McDonald's Egg McMuffin Inventor Dies

March 31, 2008
Egg McMuffin

Egg McMuffin Tasty Goodness!

Herb Peterson McMuffin

Herb Peterson, creator of the Egg McMuffin, died in Santa Barbara last Tuesday. (image: John Hayes/Associated Press)

Last week, I was listening to Mark Levin on WABC 770 AM radio when I learned that Herb Peterson, the inventor of the tasty Egg McMuffin had passed away at the age of 89. Herb's invention actually paved the way for McDonald's to introduce breakfast to McDonald's restaurants - previously only lunch & dinner were served. Mark Levin interviewed Herb's son David Peterson who explained that breakfast now accounts for 30% of McDonald's business. So McDonald's franchise owners owe a lot to this man. As do I, since Egg McMuffins are one of my favorite foods. Though with my Biggest Loser contest going on, I haven't had an Egg McMuffin in months!

Herb actually began his career with McDonald's Corp. as vice president of the company's advertising firm, D'Arcy Advertising. He even wrote McDonald's first national advertising slogan, "Where Quality Starts Fresh Every Day." Peterson then became a franchise owner of six McDonald's restaurants in Santa Barbara and Goleta, California.

Per Mark's interview with David Peterson, David explained how his father Herb loved eggs Benedict and then worked on creating something similar for his McDonald's franchises. With that, the Egg McMuffin was born! It made its debut at a restaurant in Santa Barbara that Herb Peterson co-owned with his son David. The Egg McMuffin is a breakfast sandwich that consists of an egg that had been formed in a Teflon circle with the yolk broken, and topped with a slice of cheese and a slice of grilled Canadian bacon. It was served open-faced on a toasted and buttered English muffin

I took an excerpt of the Mark Levin show of the David Peterson interview and posted it here as an .mp3 if you want to hear the interesting history of the Egg McMuffin along with Mark's comedic interviewing style.

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Comments to McDonald's Egg McMuffin Inventor Dies


  1. Mike :
    April 1, 2008 10:10 AM

    May his soul rest in peace.Egg Mc muffin was one of the most delicious invention by Herb Peterson.


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