Panera Bread worker says TikTok video showing frozen mac-and-cheese got her fired
Source: CBS News
A former Panera Bread employee apparently paid a stiff price for appearing in a video showing the chain's popular macaroni and cheese is pre-packaged and frozen.
Shared on the app TikTok with the caption "exposing Panera," the short video which has amassed more than 6 million views shows a plastic packet of frozen mac and cheese dropped into boiling water, cut open and poured into a bowl. A woman with a Panera Bread cap then gives a thumbs up over the ready-to-serve meal.
The woman in the video on Friday announced on Twitter that "I lost my job for this."
Link to tweet
<snip>
According to Panera, it sells more than 3 million mac-and-cheese servings a month "Our mac and cheese is made off site with our proprietary recipe developed by our chefs and using our sourced ingredients that met our standards for our clean menu offerings," the spokesperson said. "It is shipped frozen to our baker cafes this allows us to avoid using certain preservatives that do not meet our clean standards."
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/panera-bread-worker-says-she-was-fired-for-video-showing-frozen-mac-and-cheese/
Beakybird
(3,333 posts)ProfessorGAC
(65,168 posts)Your understanding of polymer chemistry appears suspect.
In addition, everything would packaged some way or another, so this particular approach would not be substantively different than other packaging methods.
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)LisaM
(27,830 posts)while working at said company.
CurtEastPoint
(18,663 posts)Floyd R. Turbo
(26,584 posts)customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)that's a "Captain Obvious" moment.
stopdiggin
(11,361 posts)and it absolutely KILLS me that we're suppose to be ginning up sympathy ...
WHY? In what universe?
blugbox
(951 posts)Infusing it into the slurry.
And we wonder why we are all getting cancer.
Mosby
(16,350 posts)obamanut2012
(26,137 posts)packman
(16,296 posts)Steak - perfection, melt in your mouth. Pork - not dry, buttery. Any veggies - like mouth candy. And best of all, can remain in a bag for hours and still come out to perfection.
MontanaMama
(23,337 posts)Can you get bags without BPA? I worry about the chemicals leeching into the food.
a la izquierda
(11,797 posts)obamanut2012
(26,137 posts)It is so delicious cooked that way!
hibbing
(10,109 posts)They are also back there making their soup right?
Peace
RobinA
(9,894 posts)think they made the soup. Its not brain surgery. I was naive, obviously. This was some years ago. Definitely before I visited a Burger King on the PA Turnpike (I had no choice) and watched them microwave an already cooked burger to put on a bun for me. Never again. When I worked at McDonalds one way back summer we cooked the damn burgers in the store! Sometimes its just impossible to avoid gross food.
hibbing
(10,109 posts)I was pretty surprised when he told me about all of the heat and serve stuff they sell to all kinds of restaurants, both huge chains and smaller mom and pops. It was rather disappointing.
Peace
SeattleVet
(5,479 posts)I worked with a guy several years ago that got onto a restaurant service mailing list, and the catalogs he got showed all sorts of high-end 'gourmet' dishes, ready to heat and serve. Their clients included some of the very highly rated upper echelon restaurants, along with the chains and mom-n-pops.
You may very well be paying gourmet prices at a fancy place for what is essentially a frozen TV Dinner.
Definitely disappointing. Im going to be wondering about this the next time I have something thats meh... at a nice restaurant!
customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)is learn how to cook food from scratch. I find it very satisfying, and I felt that way before I retired, too. Saves a lot of money, too.
Aussie105
(5,434 posts)Buy the frozen stuff yourself (if you have to) and take it out of the plastic before heating.
But homemade from fresh ingredients is best.
Got to wonder - the mac & cheese - cost per serve to the re-heater food places, and cost to the consumer? From 25c to $2.50, type of thing?
dewsgirl
(14,961 posts)to kill any bacteria. I can't believe I remember that from when I was 18.
Response to RobinA (Reply #10)
WestLosAngelesGal This message was self-deleted by its author.
