*This article was sponsored and created in collaboration with McDonald’s Canada. As always, all thoughts, opinions and experiences are my own.
Visiting McDonald’s Headquarters in Toronto
This Christmas, I decided to head out on an eastern Canada adventure to visit a few places I’ve never been before!
A few weeks ago I travelled to Toronto for my very first time (I know, right?!) I’ve transferred through the city dozens of times but never had a layover long enough to stop in! But this time, I joined #TeamMcDs for a visit to the McDonald’s Headquarters for a festive party and a tour of their test kitchen.
One highlight was meeting Chef Jeff, the head chef at McD’s HQ. He helps create and test new and different menu items.
After a tour of the facility and on-site restaurant, we were treated to regional menu items. We sampled items like fish and chips and buffalo chicken poutine. They even let us drop a basket of fries in to cook them ourselves.
That evening we celebrated at a holiday party with other content creators from Toronto.
From a velour green couch with a golden arch above it to tiers of caramel cranberry bars and the Dufflet peppermint brownie set out to sample, it was a pretty amazing evening. (They even had to-go bags so we could take a late night snack home with us).
My Return to Toronto
It was a quick trip and I didn’t have a lot of time for sightseeing. So I decided to come back and spend more time in TO and area, checking out the Christmas lights, the markets and Niagara Falls.
Photo Credit: Scobel Photography
While in the city, photographer Matt Scobel and his adventure pup Alpine were also there. So we planned a hangout at High Park.
Back in September, us three went on a big adventure to Alaska which led to me taking care of Alpine for a few weeks afterwards. Spending so much time with her made me feel like she’s my pup too!
Photo Credit: Scobel Photography
To celebrate our mini-reunion, I picked up a few of the new festive menu items from McDonald’s. We decided to share it while playing in the park. Alpine was more than excited to try the new Herb & Garlic Seasoned Fries. It’s a holiday twist on their classic World Famous Fries – drizzled with butter and tossed in a savoury blend of basil, oregano, thyme, garlic, parsley and sage.
Photo Credit: Scobel Photography
Although I’m usually a Big Mac girl when travelling, the Seriously Chicken menu is my favourite when back at home in Canada. To change things up, I sampled the crispy Asiago & Bacon Seriously Chicken. It’s topped with Swiss cheese sauce, bacon pieces, tomato, leaf lettuce, Asiago cheese and rotisserie seasoned sauce on a Brioche-style bun.
Photo Credit: Scobel Photography
The afternoon in High Park was the perfect festive way to celebrate the holiday season with good friends.