Vol. 19 Luxembourgers in the United States: René Arend

René Arend, a Luxembourg‑American chef and McDonald’s first executive chef, left a lasting mark on fast food history by creating the Chicken McNugget and the McRib sandwich.

Arend was born on 30 December 1928 in Wiltz, Luxembourg. A gifted student, he graduated at the top of his class from the College Technique de Strasbourg in 1952, before beginning his culinary career at the Continental Hotel in Luxembourg. He emigrated to the United States in 1956, where he went on to work at the prestigious Drake Hotel in Chicago. In 1959, he won a prestigious culinary competition with a dish titled Suprême de Poularde Amphitryon, a refined chicken creation, an early indication of the culinary ambition he would later bring to a very different arena.

He subsequently served as executive chef at Chicago's Whitehall Club for fourteen years, where his regular guests included royalty, Hollywood stars such as Sophia Loren, but also business titans like Ray Kroc, founder of McDonald's and Fred Turner, then-president of the fast-food chain. Renowned for his exceptional poultry dishes, Arend was courted by McDonald's to help develop new items on their menu. Initially skeptical—famously remarking, “I’m a chef; I don’t believe in hamburgers”—Arend nonetheless joined McDonald’s in 1976 as executive chef, drawn by the prospect of reaching a far broader audience than any fine‑dining establishment could offer.

His initial vision was centered on onion‑based nuggets; however, this concept was ultimately refined into a chicken‑based creation. After months of development the Chicken McNugget was created in 1979, along with its original dipping sauces: barbecue, sweet and sour and hot mustard. The overwhelming success of the Chicken McNugget following its nationwide rollout in 1983 caused a significant, temporary chicken shortage.

It was precisely that chicken shortage that led to Arend's second great invention. Unable to meet McNugget demand across all its franchises, McDonald's needed a new product. Inspired by barbecue he had tasted in South Carolina, Arend created the McRib, a boneless pork patty shaped to resemble a rack of ribs, served with barbecue sauce, onions, and pickles. It debuted in Kansas City in 1981 and went nationwide in 1982. Though it was eventually removed from permanent menus, it became one of fast food's most enduring cult items, returning seasonally to considerable fanfare decade after decade.

Following a heart attack in the late 1980s, René Arend gradually stepped away from his role as a product innovator. He officially relinquished his position as executive chef in 2004, while continuing to serve the company as a consulting chef. René Arend passed away at the age of 88 in 2016 in Naperville, Illinois—the state from which he had begun his American journey some sixty years earlier.