René Arend

René Arend (30 December 1928 – August 2016) was a Luxembourgish-American chef who served as the first executive chef for McDonald's. He is best known for creating several of McDonald's popular menu items, including Chicken McNuggets and the McRib sandwich.

Early life and career Arend was born in Wiltz, Luxembourg on 30 December 1928, and graduated at the top of his class from the College Technique de Strasbourg in 1952. Ray Kroc then tasked Arend with developing "onion nuggets", a bite-sized onion ring-like dish. However, Arend pivoted back to chicken at the suggestion of Fred Turner in 1979 and began work on a chicken nugget product. Over the following 14 to 16 months,

Arend also collaborated with animal science professor Roger Mandigo to create the McRib, which debuted in Kansas City-area McDonald's in 1981, before a nationwide release in 1982. Inspired by pulled pork barbecue he tried in South Carolina, Arend designed the McRib to resemble a rack of ribs, despite being a boneless pork patty. Its creation was, in part, a response to the popularity of the Chicken McNugget and a resulting chicken shortage, along with McDonald's desire for additional menu options.

Retirement and death Arend retired from full-time work at McDonald's in 1990, and died in Naperville, Illinois in August 2016, at the age of 87.