In 1958 Fred Turner wrote McDonald’s first operations manual. It set rules such as the maximum thickness of the fries and six patties on the grill at a time. A 2011 textbook said Turner “attempted to turn the task of running a restaurant from an art to a science.”
“In 1961, Hamburger University began in a McDonald’s restaurant basement in Elk Grove Village, Ill.” The first class had 15 graduates. Its aim is to “establish consistent restaurant standards around the globe.”