Igel
(35,356 posts)need to make sure that production's tightly controlled. Otherwise you go to a Panera (or Taco Bell, etc., etc.) and find that you don't like today what you liked yesterday, it's saltier or doesn't have the right amount of garlic, or the portion size is smaller (bigger's fine, but resets the portion size so when it returns to normal it's "smaller" .
Zero tolerance for imperfections and deviance from the prescribed expectations.
It's what's driven mass-produced identical tomatoes and peppers and apples and ...
Most blame the producers. I blame the consumer. Sure, there are economies of scale and time efficiencies to be had, but it's really wanting to build and keep a customer base through a consistently (fairly) high quality product. By eliminating mistakes--more likely than eliminating moments of culinary genius--it won the market.
RobinA
(9,894 posts)comes in big bags. No, I dont work there, I had my eyes open when looking in their food prep area while waiting for my order. I guess I was a little surprised. Damn, nobody cooks anymore. I dont go there anymore. Too expensive for what you get.
ripcord
(5,537 posts)There is no way a store front restaurant would have the space to do all that cooking on site, I do admit to being disappointed, I assumed they had their own central kitchens that produced their food.
PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)Not career enhancing at all.
Codeine
(25,586 posts)nilram
(2,893 posts)And now I think Ill get the mac-and-cheese next time.
Kali
(55,019 posts)cstanleytech
(26,319 posts)lack of staff able to even boil water without burning the pot which my brother has done numerous times when he falls asleep with something on the stove.
SunSeeker
(51,697 posts)Basically, heat can cause the BPA and Phthalates in plastics to leach into your food.
https://www.techtimes.com/articles/232985/20180806/you-shouldn-t-microwave-food-in-plastic-containers-or-put-them-in-the-dishwasher-says-new-research.htm
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)happybird
(4,623 posts)not frozen, when they live hundreds of miles away from any ocean.
Yes, maam. We are in Virginia, but we caught that cod fresh this morning. Thanks for asking!
Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)My all time favorite fish market is White River in Tulsa. They are right by the airport and have had their fish flown in daily for decades. Its also true that some types of fish are frozen right on the boat so even if you live on the coast you are getting frozen.
Skittles
(153,193 posts)for the "fresh fish" restaurants
obamanut2012
(26,137 posts)spooky3
(34,476 posts)From the ocean and many lakes.
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)spooky3
(34,476 posts)and we are very definitely in the mid-Atlantic region.
http://www.daybreakfishing.com/atlantic-cod.html
And, as I am sure you are aware, many other seafoods are served fresh in the DC metro area and many other parts of VA.
customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)Most people have the illusion that for the prices they pay at a restaurant (even a mega-chain), that they should be getting food that is made fresh. Clearly, Panera's is vested in perpetuating that myth.
OAITW r.2.0
(24,610 posts)Love their soups as well😋
Coventina
(27,172 posts)SunSeeker
(51,697 posts)Their "clean food" ads suggest the restaurant makes your meals from fresh "ingredients." The fact is, they are empyting it pre-made out of a bag. Even the salad.
spooky3
(34,476 posts)freshly in the store.
Codeine
(25,586 posts)that people are a bunch of whiny babies that will act like frozen food is an abomination unto god.
SunSeeker
(51,697 posts)Basically, heat can cause the BPA and Phthalates in plastics to leach into your food. https://www.techtimes.com/articles/232985/20180806/you-shouldn-t-microwave-food-in-plastic-containers-or-put-them-in-the-dishwasher-says-new-research.htm
Panera knows people are trying to avoid that. That is why their mac n cheese ads imply it is made from scratch, starting with big blocks of cheese...not a plastic bag in sight.
treestar
(82,383 posts)why do they feel she exposed them?
doc03
(35,364 posts)think it is that good. $13 for a damn half a sandwich and a cup of soup with water. I ate there once this year. I can get soup in a bag at Subway or a can at Kroger.
miyazaki
(2,249 posts)Tokyo being one of the most expensive cities doesn't even charge that much on average for what you ordered.
