A viral TikTok video showing Olive Garden’s “Never Ending” soup and salad refill station sparked a debate over cleanliness and food freshness.
TikToker @johnnybanana3’s behind-the-scenes video of an Olive Garden soup and salad refill line got over 100,500 views since being posted on Monday. Captioned “#eating #olivegarden #hungry #fyp,” the video sparked a debate in the comments section.
According to its site, Olive Garden’s “Never Ending” soup, salad, and breadsticks promotion promises “Never-Ending servings of our famous breadsticks, garden fresh salad and homemade soup. Made fresh daily at a price you’ll love.”
@johnnybanana3’s video shows a messy soup and salad refill station in the kitchen. The messiness of the station and the seemingly clumpy-looking soups caused a discussion in the comments section over how fresh Olive Garden soups and salads really are. Some commenters were suspicious of the food’s freshness.
“The best the microwave has to offer,” @gdub22 said.
“I’ve always said this, Olive Garden is just a drive thru Italian spot,” @darkninjanut said.
Others pointed out how messy the line is.
“The way your line looks depends on how much the employee cares and if he has proper work ethic,” @mundoks1515 said.
However, some commenters came to Olive Garden’s defense, pointing out that the station looks typical for a busy kitchen.
“Oh no it’s like a restaurant that serves hundreds of people a day and why it’s called a line to serve hundreds of people….oh noooo,” @cars.n.camping said.
“If it’s in the middle of a rush, this is normal and there’s nothing wrong. it’s hard keeping a kitchen spot-free when it’s busy. Trust me, I’ve tried,” @corinne0886 said.
A few commenters who claimed to be Olive Garden employees said their soups were made fresh on-site in the morning and then served throughout the day.
“I make it lmao. It is made fresh every morning, and then bagged. One bag fills a container,” @moonchildnails said.
“Do people think restaurants make soup to order,” @hsolich96 said.
The Daily Dot reached out to @johnnybanana3 and Olive Garden via TikTok message and email.
Editor’s note: Due to a technical error, our original message to this TikToker may not have been delivered. We have since reached out.
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