• Time, Monday, February 22, 2010 10:51 AM

A major reason for McDonald's resurgence over the past five years -- besides its cheap eats in tough times -- is the improved quality of its menu and a new product pipeline that's producing tastier and more nutritious items than before (e.g., the Southwest Salad, Angus burgers and the new Snack Wrap), John Cloud writes.

The man behind the menu innovations is Daniel Coudreaut, 44, who trained at the Culinary Institute of America and once ran the kitchens at the Four Seasons Resort and Club outside Dallas. His business card reads Director Of Culinary Innovation, Menu Management but he prefers that you call him "Chef Dan."

Cloud takes an entertaining tour of Chef Dan's test kitchen where he and his staff of 16 consider approximately 1,800 ideas for new items each year. The day Cloud arrived, for example, Coudreau was creating a dish with celery root, broccoli rabe, wild salmon, hazelnuts and candied orange rind. Unlikely, perhaps, to meet the demands of a sign on the wall: "IT'S NOT REAL UNTIL IT'S REAL IN THE RESTAURANTS." Cloud likens the atmosphere to the crazy R&D department in every great manufacturing company "where mad scientists get to fiddle with toys and produce one or two breakthroughs a year."

Read the whole story at Time »