Encounter: Beneath the golden hue

Who would've thought there's a rich history behind McDonald's in New Zealand, asks Joanna Davies.
Rosemary Hepozden's seat is upholstered in red vinyl, in front of her, a large coffee cup. This could be any cafe - there is no identifying name on the crockery - no plates with company logos and no empty wrappers.
But we're not just anywhere. We are in a McDonald's. Rosemary has just finished her lunch when we meet for an interview about her new book.
I'm somewhat stunned. I'd arranged a lunchtime interview at the fast food outlet but none of the famed fast food is being ordered. Instead, we get straight down to business. This year, the Kiwi franchise turns 35, and Rosemary has authored the history of the company here, Golden Arches Under Southern Skies.
"This is all going to sound a bit like a public relations fluff piece, but it's all true," she says. "I was never expecting my first book to be about McDonald's. But my relationship to McDonald's has undergone a big transformation while writing it."
She's overcome many "misgivings about a company that is a prime target for many of society's concerns about consumerism. I used to think McDonald's was for lazy, unrefined people with undeveloped tastebuds. I never ate it - it wasn't part of my thinking and the only part of McDonald's I knew about was the anti-McDonald's attitude that many people have."
After a publishing friend asked her to write a book marking the company's years in New Zealand, her mindset began to shift.
"I was very naive about McDonald's because I was very anti it. I was very lazy, and didn't have a solid intellectual argument to base that on, and this project made me look at my own misconceptions."
From interviewing the company's founders, Wally and Hugh Morris, to finding out the ratios of french-fry length in each serving - 40 per cent long; 40 per cent medium; and 20 per cent short - Rosemary spent a year piecing the book together. Particularly curious was a chat with one of the people who wear the Ronald McDonald costumes.
"I interviewed Ronald McDonald at my kitchen table and he cried when he told me some of the things he'd seen at Ronald McDonald House."
The first McDonald's in Auckland opened on Queen St, in the old ASB headquarters, in 1977.
New Lynn is the site of New Zealand's first "drive-thru" McDonald's, also opened in 1977. The first chain's first playground was attached to the family restaurant in 1981.
The book documents the good and the bad, from humble beginnings to the company's rapid expansion, through to its infamous takeover of local favourite Georgie Pie.
"Really, McDonald's shouldn't have been successful here, given the economic conditions when it started and a number of other factors. But there were people who worked so hard to find out the best ways to make it work here, like the gentleman who found a way to produce the apple pies in huge batches, and the people who brought in 10 russet potato tubers and started growing the right type of potatoes for long fries."
As for the bad press over the years, Rosemary believes McDonald's has been unfairly maligned.
"There was a point where McDonald's was being blamed for everything that was bad about the world - deforestation, child labour, obesity, health issues, globalisation, and that all came to a head when Morgan Spurlock's [film] Supersize Me was released.
"I think McDonald's here responded in a really creative way. They made ads telling people what was in their food because they really had nothing to hide, and they must have been doing something right if athletes like Sarah Ulmer and Hamish Carter were willing to put their names alongside the product."
She speaks convincingly about her belief in the company. "Ronald McDonald House does amazing work, and the company is a huge buyer of local ingredients, and a big employer."
But I'm still wondering why she has no fries on her tray. Rosemary says there have been a few trips to the Greenlane McDonald's drive-thru with her young son.
"He did like getting to have McDonald's as a treat - he loves chicken nuggets. I'm quite partial to the Grand Angus. Obviously, it's not something I would eat for every meal but, every so often, when the need arises, it's fine."
The need didn't quite arise for Rosemary while we chatted, but it did for us. The photographer and I departed with cheeseburgers in hand.
The book is on sale at Paper Plus and other independent book sellers, with proceeds going to the Ronald McDonald House charity.