Hassin Bin Sober
(26,337 posts)Sapient Donkey
(1,568 posts)I don't mind paying for food that looks good to me, but nothing they had appealed to me enough to pay that much. Not knocking people's choice if they enjoy it, but I personally can't dig it.
Ace Rothstein
(3,183 posts)keithbvadu2
(36,906 posts)Panera is ashamed of their food and wants to hide the truth.
Politicub
(12,165 posts)I think all of the soups come refrigerated.
And, naturally all of the lettuce mixes come bagged.
Panera is a rip-off.
It's a great American business model!
Buy cheap, buy prepackaged, buy frozen, then defrost, serve with a smile, make the eaters think they are getting something special!
Pay low wages. Make huge profit, laugh all the way to the bank.
The truth is out there. Just have to see through the hype.
Thanks for the video. Whoever filmed and posted it.
Politicub
(12,165 posts)Im going to make some macaroni and cheese now. Reading about it so much is making me hungry.
Mosby
(16,350 posts)One of the changes chipotle made was to centralize a lot of their prep and then send it to the stores bagged up and ready to go. That way you don't have to worry as much about a sick employee cutting the chicken, or heads of lettuce sitting too long at room temp etc.
Politicub
(12,165 posts)of the food onsite.
It isn't cheap to eat at Panera, but how they use premade bakery goods, soups, dressings, etc. cheapened the experience.
Mosby
(16,350 posts)I also think their invention of "clean food" is irresponsible and deceptive.
Politicub
(12,165 posts)X_Digger
(18,585 posts)blueinredohio
(6,797 posts)prepare each individual meal?
customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)they like to sell that illusion. Their whole "clean food" marketing schtick probably depends on it.
LisaL
(44,974 posts)Did they mean they washed it?
SunSeeker
(51,697 posts)Sneederbunk
(14,300 posts)Don't forget to act shocked when there are repercussions.
SunSeeker
(51,697 posts)stopdiggin
(11,361 posts)your employer was happy when YOU called the newspaper?
SunSeeker
(51,697 posts)Takket
(21,625 posts)This person was just a doofus who put her face and name on a video that she INTENDED to publish to embarrass the company.
if they were actually breaking some law, which they are not, Panera Bread would be subject to civil liability for retaliating.
but no company is going to retain an employee that actively goes out and attempts to drive customers away.
Igel
(35,356 posts)Take here. By some lights, DU is heavily censored.
A kid I know said that he was fired, and it was incredibly unjust. He just spoke "the truth," calling the owner's son a "retard" and when he was called out on it by the kid's father calling the father an "asshole."
I told the kid that there are ways of saying the same content in a way that wouldn't make him sound like an arrogant dick that shouldn't be exposed to sentient life, and that if he intends to be an adult he should perhaps google those ways. It's a kid who, when he does something wrong, takes it as an insult to simply say, "Um, Gary, you did this wrong."
All rights, no responsibilities.
As the all-knowing Wiki-god puts it, "In psychology, maturity is the ability to respond to the environment being aware of the correct time and location to behave and knowing when to act, according to the circumstances and the culture of the society one lives in." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maturity_(psychological)
SunSeeker
(51,697 posts)Jake Stern
(3,145 posts)Don't shit talk the company that pays your wages over incredibly trivial shit like frozen mac 'n' cheese or you just might get sacked.
customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)posting stuff on the Internet is not as cool as it first seems. At least she didn't lose a good job over this lapse of judgement.
Glimmer of Hope
(5,823 posts)dameatball
(7,399 posts)but you can Google it and easily fine the original. It uses dry mustard and I always add an extra stick of butter and an extra 8 ounces of cheese. Bread crumbs on top and cover half with sliced jalapenos. No, it probably isn't all that healthy but it takes enough time to make that you will probably only make it a couple times a year. Lots of stirring.
Anyway, better than Panera's I must say.
