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voor de liefhebbers ;-)
top secret / copycat recepten van Amerika's favoriete restaurantketens
op de website van die Todd Wilbur vindt je nog meer van dit soort recepten (McDonalds etc.).

PDF's in engels

In Orange County, California in the late 80's Todd received a copy of the notorious Mrs. Fields Cookie Recipe Chain Letter that had been making rounds across the nation. Trying the recipe led to disappointment. This was certainly no "secret formula." The results tasted nothing like a delicious Mrs. Fields chocolate chip cookie!

"Fake! Phony!" he cried. And then he wondered, "Just who are the goofballs passing this off as an authentic secret formula and how is it that such a bad knockoff recipe becomes so crazy popular?"

Todd had an idea. Since he had way too much free time on his hands, he got to work on a recipe for a cookie that had the flavor, texture and appearance of a real Mrs. Fields cookie. How hard could it be? Batch after batch the clones came closer to the real thing, until one day, it happened. The cookies came out chewy and delicious, with crispy edges and that strong vanilla aroma. Bingo! The first Top Secret Recipe was born. 

Armed only with an acute sense of taste and smell, he baked, he cooked, he dissected. He learned the ins and outs of cooking from reading the most famous cookbooks and watching hours and hours of cooking shows on TV. He talked to chefs, and cooks, and waiters, and food manufacturers. When he was at the counter of a fast food restaurant, he craned his neck to watch what was going on behind the scenes. He even feigned allergies to get ingredients lists from sympathetic wait staff. What at one time was just a strange little hobby grown out of curiosity, boredom and perhaps a few too many beers, had now become a passion.

In the summer of 1993, Todd's first cookbook Top Secret Recipes ® hit the shelves and soon went onto become a best-seller. Over the next 18 years, Todd would write 9 more cookbooks , and sell over 5 million copies.

This surprising success led to hundreds of appearances on several popular TV and radio shows, and over time caught the interest of many television production companies. And, while Todd's passion was reverse-engineering famous foods, he had always secretly dreamed of hosting his own TV show where he could show the world how he does it. In October of 2011, Todd's dream became a reality (TV show that is)! You can catch all 8 episodes of CMT's "Top Secret Recipe" on Itunes , and Amazon .

Today the name Todd Wilbur is synonymous with "food hacking".