tonight on "nightline," through the golden arches, we go inside mcdonald's headquarters to meet the newest chef behind its latest creations and trace the steps behind every million dollar menu decision. we follow your meals from the test kitchens to the taste buds in this exclusive tour. plus, the sex appeals. they're sexy tabloid darlings that they parlayed into hollywood gold. why is the world obsessed with the kardashians? >> and america's most wanted. we try to keep up and nothing is off-limits. >> and america's most wanted. arizona can sleep easier tonight after three weeks on the run, two self-styled bonnie and clyde

fugitives, an escaped prisoner and his girlfriend, were arrest yesterday. tonight, we find out how. >> and thank you for joining us tonight. so, mcdonald's new product seems like a really simple idea. lose the bun, slice up the burger and stick the whole thing in a tortilla. the angus snack wrap took a year to develop from test kitchens to sample centers to ware house laboratories to four-star chefs spend months tinkering with the tastes before a new idea ever gets beneath the golden arches. and tonight, john berman gives us a glimpse into the slow development of fast food. >> reporter: you might say dan kudro is the most prolific chef on the planet. he feeds -- >> 27 million people a day. >> reporter: 27 million people a

day. >> just in the u.s. >> reporter: dan is the executive chef at mcdonnell's, the culinary overlord of fries, nuts and patties everywhere. perhaps not what you would imagine for a classically trained chef. >> you worked at a four seasons among other things. how is this different? >> i like to think food is food is food. good food is good food. bad food is bad food. how it's different is, i'm working with a different price point. >> reporter: we're behind the scenes in his kitchen because this is the first stop for all mcdonald's products on the way to your mouth. the beginning of a manhattan project of tasting, testing, and tabulating. serving millions and earning zillions does not happen by snapping your fingers. take the angus snack wrap out this month. its gestation period? >> that's fairly fast, that's about 12 months, you know? >> reporter: 12 months. >> 12 months is fast. >> reporter: dan's decisions can

literally break the food chain. this is the place that sells 4.4 million pounds of beef every day and 8.5 million pounds of potatoes. so when he was playing with ideas for their new smoothies -- >> you have to make sure if you're going to put figs in your smoothies -- >> reporter: somebody's got to have them. got to be able to grow them. not only that, and we can't deplete the world supply of figs. and not only that, they have to be sure their employees can make them on time. the angus wrap calls for 40 seconds of assembly and not a second more. i had trouble on my first try. i got to work on wrapping. it also has to go together in a strict, strict order. >> the piece of cheese goes down >> reporter: if i do this wrong, if i put it down like a square, a bolt of lightning would strike me. >> i don't know if i would go that far. >> reporter: but almost. >> somebody's going to notice. processes need to be adhered to and followed by millions of employees, it's very important. >> reporter: dan also says he's focused on nutrition.

they clearly wanted our cameras to see as much fresh produce as possible. most people don't consider fast food as health food chains. >> so, i hear you. but i wouldn't -- i would say i don't want to be a health food chain. i want to be a balanced chain. >> reporter: once they come up with the recipes, it's time for focus groups and taste testing. they do it all over the country and they also do it in their oak brook, illinois, headquarters, constantly. this orwellian studio is called the department of sensory evaluations. it's not just to make sure it tastes good but tastes right. today's option, oatmeal. how did i do and what i did do? >> your job was to function as a difference panelist and their job is to find a deceivable difference in the products. >> reporter: the taste test they let me do is to see if i could tell the difference in the oatmeal between two suppliers. did i get it right? >> you were wrong the first time and got it right the second time.

>> reporter: whit comes to fine tuning, take a drive to this nondescript neighborhood where you'll find the cryptically named innovation center. our cameras were the first ever allowed inside. here, they can build full scale working mock-ups of mcdonald's restaurants and do battle against mcdonald's true mortal enemy -- no, not burger king, but the clock. >> this would probably be about 50% more efficient than what they were using before. >> reporter: this lets them take 50% more orders than the old one. >> it improves the capacity. >> reporter: jeff sfraton is mcdonald's executive vice president in charge of, well, seconds. how many seconds have you saved in your career? >> oh, my gosh, yeah, that's thousands. because our operating platforms have really changed dramatically in the way that we execute in mcdonald's. >> reporter: in this giant laboratory, they have overseen testing of everything from new cash registers to drink mixers. >> we have the ability to take two at a time now so it increases the capacity.