Gore1FL
(21,151 posts)While 99% won't care, sacking the kid for exposing trivial stuff is only going to get them negatives. If they said, "of course we do it this way, and list the reasons that this allows for higher quality, consistency, and helps to keep the cost to the consumer at a minimum.
Then it's a win.
LisaL
(44,974 posts)So I don't think "higher quality" would fly.
Gore1FL
(21,151 posts)Firing the worker makes it seem like she revealed a deep dark shameful secret. If they approached it openly and honestly, they could have kept a trained worker, got free advertisement, and had a teaching moment with their employees.
LisaL
(44,974 posts)I think it could easily lead to a drop in sales of their mac and cheese.
SunSeeker
(51,697 posts)Bad form.
treestar
(82,383 posts)they weren't wiling to admit.
YOHABLO
(7,358 posts)IronLionZion
(45,528 posts)their soup also comes frozen and they heat it up. Fast food chains like this operate through standardization with certain suppliers and methods. There isn't much cooking going on back there.
And macaroni and cheese is quite easy to make at home. I've shocked the shit out of my college roommates years ago when they saw me boiling macaroni and melting cheese instead of using easy mac. We also got into an argument about real mashed potatoes when they tried to tell me that no one in the world (other than me) actually mashes potatoes because they all use instant packages.
Mac and cheese can be as easy or difficult as you want it. It blows my mind that anyone would buy it.
SunSeeker
(51,697 posts)Codeine
(25,586 posts)Was anyone dumb enough to believe they were hand-crafting macaroni and cheese from scratch in a fast food restaurant?
SunSeeker
(51,697 posts)Codeine
(25,586 posts)but thats fast food.
SunSeeker
(51,697 posts)Codeine
(25,586 posts)Its a difference of opinion; I bet most consumers wouldnt consider it fast food because its not counter-served bits of deep fried stuff in paper bags. Im less forgiving, and consider all quick-service restaurants as being fast food.
SunSeeker
(51,697 posts)Codeine
(25,586 posts)They had frozen macaroni and cheese; that just isnt an issue for anyone with a lick of sense. Literally every chain restaurant has precooked meals.
SunSeeker
(51,697 posts)Even if most people know about chain restaurants using pre-cooked meals, that doesn't mean the misleading ads are ok. Just like Trump's lies are not ok just because most people know he's lying.
IronLionZion
(45,528 posts)What fraud?
SunSeeker
(51,697 posts)Panera gushes about how they put together the best "clean" "ingredients," when everything, including the salad, comes from a bag. That is deeply misleading, i.e. a fraud. They are not mixing ingredients. They're emptying bags of pre-cooked food onto a plate.
Their ads imply their mac n cheese is made from scratch, starting with the cheese:
And yes, their workers are victims too. All American low wage workers like her are victims of depressed wages, inadequate benefits/healthcare and a poor safety net.
It is really disappointing to see so many on a progressive discussion board mock a worker as stupid and insolent just for telling the truth about her employer.
LoveMyCali
(2,015 posts)It does say it's made from real ingredients but it doesn't actually say where it's prepared. No fraud.
Renew Deal
(81,871 posts)I don't think there is anything wrong with their technique, though this could be like telling kids that adults are the tooth fairy.
Aussie105
(5,434 posts)It blows my mind that anyone would EAT it.
Macaroni and cheese? I can see calories far and wide, a bit of protein, but no vitamins, minerals or roughage.
Disclaimer: Never tried it myself, does NOT appeal. Better, more nutritious foods around. Just about anything, really.
mathematic
(1,439 posts)If it's made with whole wheat macaroni, it's high in fiber too.
I'm not sure where you're getting your information that pasta and cheese are not nutritious but you've been extremely misinformed.
Initech
(100,102 posts)Panera's is decent mac and cheese but for the price? You can definitely get better!
Although I'm shocked anyone would think that it's anything but frozen.
Codeine
(25,586 posts)progree
(10,918 posts)grains, then you probably should buy it. However, I don't think very many doctors recommend crap like this. The ones that do are the same sort that recommend Lucky Strikes and Marlboros.
