- Having traveled to over 55 countries, photojournalist Gary He has tried many McDonald’s menus.
- In his upcoming book, He has captured the cultural essence of McDonald’s locations around the world.
- Speaking to Business Insider, He shared the top 10 items he wishes were on American menus.
In 2019, while on a trip to Marrakech in Morocco, Gary He, a Brooklyn-based photojournalist, received an unexpected surprise with his regular McDonald’s order.
A pack of dates paired with a chebakia — a Maghrebi sweet made using deep-fried dough that’s shaped like a rose and drizzled with honey syrup — a tomato and legumes soup called harira soup, and a bottle of laban or salted buttermilk, all packed in a tiny box.
Curious about the box and its significance, He turned to Google to find out more … only to find there wasn’t much information available online.
“When I began researching McDonald’s specialties in other countries, there was very little information, and most of it was very scattered,” He told Business Insider.
This is where the idea to document one of the largest restaurant chains in the world came about for He, who recalled, “There was an opportunity to play a journalist and documentarian while also tapping into that lifelong love of McDonald’s and combining it into a single project.”
Five years later, the James Beard Award-winning photojournalist has traveled to over 55 countries across six continents and compiled a 420-page book, “McAtlas: A Global Guide to the Golden Arches,” which will be released in November. The book features over 200 photographs of menu items and architectural wonders that showcase how this American chain has integrated across cultures.
Given that about 27,000 of the brand’s 40,000 restaurants are based outside the US, one way the company maintains its popularity and strives to drive its international sales is by introducing locally popular items with a McDonald’s spin. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2023 that these local items contribute about 30% of the brand’s food sales.
While some of these dishes were introduced to the American audience in 2018 as part of the brand’s rotating menu at its international restaurant in Chicago, most others are still a plane ride away.
Even He — who has tried and tasted many of the brand’s local offerings, from Iftar-special menus in the Middle East (like the one he was served in Marrakech during Ramadan) to celebrity-chef-inspired sandwiches in Europe — wishes he could get a slice of them without always having to travel across the ocean.
Here, we’ve rounded the 10 global items He wishes were on American menus.
