--- title: Scott Conant Judges McDonald's Artisan Chicken Sandwich description: It's not every day when you convince a chef to eat at McDonald's. That's exactly what TIME did to hear about the Artisan Chicken Sandwich. canonical: https://time.com/3842838/scott-conant-mc-donalds-artisan-chicken/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-01T14:27:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T06:50:56.125Z article:section: Health og:title: What a 'Chopped' Judge Thinks About McDonald's New 'Artisan' Sandwich og:description: It's not every day when you convince a chef to eat at McDonald's. That's exactly what TIME did to hear about the Artisan Chicken Sandwich. og:url: https://time.com/3842838/scott-conant-mc-donalds-artisan-chicken/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte93319c56b3cad09/6987edf6cd68484ccc09dd28/scott-conant.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1994 og:image:height: 1122 og:image:alt: Food Bank For New York City Can Do Awards Dinner Gala - Arrivals og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What a 'Chopped' Judge Thinks About McDonald's New 'Artisan' Sandwich twitter:description: It's not every day when you convince a chef to eat at McDonald's. That's exactly what TIME did to hear about the Artisan Chicken Sandwich. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte93319c56b3cad09/6987edf6cd68484ccc09dd28/scott-conant.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What a 'Chopped' Judge Thinks About McDonald's New 'Artisan' Sandwich > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent May 1, 2015 2:27 PM UTC  Chef Scott Conant attends the Food Bank For New York City gala on April 21, 2015 in New York City. Chef Scott Conant attends the Food Bank For New York City gala on April 21, 2015 in New York City. Bryan Bedder—2015 Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent May 1, 2015 2:27 PM UTC It’s not every day that you can convince a celebrity chef and owner of multiple highly rated restaurants to grab a meal with you at McDonald’s. But that’s just what TIME did when we heard about the fast food chain’s new [Artisan Chicken Sandwich](http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/product%5Fnutrition.chickenfish.2196.artisan-grilled-chicken-sandwich.html). The sandwich offering, unveiled this week, is a far cry from the days when the company marketed simplicity in the form of “two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.” But is it really an upgrade? We asked celebrity chef [Scott Conant](http://www.scottconant.com/) to test it out and assess the “artisan” claim. Conant, who attended the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, says he hasn’t eaten at McDonald’s in years. “What happened to the yellow and red?” he asks as he looks around at the restaurant’s modern decor. He arrives at a New York City McDonald’s after a meeting assessing potential items for his own restaurant. “What a funny contrast,” he says. A main course at his restaurant Scarpetta in Los Angeles, Miami, New York or Las Vegas can easily set you back $35\. The McDonald’s sandwich costs $5.22 with tax. When the Artisan Chicken Sandwich arrives, the chef approaches it much like he might judge a contestant’s concoction on the television show _Chopped,_ on which he’s a judge. He opens the sandwich and makes a quick appraisal of each ingredient: chicken, tomato, lettuce and a vinaigrette on a roll. He takes a bite and whips out his phone. “_Artisan_,” he says, reading from the screen. “‘A person or company that makes a high-quality or distinctive production in small quantities, usually by hand or using traditional methods.’ So, by definition, I’m pretty sure it’s not artisan.” Conant takes the bread and smells it. “Chemicals?” he says with a bit of a scrunched face. “I think of the artisan who spent 50 years of his life in the bakery kneading dough and has arthritis in his hands ,” he says. “How do you think he feels about calling the product ‘artisan’?” The rest of the sandwich is mostly unremarkable to Conant. The lettuce is wilted, but that’s a normal byproduct of the heat applied to it, he says. “It’s a real piece of chicken,” he says when prompted about the quality of the sandwich. He puts it down after a bite, and a generous thought strikes him: “It’s a business,” he says. “I have a huge amount of respect for growth like that. 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