Polybius
(15,476 posts)You don't bash an employer with videos at the workforce of them doing something perfectly legal.
SunSeeker
(51,697 posts)Their whole "clean food" ad campaign is a fraud.
She was fired for exposing their lie; she was firedfor showing it is in fact boil-in-the-bag pre-cooked food.
She is basically a whistleblower who was retaliated against. That is wrongful termination.
Polybius
(15,476 posts)If so, then I'll self-delete.
SunSeeker
(51,697 posts)The talk of "ingredients" when everything, including the salad, comes from a bag, is deeply misleading. They are not mixing ingredients. They're emptying bags of pre-cooked food.
Codeine
(25,586 posts)has nothing to do with whether those ingredients are pre-cooked or not. Thats just silly.
SunSeeker
(51,697 posts)Last edited Tue Oct 15, 2019, 01:25 PM - Edit history (1)
Panera's commercials clearly imply their mac n cheese is made from scratch, starting with the cheese.
Codeine
(25,586 posts)Then its frozen and sent to individual locations.
SunSeeker
(51,697 posts)Codeine
(25,586 posts)and should not be taken seriously.
SunSeeker
(51,697 posts)treestar
(82,383 posts)They are a big company; she's a low level employee.
SunSeeker
(51,697 posts)johnp3907
(3,732 posts)Initech
(100,102 posts)ArizonaLib
(1,242 posts)Not a good reason to freeze Mac and Cheese. Any middle schooler who has ever made Mac and Cheese could attest that making it fresh is just as quick as waiting or forcing it to thaw.
Not only that, but if prefrozen mac-and-cheese were not an issue, no need exists to fire that employee. If their process were so great, why not an ad, "No preservatives...great flavor made locally"?
No one is going to Panera or any such place for the gourmet mac-and-cheese. Anyone loving mac-and-cheese knows someone or someplace that makes it the way they like.
Igel
(35,356 posts)You make it consistently in large batches and freeze it in portions.
Immediate portion control. Less wastage. And it's faster--you don't thaw each and every portion only after it's requested. You look over historical sales, thaw out 20 portions in anticipation of needing 20 portions. If you're over, it keeps--it's still packaged. If you're under, then as you get close to running out then you take another portion or two out of the freezer.
I'd have ditched the employee. She thought she was pulling one over and doing her employer dirty in the interest of freeriding as a "whistle-blower." Perhaps thought she was doing everybody a great favor by dissing her boss and that there should be no consequence.
"It's no big deal" is also a slap--"Hey, I'm the employee, but I'm the one who knows better and *should* be making the decisions." I can only imagine that this was the last in a long line of offenses involving her overall assitude.
ArizonaLib
(1,242 posts)My comment explained how, if a company who would get embarrassed by public knowledge of frozen prep could handle better rather than their response of distilled wordsmith, which didn't move it forward for them. I don't care how they make anything. Frozen Mac and Cheese is not our food chain's biggest problem (in our house it takes weeks for bread to bad, if ever - real bread molds eventually. Chemical 'bread' doesn't.
As for the employee - there is a scene in the movie The Toy with Jackie Gleason and Richard Pryor where Gleason's character, a millionaire, teaches his son that exposing/embarrassing someone or an entity simply for the sake of sensationalism accomplishes nothing good for anyone. (The movie is a little slow compared to those these days, but watching the last 20 - 30 minutes sets up an insightful ending for anyone who would enjoy it.)
I entirely agree with you about the employee - keeping that employee would have undermined any internal culture Panera has managed to build over the years.
MineralMan
(146,329 posts)Nothing else would be economical. Pasta dishes don't hold well. You have to make them fresh just before serving or drop a bag that has the dish frozen in it. Otherwise you end up with high school cafeteria food. Now, Panera isn't much better than that, really, and I don't eat there because I can do it myself at home for way, way less money, but you can't have mac and cheese on the menu and make it one serving at a time from scratch. Too expensive, to do it that way. Make a barrel of it, put it in single-serving bags and freeze it. Then, just drop the bag into boiling water and serve it when it's hot. That's how you do it in a restaurant.