>> reporter: -- to bun toasters. >> today, it's automatically fed and done in 17 seconds. this product was done in 55 seconds. 17 seconds. >> reporter: -- to bun steamers. these save 12 seconds. >> all they simply have to do is grab a bun. the machine is right here, and all the sauces are here, and the builder of the product, we have our filet, and it's out to the consumer. >> reporter: seconds always matter? >> seconds matter, the faster we go, the greater volume we have. we have to be able to execute every day. we serve 60 million a day. >> reporter: here at the innovation center, mcdonald's managers from around the world can train with the new equipment and products. >> we have the exact kitchen of a french restaurant. >> reporter: isabelle custer and her staff came all the way from her france to see how they'll manage the rollout of a new burger they call they the mcfarmer. >> it's a product made with salad, tomatoes and they're looking into the kitchen to

see if we have the capacity to do that on the top of existing product. >> reporter: they want to be sure that making this burger doesn't screw up the process of making everything else, and the only way to to that is to test is in the fully functioning kitchen staffed with mcdonald's workers and filled with tips people paid to come and order and eat for the day. so you literally, you ordered -- you timed the exact orders. >> yes. >> reporter: and they go to the counter to see if the counter can handle it. >> yes. it's interesting because we can see everything. >> reporter: they rebuilt this restaurant to match french restaurants, believe it or not, have bigger kitchens because they have huge lunch crowds there with huge orders. >> in france, you have to build our kitchen like a ferry. you understand that? in the u.s., they have soup products. in france, we have between 10 and 12.

>> reporter: they use self-ordering kiosks and drive-through lanes. they can handle the mcfarmer very well. by the way, they learned they can handle the mcfarmer quite well. >> we have more than 10,000 restaurants in france, so we don't want it to go to waste. it's impossible. >> reporter: impossible for a place like mcdonald's. risk equals bad. which explains the chef, the taste window and this test center. when you bite into the angus snack wrap out this month, think about how far it's traveled. i'm john berman for "nightline." in oakbrook, illinois. >> our thanks to the efficient and tasty john berman. when we come back, from a number one show to lucrative endorsement deals. how one family built an empire on sibling sex appeal. we keep up with the kardashians. appeal.

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more grains. less you! multigrain cheerios. chances are that if you're considering the pros and cons of plastic surgery of a playboy spread or an internet sex tape, a family gathering would be the last place you would bring it up. when the family is called kardashian, such is the stuff of a hollywood empire. with a hit show and the trappings that go with it, the clan is more popular now than ever. clan is more popular now than ever. and in this encore report, cynthia mcfadden headed to los angeles to find out why. >> reporter: take the brady bunch, let it bake in the white hot light of celebrity culture and fast forward 40 years and you might get keeping up with the kardashians. a zany, loving, sometimes messy, always supportive blended brew where anything might happen and often does. it's all in the family. and all, they say, totally real. >> we do film like usually 18 hours a day. six to seven days a week. >> without a break, without a day off. for three or four months. >> who do you play on the show? >> i'm momanger. these girls have had their 15 minutes and my job is to try to make it to 30. >> kris rr is joined on the living room sofa by her daughters cloelkhloe, kim, and kourtney. >> the only reason i'm late is because you took so long to get started. >> i made breakfast for her and khloe. >> i'm the only one you didn't make oatmeal for. >> anyway, welcome to my world. >> reporter: their antics have made them tabloid sensations. they're endlessly photographed, copied, and chronicles, but a word to the wise. do not underestimate them. they are savvy business women, and have turned their reality celebrity status into marketing and murchen dizing gold. as we learned over a meal at mr. chow in beverly hills when the girls, their brother rob, and cloely's husband, lamar odom gathered for dinner with chrris who said she sorts through ten endorsement offers a day. a few of the offers. >> quick trim, our credit cards. >> credit cards? >> our kardashian credit cards. >> reporter: that's just a start, dozens more, including kim's perfume. >> a fuluptuous new sent. >> and a kardashian book yet to be written. their sexy personas are a part of the show. the reality series began after an explicit sex tape of kim was sold against her wishes, but it turned her into a hot media commodity. >> without kim, would there have been a keeping up with the kardashians. >> i don't think so. >> and did you know, not with the mom hat on, but with the manager hat on, that you had an opportunity? >> well, we had been talking about doing a reality show for about 2 1/2 years. i thought, oh, boy. we were just going to do this whole thing, and this really messes everything up. i had no idea that something like that would bring more attention, yes, but not in the right way. >> i completely get what you're saying where you, you know, maybe that's what people were gravitated towards as far as how they were familiar with me, but i think that no one on this planet would ever want to deal with something like that and having to face, you know, a father, a mother, sisters, brother. we dealt with it together as a family and then we moved on. >> we definitely made some lemonade out of lemons. >> it wasn't long before kim was voluntarily taking off her clothes in public alt her mother's urging. playboy wanted hir for the cover. >> i think it would be an awesome experience for you. on top of all that, it's a ton of money. >> i have to tell you, i was flabbergasted you encouraged her to pose for playboy. a lot of people would say the last thing she should do is take her clothes off. she should be wearing a turt turtleneck and go to church. >> she goes to church. and schhe wears a turtleneck sometimes. >> you have my point. >> i thought it was a good idea. for marilyn monroe, all the different women who are so fabulous and beautiful, and well respected. and it didn't actually -- >> but you were pushing her, let's be honest. >> she wanted it do it, too. i didn't force her to go do playboy. >> i was on the fence about it, do i want to be viewed this way or show women that hey, i'm curvy. i'm not like these stick skinny models i see on the covers of all these magazines including playboy, and i thought it would be empowering. >> while both women say they do not regret the playboy decision, there is something kris says she does now regret, broadcasting her two youngest daughters, kendall and kylie, with her husband bruce jenner, pretending to be girls gone wild and playing on a stripper pole. >> oh, my gosh. >> it was the big craze that oprah had on her show and all these girls were going on. >> they were 9 and 11. >> it was an exercise thing, a new exercise thing. and she -- >> it's cringe worthy and you know it. >> she didn't get on it like i'm a stripper. >> it wasn't the best thing, i will admit. i don't think kylie was thinking, i'm being a stripper. a parent saying, why would you let your child? lamar said to me, he saw one episode of ours and it was that episode and he thought we were crazy, awful. >> irresponsible. you look at that episode and say, what parent, number one, would permit this to happen and number two, to put it on television. >> to see it that way and view it the way the viewers saw it would be irresponsible. to see it the way it happened, it was the way it was edited. >> you're the executive producer. you let it go out there. >> in my first season, it probably would have been one of the things i would have edited, but i didn't. >> those cringe worthy moments are part of the deal, and it seems there's nothing too private or embarrassing to reveal. >> do you feel like you have turned over too much of yourself. >> i still have my bathroom. >> not only do they not regret living their lives in public, they thing it's begood for them. >> you guys do see everything, and we make mistakes, but what i praise us on is we learn from our mistakes.

