Italy is made of authentic flavors, world-renowned excellence, and timeless icons. It is from this heritage that McChicken Creation® Dolce Vita Edition is born, the eighth edition of the project signed by McDonald’s with the collaboration of GialloZafferano, the leading food media brand in Italy, which over the years has won over millions of people with over 64 million burgers sold.

There are two new recipes starring in the McChicken Creation® Dolce Vita Edition: Il Romano, which combines 100% Italian chicken breast with crispy bacon, Pecorino Romano PDO cheese and pepper sauce, and Il Mediterraneo, which pairs crispy chicken with bacon, lettuce, red pesto sauce made with Italian dried tomatoes, and Grana Padano PDO, for a balance of flavors recalling the richness of Mediterranean cuisine. Completing the offering, panzerotti with tomato and mozzarella also make a return, along with the new cacio e pepe mayonnaise to accompany the Chicken McNuggets. A special edition packaging dresses the entire range with graphics inspired by the imagery of the dolce vita.

The McChicken Creation® Dolce Vita Edition project in collaboration with GialloZafferano has been active since August 19 and is accompanied by an important initiative created together with Stellantis. From August 24 to September 22, by purchasing a product from the McChicken Creation® range with a minimum spend of 10 euros, it will be possible to enter the instant win contest and try to win a Fiat 500 Hybrid POP model every day.

Thanks to the collaboration with Fondazione Qualivita and the Protection Consortia, today there are 24 PDO and PGI ingredients present on McDonald’s menus: a commitment that since 2008 has enhanced Italian agri-food specialties, supporting the work of supply chains and promoting the culture of certified productions. Edition after edition, McChicken Creation® has established itself as one of the co-creation projects most appreciated by consumers, reinterpreting the original McChicken through recipes inspired by Italian gastronomic tradition, contributing to making quality products and flavors from our territory increasingly accessible.

«With McChicken Creation® we continue to tell the story of Italy through what makes it unique: the quality of its raw materials, the value of its supply chains, and the ability to innovate starting from tradition», states Giorgia Favaro, Chief Executive Officer of McDonald’s Italy. «It is a project that, thanks to the collaboration with GialloZafferano, Fondazione Qualivita, and the Protection Consortia, makes PDO excellence accessible to millions of people and contributes to enhancing Italian agri-food heritage. Following the success of previous editions, we are proud to continue this journey with a new offering that celebrates the taste and identity of our Country.»

«The success of the partnership between GialloZafferano and McDonald’s is a source of great satisfaction for us. A collaboration that allows us once again to tell the story of Italy in its most distinctive and valuable traits, represented in this case by good food», declares Andrea Santagata, Chief Executive Officer of Mondadori Digital. «Through the new McChicken Creation Dolce Vita Edition, we bring to market a unique co-branding editorial project that combines a passion for food, the talent of our team of creators, and ever-new social media languages, to bring even younger audiences closer to the richness of our gastronomic heritage. The results we exceed year after year demonstrate the effectiveness of a winning formula: placing the quality of our Country and its cultural heritage at the center through constant innovation».

«Today a new product doesn’t just live on the menu. It becomes a story capable of living across different platforms, languages, and activations. With McChicken Creation® Dolce Vita Edition we wanted to transform the taste of enjoying life Italian-style into an experience capable of accompanying people far beyond the restaurant. From new recipes to packaging, from creators to the partnership with Stellantis and the renewed collaboration with GialloZafferano, every element contributes to telling a lifestyle made of conviviality, lightness, and the pleasure of being together», affirms Valeria Casani, Chief Marketing Officer of McDonald’s Italy.

The new recipes were presented during a special event hosted at the headquarters of GialloZafferano, which brought together Giorgia Favaro, Chief Executive Officer McDonald’s Italy, Andrea Santagata, Chief Executive Officer Mondadori Digital, Giorgio Galantis, Chief Executive Officer Mediamond, Mauro Rosati, General Manager of Fondazione Qualivita, Cesare Baldrighi, President of Origin Italia, Mirella Parmeggiani, Head of Communication and Marketing Italia for Consorzio di Tutela Grana Padano, and Riccardo Pastore, General Manager of Consorzio di Tutela del Pecorino Romano.

Leading the event was Nicolò De Devitiis, famous TV presenter, who accompanied guests on a journey to discover the McChicken Creation® Dolce Vita Edition and the project that inspires them. Completing the experience was a showcooking conducted by McDonald’s Chef Raffaele Bellini who revealed the secrets and preparation of the new recipes in front of a team of food creators from the GialloZafferano and Zenzero Talent Agency network – Nonna Silvi, Cooking with Bello, Dany Resconi, AzzuChef, Gessica Runcio – involved to tell the story of the range through exclusive content on their social channels.

The entire project and communication plan for McChicken Creation® Dolce Vita Edition, which includes a TV campaign, digital and social content, creator activities, in-store materials, and the new dedicated packaging, were developed with the support of the Sales Marketing & Integrated Media Solutions Department of Mediaset Group, with coordination by OMD and OPRG and creative execution by Leo Burnett.

McDonald’s Italia
In Italy for 40 years, McDonald’s currently counts over 800 restaurants nationwide for a total of 40,000 employees serving 1.3 million customers every day. 90% of Italian McDonald’s restaurants are managed under franchise agreements thanks to over 170 local entrepreneurs who demonstrate the brand’s deep roots in the territory. Regarding suppliers as well, McDonald’s confirms its desire to be a “local” brand. Today, the majority of suppliers are indeed Italian. Worldwide, McDonald’s is present in over 100 countries with more than 43,000 restaurants.

GialloZafferano
It is the leading food media brand in Italy. On the web, 1 out of 2 Italians cooks with GialloZafferano, reaching over 21 million people every month (Comscore Social Incremental Reach, monthly average 2026). With a fanbase of 73 million followers, it leads the global ranking of social food media brands (source: internal data analysis Shareablee–Comscore and social insights). Always present with easy and accessible recipes for everyone, it is available at any time of day across all channels: from the web to social media, from the app to smart devices, from the magazine to books, all the way to local events.