Clean Food! What does that even mean? I don't eat at Panera.
Want to see lots of things like that? Go here:
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/54931/appetizers-and-hors-d-oeuvres.html
Want some cool entrees to offer at your restaurant? Look here:
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/54927/frozen-entrees.html
SunSeeker
(51,697 posts)Basically, heat can cause the BPA and Phthalates in plastics to leach into your food. https://www.techtimes.com/articles/232985/20180806/you-shouldn-t-microwave-food-in-plastic-containers-or-put-them-in-the-dishwasher-says-new-research.htm
Panera knows people are trying to avoid that. Panera recognizes the truth is not appetizing. That is why their mac n cheese ads imply it is made from scratch, starting with big blocks of cheese...not a plastic bag in sight:
MineralMan
(146,329 posts)just not at your local Panera store. It is made from scratch. Then it is put in single-serving bags and shipped to the local Panera store, where they drop the bags in boiling water and then into the bowl. If you order toppings, they add those there. Nowhere do they imply that they have a pot of white cheddar sauce and boil some pasta shells and add the sauce to them.
You inferred that from the wheels of cheese and them sprinkling some toppings on the bowl. They didn't imply it, though.
Frankly, about the only thing you can expect to be made after you order in any chain restaurant is something that gets grilled. Every side dish is made off-site and simply heated and plated.
Codeine
(25,586 posts)They dont imply anything about where the food is prepared. They state (I assume honestly) that they use quality ingredients in the product. Quality ingredients freeze just as well as cheap ingredients, so I dont see the issue.
That said, I dont eat there, but its nowt to do with frozen food or boiled bags.
miyazaki
(2,249 posts)Igel
(35,356 posts)If you've ever made macaroni and cheese, you know that "big blocks of cheese" don't cut it. You grate it. Then it doesn't matter if it starts with big blocks or curds.
You also see the folly of the claim: "I'll start with a big block of cheese for a single serving" makes no sense. "I'll make 30 servings and keep them warm, so that in an hour or two I'll have just a homogeneous casein-gluten mash as appetite-inspiring as mashed brussels sprouts with chocolate sauce."
Kablooie
(18,641 posts)I've got a problem with the prices.
They've been raised a bit above where I feel comfortable recently.
$13 for 1/2 sandwich and cup of soup seems high for a place like this.
It's more understandable at a restaurant where they have real cooks to prepare the food and servers but for a fast food place it seems excessive.
RobinA
(9,894 posts)turned me off too.
I go there and for the price I expect to get a big stuffed sandwich. It comes and its this small thing with not a lot in it. I can get do better at the nearest hoagie shop for half the price. Will will say I like their iced tea, and frozen dough or not, I do like the pastries Ive had. Above average for whats available out there unless you happen to have a bakery handy. Now theres a lost retail establishment - a real bakery.
RandiFan1290
(6,242 posts)She doesn't do anything but show how their food is prepared.
What are they ashamed of?
Codeine
(25,586 posts)A ridiculous overreaction by management, as per usual.
Yeehah
(4,593 posts)I'd fire her ass too.
Even though frozen mac & cheese is nothing to be embarrassed about.
Farmer-Rick
(10,207 posts)It tasted like plastic bag to me. Even some frozen foods I've purchased smell like plastic, especially frozen bread.
Those frozen veggies that you microwave in the bag also have a very plastic flavor.
I can't imagine the method they use tastes any good. Or people have gotten so use to that awful plastic flavor in everything that they don't notice it anymore.
RobinA
(9,894 posts)can taste plastic bag a mile away. I cannot.
Farmer-Rick
(10,207 posts)Yeehah
(4,593 posts)Are we supposed to believe Grannie is in the kitchen at Panera Bread, making her scrumptious homemade mac & cheese?
roamer65
(36,747 posts)The place is too damn expensive for the amount of food you get.