This article was first published in May 2021.
If you've worked in hospitality or behind the scenes at a fast-food restaurant, you'll know there are lots of secrets of the kitchen you might prefer not to know as a diner.
But now past and present McDonald's employees are spilling all the secrets and tales of the kitchen - some which seem to apply to many restaurants of the fast-food chain, and some that are seemingly unique to particular branches.
The post asking what secrets employees have discovered while working at the restaurant was posted into popular sub-Reddit 'Ask Reddit', and has since racked up almost 10,000 comments.
Here are some of our favourite submissions:
"Dehydrated onions, you put them in a metal thing and just add water. The thing is they still taste great! But I was shocked and happy that I didn't have to go cut onions. They taste 100 times better if you put them on the meat before cooking it, and letting them rehydrate with the fats of the meat!"
"The ice cream machines aren't actually broken 99 percent of the time. They're typically powering up because someone forgot to turn them on at the appointed time. We just say that they're broken because it's a short and concise way to express that you're not getting your ice cream for the next few hours."
"The Big Mac sauce, mayo, and tartar, they're in basically caulk tubes that get loaded into basically caulk guns. You pull the trigger on the handle and a really satisfying ratchety clanking delivers a powerfully saucy surprise for the awaiting buns. Problem is, it takes a bit of finesse because if you hit that trigger too hard you'll blow the bun and the wad of creme right through the condiment station and onto the wall 8 feet away. No joke, the first couple tartar splurts of a fresh tube came out so hot I'd fire a shot or two in the trash to avoid premature splatulation during the lunch rush."
"Depending on which one you work at, the parking lot is basically a meet-up for druggies/drug dealers and (at least where I was) people to meet up and have sex in their cars. As long as they kept their business to the middle of the night and didn't cause any serious problems, we were told not to call the cops or make a fuss, mostly because they'd come in and buy food after their shenanigans."
"My first day on the job, I was told to be on the lookout for the elderly gentleman who would try to sneak around the counter and pour the entire coffee pot into his mug while everyone was too busy to stop him."
"The Big Mac is just a double cheeseburger with 1000 island dressing, lettuce and a extra piece of bread. If you order a double cheeseburger, add lettuce and Big Mac sauce, you get the same thing with less bread and cheaper price."
