a shortlist of the world’s foremost experts on the Golden Arches. So, what is the guru’s go-to market for McDonald’s supremacy?

“Japan edges out China ever-so-slightly because of its commitment to drop culture for its seasonal menu items,” he says. “Even longtime Japanese master franchisee Den Fujita once told his employees, ‘We’re not selling hamburgers, we’re selling fashion.’

Nevertheless, the book will most likely be placed in the culinary section of your local bookstore. It hits shelves later this year at a suggested retail price of $49.95.