ماك بيفتح مكان Dip & dip بالوير هاوس

McDonald’s has always [offered] healthy food,” says Rafic Fakih, managing director and partner at McDonald’s UAE, which operates 158 stores in the Gulf country. Seventy-four-year-old Fakih, a regular at McDonald’s, is convinced the American fast food giant offers customers “the same food you eat at home”. “It is bread, chicken, meat, potato and salad. What do you eat at home? Bread? McDonald’s bread is better quality. The meat is better quality, because it’s very well conserved, the chicken, everything. And it’s audited 100 times,” says the French-Lebanese, declaring he eats at a McDonald’s joint at least three or four times a week. But the family restaurant, where a large fries and Big Tasty burger will give you more than 1,700 calories - just 300 calories short of an average woman’s recommended daily intake, and 800 shy of a man’s - has faced continuous cynicism from health regulators and some consumers, who claim the brand’s products are high in fat and cholesterol. Least forgettable of all controversies was the popular 2004 documentary Super Size Me, which saw independent filmmaker Morgan Spurlock eat at McDonald’s restaurants three times a day for a month, resulting in him gaining more than 11kg, increasing his cholesterol to 230mg/dL (milligrams per decilitre of blood) (compared to the recommended maximum 200mg/dL) and experiencing fat accumulation in his liver. Fakih’s response is blasé. “If you create a controversy for [an unknown] restaurant, no one will be interested. But if you write about McDonald’s, everyone wants to know. You speak about a big brand, it will be noticed. Before joining McDonald’s [UAE], I trained in McDonald’s Singapore for one year. And for one year, I ate only McDonald’s food,” he says. And, no, he did not gain Spurlock’s alleged 11kg, Fakih adds. He says customers need to take some responsibility for their own discipline when choosing food. “You can control the calories yourself. Take orange juice or water and salad instead of fries,” he says. But, according to him, few customers are going to McDonald’s for a salad. The reality is, the chain’s reputation for burgers and fatty fast food has a lot to overcome if it intends to entice UAE residents watching their calories. “They’re not buying more salads. We put fruit, they’re not buying fruit. I think it’s because people don’t eat out every day. And when they do, they like to opt for food that might have a little more calories or sugar,” Fakih says. “At the end, we have to offer what people want to eat. Perhaps at home, sometimes, you want to eat fruit. But if we offer you fruit here, [you’ll say] we’re coming here for the burger. Even for children, we’re selling water or juice instead of soft drinks. And instead of fries, we offer fruits — but it doesn’t work.” But rather than pull the healthier options from the menu, Fakih says McDonald’s UAE, which is owned by Emirates Fast Food, is striving to improve its full offering. Last year it reduced the fat content in its classic mayonnaise, halving the calorie count, and began cooking its fried food using a blend of sunflower and canola oil that has 80 percent less saturated fat than the previous oil used. “We are using better technology to make our product healthier, but retaining the same taste,” Fakih says. “The technology worldwide has improved. When technology improved in processing, we used it to give the same taste but with better nutritional value. Now, there is a possibility from the technological point of view to use good oil with an affordable price. At the factory where we process the food, the technology is so advanced now that you can do such drastic solutions.” McDonald’s Worldwide has also introduced sustainability measures, sourcing fish only from fisheries with sustainable practices. If McDonald's knows a species of fish is diminishing in numbers, they will not buy it, according to Fakih. The fast food chain, which rakes in billions of dollars in revenue, also launched a worldwide initiative in 2011 to turn its cooking oil into biodiesel that is then used by trucks. “[McDonald’s cooking oil] goes to a factory in Jebel Ali where it is reproduced to become diesel, but from a vegetable source, not from petrol, which makes it sustainable. So far, we’ve covered up to 7 million kilometres since 2011 with our oil. The factory tried to supply another oil, but couldn’t find oil that is as good in quality as ours,” he says. In another bid to better its reputation when it comes to health regulators and customers, the fast food chain created an online website three years ago that allows users to ask any questions they may have regarding McDonald’s products. “It’s the customer’s right to know. We called it, Your Right to Know. We received 40,000 visits on the website. The most popular questions were regarding calories, where we source our beef from and if it is halal,” Fakih says. The brand started providing customers with the nutritional value of McDonald’s products more than a decade ago, when it placed nutritional information, including the number of calories and levels of fat and sodium, on tray mats and food packaging. “If you’re eating something, you have to know what it is you’re eating. [McDonald’s nutritional information] is not something that is unknown information,” he says. It might be thanks to the firm’s improved transparency to its customers that it has suffered little in terms of growth where others have downsized or closed down altogether. “All retailers have been in a position of flat growth in the last one or two years. [But] we haven’t been affected much when it comes to our sales growth. We are flat and a little positive [in some stores],” Fakih says, declining to provide specific figures. With seven new stores already opened this year and another eight due before December 31, as well as 15 more scheduled for next year, McDonald’s UAE will perhaps record growth more than a “little positive”. The company says its annual growth is about 8 percent. The average McDonald’s restaurant in the UAE currently serves about 500,000 customers a year. Across the country, 44 million customers were served in the first six months of the year. Yet it is not only in the UAE that the brand continuous to prevail. “I know a lot of people, especially local people, who travel. When they travel, they look for McDonald’s, because they know what to expect. There is a general acceptance that McDonald’s’ quality is better than everyone else,” he says. And that is exactly the image self-proclaimed McDonald’s devotee Fakih plans to maintain. As far as he is concerned, people are still lovin’ it.