awesome experience for you. on top of all that, it's a ton

>> you guys do see everything, we get to watch ourselves and hopefully never make those mistakes again because we constantly get to watch them. >> the fifth season of the show premieres on sunday. we'll see a lot more of the kardashians. when we return here, "nightline" sits down with beach boy brian wilson. we'll talk about the music that most influenced the prolific musician. concierge claim centers.

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just stay off the freeways, all right? i don't want you going out on those yet. and leave your phone in your purse, i don't want you texting. >> daddy... ok! ok, here you go. be careful. >> thanks dad. >> and call me--but not while you're driving. we knew this day was coming. that's why we bought a subaru. to bring arto the people. i strongly believe that there is art in every single person. sharing art is the highest calling for me. but without my health i wouldn't be able to do anything. [ male announcer ] to keep doing what you love, keep your heart healthy. cheerios can help. the whole grain oats can help lower cholesterol. this is what makes me happy, so i'll probably do this until the wheels fall off. [ male announcer ] it'simple, love your heart so you can do what you love. what do you love? see how cheerios can help you do it.

and now the man who gave summer a soundtrack. brian wilson, the diamoemon figg

genius behind the beach boys is taking on another virtuoso for genius behind the beach boys is taking on another virtuoso for brian wilson reimagines girsh s wn, and we sat down to find out what gave him inspiration and good vibrations growing up ♪ the bid west farmer's daughters really make you feel all right ♪ ♪ and the northern girls with the way they kiss ♪ >> california girls because it's all about the pretty girls that were out in new york and down south and the midwest, and the song about the girls from different city. ♪ don't worry baby >> of the beach boy songs, my favorite is "don't worry baby" because i think i sang it sweetly. it made me proud. it's the lyrics and the background voices. ♪ don't worry baby ♪ come down come down >> come down come down from your ivory tower, we used to sing that in our bedroom. it puts me in a good mood. it brings back memories. i can't say what memory. makes me feel like i love my brothers. ♪ go johnny go go >> i was introduced to chuck barry and little richard. johnny be good was one of the most exciting songs i heard. the exciting rhythm. ♪ deep down in louisiana close to new orleans ♪ it inspired me so much to try to write melodies like that. i wrote 15 songs inspired by that ♪ be my be my little baby >> be my baby was because of production, fantastic production. i like ronny spector's voice, the background voices, the drums, the basses, guitars, the precauti p p prucushion, i would go to my piano and play chords. and i kept playing chords, and finally a melody would happen. and then all of a sudden, the lyrics. then i had the song written. i would go, carl, come here. listen to this song. i wasn't taught, i was inspired. i taught myself how to write music. >> the do run run by the crystals taught me how to make an exciting record. it was so exciting. it would almost bring you to tears. i love their harmony. it was very tight, close-knit. i couldn't believe the wonderful melody which made me cry. i don't know what it is about that record, but it makes me cry. george gershwin song rhapsody in blue is one of my favorite songs. i listened to it and loved it. right in the middle of the rhapsody comes this beautiful violin section, and just blows my mind. i love his orchestrations and hislyrics. i can't tell you how much they inspired me. ♪ they can't take that away from me ♪ ♪ the way you smile at me the way you sing off key ♪ ♪ the way you haunt my dreams ♪ no no they can't take that

precauti p prucushion, i would go to my that record, but it makes me

away from me ♪ ♪ we'll be together on this bumpy road ♪ >> jimmy: tonight, jason

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