The Worst Time To Visit McDonald's, According To One Company Insider
If you like your fast food meals with a side of chaos, this tip isn't for you. However, if you don't like long lines, harried staff, and an incomplete menu — listen up: Don't go to McDonald's at 10:30 a.m.
TikTok's favorite former corporate chef, Mike Haracz, the content creator who brought us the hashbrowns breakfast sandwich hack that could bring the kitchen to a standstill, is back to warn viewers against visiting McDonald's at 10:30 in the morning. He explains that since the demise of all-day breakfast, this is the time that kitchens start switching over to the lunch menu. While 10:30 a.m. is on the earlier side for many people to eat lunch, Haracz explains that all the equipment has to go through a transition and needs to be switched over to the lunch menus. Comments by apparent former McDonald's staffers concur with his assessment, with one saying, "I hard agree with this. The changeover was rough every day."
What makes 10:30 a.m. so chaotic?
In the video, Mike Haracz explains how many moving pieces need to be changed over from breakfast to lunch. In addition to hectic shift changes and more customers coming in, basically every piece of equipment in the kitchen used for breakfast makes the switch over to lunch in such a way that, once done, they can't be used to make breakfast anymore.
@chefmikeharacz Replying to @miquelwhitcomb Former #McDonalds corporate chef explains why 10:30 is the worst time to go to McD. #mcdonaldssecrets #mcdonaldsdrivethru #mcdonaldsworker #mcdonaldslife #mcdonaldsbreakfast #mcdonaldsbreakfastallday #mcdonaldslunch #BigMac #QuarterPounder #McMuffin #McChicken #McNuggets #McGriddle #McRib #McRib #FiletOFish #fastfoodworkers #FastFood #FastFoodLife
The fryer supposedly makes two changes to adapt from hash browns to fries. First, the baskets are different; the hashbrowns are cooked on a rack, while the fries get cooked in big wire baskets. The two different kinds of potatoes are cooked at different temperatures and for different amounts of time. If a kitchen has multiple vats of oil, it can theoretically handle both at once, but not with a single fryer. The grills also change time and temperature, so employees can't make eggs and sausage anymore if they're making burgers.
The kitchen uses a warming container called a universal holding cabinet (UHC) to store premade food for quick service. As lunch items are made, they need to take up the space occupied by breakfast items. A particularly seasoned pro kitchen will make just enough breakfast to get through to 10:29, and then they won't have anything but lunch — but if they're not making lunch until 10:30 a.m., there's a period of time where there's no food in the UHC, causing longer wait times.
The case for 10:30 a.m. being the best time
Some customers in the TikTok comments take a different stance, declaring 10:30 a.m. the best time to go to the fast food chain. One customer says that occasionally, if there are too many breakfast items taking up space in the UHC, they get offered to customers at a discount — as long as the food safety standards and holding times have been maintained. Sometimes, you can get a mix of breakfast and lunch items, like a McGriddle with a side of fries. Others note that this is the time when lunch is the freshest; you're getting everything right out of the fryer or right off the grill rather than out of the UHC.
And then there's the off-menu item taking TikTok by storm: The 10:35 burger. If the grill has been changed over to lunch, but there are still eggs in the UHC, you may be able to get a burger with an egg on it. You may even get one with a hasbrown on it for a full McBrunch burger. Chef Mike Haracz explains that because this is an off-menu item, you may need to be really friendly with your McDonald's staff to unlock this secret item. Remember, it's only five minutes after the busiest, most chaotic, worst time to be at McDonald's.