McChicken Creation

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.

Building on the success of previous editions, McDonald’s is once again offering new McChicken Creations, recipes created in collaboration with GialloZafferano, Italy’s favourite food media brand, and inspired by the original McChicken sandwich. It will be available in the more than 760 McDonald’s restaurants from today to 19 August.
The successful partnership between McDonald’s and GialloZafferano is now in its seventh year, with more than 55 million sandwiches sold.

This year’s new McChicken Creation recipes, using 100% Italian chicken breast, are topped with three PDO and PGI ingredients: Provolone Valpadana PDO, which returns to McDonald’s menus, Cappero (capers) delle Isole Eolie PDO and Peperoni (bell pepper) di Senise PGI, which appear for the first time as an extra touch in the mayonnaise and sauce on the new sandwiches. The Peperone combines bacon, crispy onions and a flavourful, fragrant sauce made using Italian Peperoni di Senise IGP. In contrast, the Provolone consists of crispy bacon, the authentic and enchanting Provolone Valpadana DOP and a special mayonnaise with the intense, unmistakable flavour of Cappero delle Isole Eolie DOP.

McChicken Creations demonstrate a commitment to making the quality and authenticity of Italian ingredients accessible to everyone, enhancing the recipes with treasures from our land. With this goal in mind, the relationship with the protection consortia, which began in 2008 with the invaluable support of Fondazione Qualivita, has grown stronger over the years. This interaction has led to the introduction of 24 PDO and PGI ingredients on McDonald’s menus, enabling millions of people to discover and recognise the value of Made in Italy.

Through the collaboration with GialloZafferano comes the new McChicken Creations: two original recipes meticulously created to celebrate and make the most of 100% Italian flavours, combining the best of innovation and tradition.

‘We are proud to present the seventh edition of McChicken Creations, an initiative that strengthens our commitment to supporting the Italian food supply chain,’ says Giorgia Favaro, Managing Director of McDonald’s Italy. ‘Through our collaboration with GialloZafferano, the Qualivita Foundation and the protection consortia, we are able to integrate PDO and PGI ingredients into our offerings, making them accessible to an ever wider public. We have been working in this direction for more than 15 years, aiming to enhance quality raw materials and support local producers,’ Favaro concludes.

‘The collaboration between GialloZafferano and McDonald’s, which is celebrating its seventh edition, conveys solid synergy with the aim of depicting the Italian way of life in an innovative manner,’ says Andrea Santagata, Managing Director of Mondadori Media. ‘The project combines taste, accessibility and innovation through effective interaction with the public, using a new and engaging language. The results achieved over the years demonstrate the effectiveness of a strategy — in terms of reach and audience appreciation — that focuses on quality, creativity, tradition and experimentation,’ Santagata concludes.

The new edition of McChicken Creation was presented with a special event at the GialloZafferano headquarters, with the participation of Giorgia Favaro, Managing Director McDonald’s Italy, and Andrea Santagata, Managing Director Mondadori Media. Speakers also included: Valeria Casani, Chief Marketing Officer McDonald’s Italy; Nicola Lussana, Managing Director Mediamond; and Mauro Rosati, Director General Fondazione Qualivita. Other participants included representatives of the certified ingredients in the new recipes: Vittorio Emanuele Pisani, Director of the Consorzio di Tutela Provolone Valpadana DOP; Lorenzo Cortese, President of the Associazione Cappero delle Isole Eolie DOP; and Enrico Fanelli, President of the Consorzio di Tutela Peperoni di Senise IGP.

The event was also enlivened with an engaging cooking show by McDonald’s Chef Raffaele Bellini, who revealed the secrets and preparation of the new recipes to the audience. GialloZafferano involved a team of exceptional chefs and food creators to preview the new recipes and create exclusive content for social media: Andriana Kulchytska, Roberto Valbuzzi – Notordinarychef, Angelo Coassin – Cooking with Bello, Eva Andrini – Evasfoodaddiction, Gessica Runcio – Le ricette da Gessica, Nonna Silvi and Dany Resconi. With his charismatic attitude, Radio 105 host Nicolò Torielli led the event, encouraging interaction and participation and creating a dynamic and engaging atmosphere.

The entire activity and visibility plan for McChicken Creations were developed together with Brand On Solutions, the project area of Mediamond, with the coordination of OMD and OPRG and the creativity of Leo Burnett for all GialloZafferano digital channels, from its website to social media profiles – Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube – up to the app, which has a push notification targeted at the McDonald’s drive-to-store and drive-to-app.

 

McDonald’s Italia
Present in Italy for 39 years, McDonald’s now has over 750 restaurants across the country with a total of 38,000 employees serving 1.2 million customers every day. Ninety per cent of Italian McDonald’s restaurants are managed as franchises by more than 160 local entrepreneurs who testify to the brand’s rootedness in the territory. With regard to suppliers, McDonald’s also confirms its desire to be a ’local’ brand. To date, in fact, most suppliers are Italian. Worldwide, McDonald’s is present in more than 100 countries with more than 41,000 restaurants.

 

GialloZafferano
GialloZafferano is the leading food media brand in Italy. On the web, 1 in 2 Italians cooks with GialloZafferano, which reaches 23 million people every month (Comscore incremental reach, March 2025). With a fanbase of 72 million followers, it tops the world’s food media brand ranking on social media (source: Shareablee-Comscore and social insights). Offering recipes that are always easy to make and accessible to everyone, it is available to people at any time of day on all channels: from the web to social media, apps, smart devices, magazines, books and local events.