It starts with an M

Dad: Tobias can you tell me a word starting with M? Tobias: oehh McDonalds – with a proud smile. Okay so you think we spend a lot of time at McD. Not really. Admittedly, we have been there are a few times in his lifetime, but the golden arches do seem to appeal to most kids. They have happy meals with toys, great idea, but not really something Tobias seems too interested in. They have even introduced salads and healthy sandwitches - definately something he doesn't care much about (but potentially a clever move by McD as it removes a contraint on "health" conscious adults that previously would have been unwilling to go to McD with their children because there was nothing for them to eat) .

He loves their fries. So what makes this highly processed industrial commodity special in his opinion? Unfortunately, his language skills are limited to "mmmhh delicious" and "they taste good". He lacks the ability to articulate a more refined view of the fry.

The taste of a french fry is largely determined by the cooking oil. For decades McD's cooked its fries in a mixture of about seven percent cottonseed oil and 93 percent beef tallow. In the 90’s McD switched to vegetable oil in response to critique of the high content of cholesterol. How did they make fries that subtly taste like beef without cooking them in beef tallow? They added the top-secret additive “natural flavour”!

Anyway, as it turns out Tobias asks for french fries every time we go out and no matter what type of restaurant or cafe.

If there is one area where McD is likely to have made an impression on him it has to be their play areas. At least in Australia it seems to be the norm that there is an opportunity for kids to play. And if there is one thing he really enjoys it playtime at a playground.