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It’s a mind-blowing statistic that we probably encounter every day: 1 in 8 Americans have worked at McDonald’s. Whether it began as an after-school job or became a lifetime career, working at the Golden Arches planted the seeds of future success for many.
To celebrate this very special 1 in 8 community, McDonald’s has launched a new event series that honors past and present crew members.
Celebrating The Crew Kickoff
The kickoff was aptly held in Chicago, where McDonald’s global headquarters is located. A dedicated event space with a “speakeasy” vibe was the place for the celebration, which featured a number of fun activations.
Attendees had an opportunity to check out a pop-up Crew Uniform Legacy Exhibit, which spotlighted McDonald’s team uniforms through the years as well as visit the Golden Headshots station, where 1 in 8ers were offered a professional headshot they could use for their future career journeys.
In addition, a limited edition merch station included an “In The Crew” varsity-style jacket designed by Chicago native and former crew member Kendall Hurns, founder of lifestyle brand Robotic Minds Concepts.
Networking was also the name of the game as past and present crew members, franchise owners and McDonald’s executives mingled and munched McNuggets and those world-famous fries.
The Fryside Chat
The highlight of the occasion was the “Fryside Chat” featuring a line-up of former 1 in 8ers who shared their take on working as a member of the McDonald’s crew: actress/Univision host Clarissa Molina, comedian and SNL alum Chris Redd and James Beard award-winning chef and former Top Chef contestant chef Kwame Onwuachi.
Besides participating in the “Fryside Chat,” Chef Onwuachi also did a quick cooking demo where he gave McDonald’s iconic barbecue sauce his signature flavor spin. “When they asked me to remix the sauce, I knew I wanted to do jerk barbecue,” shared the chef/restauranteur.
“My grandmother is Jamaican. When you get jerk chicken, they always put some jerk barbecue sauce on it.”
Sowing the Seeds of Success
After the cooking demo, Onwuachi sat down with Cuisine Noir to share his views on his days as a McDonald’s crew member, which began when he was just 16.
“I just wanted to work there so bad,” he laughs. “McDonald’s kept me fly in high school—like I was able to get whatever sneaker I wanted [and] I wanted the new Jordans when they came out!”
However, the job at McDonald’s gave Onwuachi something even more valuable than just the ability to buy the latest kicks.
“It gave me the idea to provide for myself and contribute to my household, which was paramount, at the time, for me…I felt a part of my household. I wasn’t just a kid asking my mom for things,” he relates.
Other important lessons the Top Chef competitor picked up during his time at the Golden Aches included showing up on time and the importance of teamwork. He points out, “Those two things have stuck with me throughout my entire career. And I think it also translates into my regular life; showing up on time, showing up for people—if you’re going to say you’re going to do something, you do it. Those core values are hard to teach, so I’m very grateful I learned them at a young age.”
Proud to Be 1 in 8
Onwuachi’s success in the culinary industry as a chef and a restauranteur can be attributed not only to natural talent (his mother is a chef who had her own catering company) but also to having the right systems in place to run an efficient business.
“The training manuals and the employee manuals are extremely important. So, for any restaurant I have, whatever station you’re on, you can go to a manual and see exactly how to do something—and I saw that first at McDonald’s,” relates Onwuachi about the McDonald’s Handbook, which outlined the restaurant’s processes and procedures for its crew.
“McDonald’s is the #1 restaurant in the world for a reason because of their consistency and their practices. And I think that is an invaluable lesson as a restauranteur.”
A Slew of Opportunities For The Crew
For young people interested in working at McDonald’s, the successful chef says to just do it! “Any job at a young age teaches you structure and McDonald’s is the most structured restaurant in the history of the world. They have the most locations of a restaurant, and they also set the bar for people franchising their restaurants and that speed of volume,” he encourages.
“There’s not that many Fortune 500 companies where you can get a job at an entry-level position and have the upper mobility for growth that I know McDonald’s has.”
As for why starting his culinary career at McDonald’s is so special, Onwuachi shares, “I’ve always been proud to say I worked at McDonald’s. It was never a stigma for me. I grew up in New York City. Everyone’s fighting for jobs and when you’re 16, there’s not many jobs you can get that will pay you a competitive wage—or pay you on time like McDonald’s does.”
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Lessons Taken Forward
Fast forward to today, as a James Beard award-winning chef and restauranteur, Onwuachi continues to give props to McDonald’s. “McDonald’s is highly respected because you can get something in Hong Kong and in Georgia and it will be the exact same thing. That’s really hard to do for any restaurant operator. So by the time I got to where I’m at, I can say I know how to sweep and mop properly because of McDonald’s.”
He adds, “I know how to organize a walk-in because of McDonald’s. I know how to set my line up because of McDonald’s and I can give the best customer service because of McDonald’s. So, I’m super proud to be 1 in 8.”