في خطوة إستراتيجية تهدف إلى تطوير وتوسيع خدمات التوصيل لديها، أعلنت ماكدونالدز الكويت اليوم أن جميع خدمات تــوصيل ماكــدونالدز ستصبح الآن متوفرة بشكل حصري عن طريق شركة زتات للتجارة العامة وخدمة التوصيل، والتي تمتلك موقع زتات، وهو أحدث موقع لتوصيل الطلبات عبر الإنترنت وتطبيقات الهواتف الذكية.وتهدف هذه الخطوة إلى نقل جميع خدمات التوصيل إلى شركة متخصصة، وبذلك تصبح خدمات توصيل وجبات ماكدونالدز الآن في متناول عدد أكبر من الزبائن، لتغطي بذلك مساحة جغرافية أكبر من أي وقت مضى. وابتداء من اليوم 1 أغسطس، سيتم إيقاف خدمة التوصيل الحالية لدى ماكدونالدز، وسيتم توصيل جميع الطلبات من خلال أسطول مركبات توصيل شركة زتات المتخصصة، حيث تحتوي جميع المركبات على شنط حافظة للحرارة والمواد الغذائية.علما أنه إلى جانب الطلب من خلال تطبيق وموقع زتات، يستطيع العملاء الطلب من خلال منصات «ماك توصيل» الحالية، والتي تشمل تطبيق الهواتف الذكية، الموقع الإلكتروني، وخدمة الطلب عبر الهاتف.وفي هذا الإطار، قال نائب الرئيس في ماكدونالدز الكويت لؤي الكيلاني: «منذ البدء بإطلاق خدمة «ماك توصيل» في عام 2015، شهدنا نموا كبيرا في الإقبال والطلب على خدمات التوصيل. ومن هذا المنطلق، وبهدف الارتقاء بخدمات التوصيل لدينا وخدمة عملائنا بشكل أفضل، قمنا باتخاذ قرار استراتيجي بالتعاون مع شركة زتات، سعيا إلى تطوير وتحسين عملية التوصيل وتوسيع نطاقها لنصل إلى عدد أكبر من الزبائن».من جانبها، اضافت المدير العام لشركة زتات للتجارة العامة وخدمة التوصيل نجلاء كرم: «كوننا من أجدد الشركات التي دخلت حديثا إلى قطاع خدمات توصيل الطعام، تعد شراكتنا مع ماكدونالدز خطوة مهمة ونقلة نوعية ومحطة بارزة في مسيرتنا.إن ماكدونالدز تعتبر من أبرز الأسماء في قطاع مطاعم الخدمة السريعة في الكويت وأكثرها شعبية، ونحن على ثقة بأنه من خلال تعاوننا مع شركات كبيرة ولامعة من هذا العيار، ستنجح زتات في تحقيق مكانة قوية لها بين شركات طلب وتوصيل الطعام في الكويت».

