Open Days at McDonald's: Find out how to prepare the burgers in the kitchen of the most popular restaurant chain in Romania
How many times have you entered McDonald's and wondered what the kitchen looks like or what happens, step by step, until your favorite burger reaches? I was there – in the middle of the action – and I watched how each product is prepared, from the first ingredient to serving. And the good news is that you can live the same experience. Thus, between April 28 and May 28, 2025, McDonald's in Romania opens its kitchens for the public through the Open Days campaign, inviting customers to enter the backstage of restaurants throughout the country and to discover how their favorite products are prepared.
The McDonald's campaign, entitled Open Days, gives customers the opportunity to discover the backstage of restaurants through special tours, organized on request in locations throughout the country. During these visits, participants can find details about the strict standards applied in the kitchens, the procedures that ensure the constant quality of the products, as well as the carefully selected ingredients – from their origin to the collaborations with local suppliers and other countries in Europe, which contribute to the freshness of each product.
Tour through McDonald's kitchen
The first thing I noticed, once in the kitchen of a McDonald's restaurant in Bucharest, was the rigor of the processes. Everything is carefully controlled: each product follows clearly established steps, and the rules are strictly followed. What did I find out? That the preparations are made only to order – nothing is prepared in advance and left “on stock” while waiting for a customer. Thus, everything is prepared exclusively at the request of customers. The cake is browned only after you have placed the order, the vegetables are added fresh, and the combinations can be customized to taste.
Where do the ingredients come from?
Another essential aspect that I discovered in the tour is the origin of the ingredients. 44% of the ingredients used by McDonald's in Romania come from local suppliers, carefully select. Thus, McDonald's collaborates with Romanian partners who meet the strictest standards of quality and food safety.
Local partners include:
- Transavia, for chicken meat
- Eisberg, for fresh vegetables
- Toneli farm, for free-range eggs used in breakfast menus
- Lantmännen Unabake Romania for all rolls
- Râureni, supplier of apple juice and cherry jam
- Agrana, for sugar packed in sticks
- Olympus, for coffee milk
- Carniprod, for the ham used in preparations
In addition to these local ingredients, McDonald's also uses goods from countries such as Germany, Poland or Austria.
“Lantmännen Unibake Romania produces rolls for McDonald's, so much of the flour is produced with the Romanian wheat. Potatoes are brought from Austria and Poland, because the varieties of potatoes we use are not cultivated in Romania. The beef comes from the Baltic countries, from Biovela, one of the largest meat producers in Central Europe, the chicken from Transavia and a producer in Hungary, and the pork comes from Germany”, Mentioned one of the representatives of McDonald's.
In 2024, McDonald's invested over 200 million lei in the purchase of ingredients from Romania, demonstrating its firm commitment to the development of the local market and supporting the national economy.
Food safety, a priority
Food safety is an essential priority in all McDonald's restaurants. Thus, the company's suppliers are certified according to GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) standards, and restaurants implement a rigorous self -control system.
It includes:
- Microbiological analyzes performed periodically
- Daily checks at critical control points
- Social safety and responsibility audits
- Periodic internal assessments
Also, through the Testo digital platform, certified managers complement the product safety lists daily (DPSC), and each employee is constantly trained and evaluated on working procedures and good operational practices.
A constantly developing network
With over 7,000 employees in 107 restaurants in 33 cities, McDonald's is one of the largest employers in the Romanian food industry. In 2024, the company registered a turnover of over 2 billion lei, up 16% compared to the previous year, and continued to invest in digitalization, infrastructure and extension.
Last year, 7 new restaurants were inaugurated, and in 2025 another 9 openings are planned, which will generate over 700 new jobs. The investment in the training of the employees is constant, the emphasis being on training in the use of the equipment, the observance of the procedures and the maintenance of a safe and efficient working environment.
If you want to find out how the process is going and what is happening in the backstage of the restaurant, between April 28 and May you can schedule a visit to the nearest McDonald's.
Article supported by McDonald's in Romania
