Herb Peterson, who created the Egg McMuffin and breakfast at fast food giant McDonald’s, has passed away at the age of 89.

But his more lasting contribution was the Egg McMuffin, a fast-food version of Eggs Benedict. Peterson developed a special teflon ring for cooking the eggs on a hamburger grill. He topped them with a slice of Canadian bacon. And instead of runny hollandaise sauce, he substituted a slice of melted cheese.

The Egg McMuffin became the anchor of McDonald’s new breakfast menu. And when it was rolled out nationally in 1976, restaurants were able to ring up sales for several additional hours every day. Today, breakfast accounts for about a third of McDonald’s total sales, Goldin says. And while fast food competitors have added their own breakfast offerings, but they’ve never really caught up with McDonald’s.

If you want a really good fast breakfast check out Mrs. Winner’s and the Chicken Biscuit.