Fast food chain McDonald's said on Monday it planned to shut all 169 of its restaurants in India's northern and eastern regions, escalating a dispute with its local partner and potentially putting thousands of workers out of jobs.The U.S. company said it was "compelled" to take the action because its partner Connaught Plaza Restaurants Pvt Ltd (CPRL) had breached the terms of their franchise agreements. The decision by McDonald's India follows a prolonged legal dispute with the partner that had already led to the temporary shutdown of more than 40 outlets starting in late June. Vikram Bakshi, managing director of CPRL, told Reuters the decision came as a "big shock" and it was studying all its legal options. Madhurima Bakshi, a member of CPRL's board, said McDonald's outlets in the region employed 6,500 people directly and many more indirectly. All of the restaurants will have to stop using McDonald's name, trademarks, designs, branding, and recipes within 15 days of the termination notice, McDonald's said, adding it remained committed to northern and eastern India and had started looking for a new partner. "It will take time to bring the current situation to a final resolution," McDonald's said. It added it would try to mitigate the impact on employees, suppliers and landlords affected by the move.

McDonald's Qatar has announced that it has opened a new branch in Al Mirqab Mall. The new McDonald's outlet is the first of its kind in the Middles East and North Africa (MENA) region to have the iconic Ray Kroc design (founder of McDonald’s) and is the second store in the world to follow this design after Japan.Featuring a lot of new and advance features in terms of technology, interior design, look and the overall concept, the new outlet has a seating capacity for 115, and is located on the ground floor of Mirqab Mall in Al Nasr Street. It is the global fast food chain’s 41stbranch in Qatar.As with all of McDonald’s new restaurants, the Mirqab outlet boasts the kind of charm, warmth and intimacy that has made McDonald’s around the world so popular for families, children, individuals, groups and young adults. The Mirqab Mall situated on Doha’s Al Mirqab Al Jadeed in central Doha offers excellent access to the whole city and is located within a well-established residential and commercial area.McDonald’s Mirqab Branch has hip and modern interior that adds to the comfort on the dining area. Besides, McCafe, the restaurant offers self-ordering kiosk for customer’s convenience.Speaking on this occasion, Fadi Rezek, General Manager at Al Mana Restaurants & Food Co. –McDonald's Qatar said: “We want the people of Qatar to experience the extraordinary world of McDonald's and enjoy every bit of it. We aim to provide a unique and distinctive experience to our customers in Qatar like providing Wi-Fi to accommodate young guests who are online and accepting card payments so that they need not spend time standing in a queue. We have achieved several milestones since our inception, and we look forward to growing further. This will increase our outlets in the country, and meet our ambitious plans of retaining our position as a leading player in the local market."McDonald's is dedicated to consistently providing high customer satisfaction by rendering excellent service, quality products, and furnishing an enjoyable atmosphere at an acceptable price/value relationship.

ALMATY. KAZINFORM - McDonald's restaurant opened in Almaty. It's the second McDonald's in Kazakhstan, the first one is in Astana. During the opening ceremony head of Medeu district of Almaty Erzhan Zhilkibayev noted that opening of the restaurant allowed to create 150 new jobs and ensure additional taxation income in the future. "It's a well-known brand and we are glad that it came to Kazakhstan and our city. This is an image of our district and the city. We will continue to support such projects," he said. At the opening ceremony the restaurant rendered charitable assistance to "Meyirim" rehabilitation center in the amount of 5 million tenge. The restaurant has over 200 seats and outdoor summer area. It is planned to open the second restaurant in Almaty in autumn. As of today, 36 thousand McDonald's restaurants work in 120 world countries providing jobs to about 1.7 million people.