When you sit down at your favorite restaurant, you probably assume someone in the back is chopping, sautéing, and seasoning your meal from scratch. Let’s be real, though, the reality behind those swinging kitchen doors isn’t always what you’d expect. At casual dining chains like Applebee’s, most of the food is mass-produced and frozen, then shipped to the restaurants and stored in walk-in freezers. Most chefs in chains are actually “Heater Uppers” not chefs, as chains often buy many of their dishes pre-made.
The truth is, many popular menu items arrive at the restaurant long before you do, having been manufactured elsewhere and stored in freezers or bags. Consumer spending on prepared food and non-alcoholic beverages has surpassed $900 billion in recent years, reflecting the significant impact of the industry on the overall economy. That kind of scale requires efficiency, not necessarily authenticity.
Breaded Chicken Dishes
Here’s something that might surprise you. Both Chick-fil-A and KFC serve chicken that isn’t frozen and is breaded in-house, but the same can’t be said for many sit-down restaurants. Those chicken tenders or breaded cutlets you order at casual spots? They likely came pre-breaded from a distributor. Just like other breaded foods, it takes lots of time and effort to do it right, so it’s an easy way for kitchens to cut corners, and chain restaurants, diners, and bars often opt for frozen products, with anything from chicken parmesan to chicken sandwiches to an appetizer of chicken strips likely having arrived frozen and breaded. The only thing the kitchen does is drop them into hot oil. Simple, fast, but not quite what you pictured when ordering your “crispy chicken breast.”
Fried Fish and Seafood
When the menu offers only fried versions of seafood, that’s your first clue something’s off. Restaurants that only offer seafood in fried form is a clear indicator that the restaurant doesn’t serve fresh fish, as breading and frying seafood is an easy way for cooks to mask the fact that the fish was previously frozen. Food distributors offer a variety of pre-made fried fish, so all the restaurant has to do is heat and serve. That crispy coating hides a multitude of sins. So next time you’re craving fish and chips at a chain, remember there’s a good chance that fillet never saw a cutting board in the building where you’re eating.
Stuffed Pasta Like Ravioli and Tortellini
Stuffed pasta is tricky to make from scratch. It requires skill, time, and patience. If you are at a reputable Italian restaurant or a place known for serving scratch-made food, it’s safe to assume any stuffed pasta on the menu is fresh and made in-house, but if you’re in a chain restaurant or pretty much anywhere else, frozen stuffed pasta is the norm, including anything from ravioli to tortellini to manicotti. Ravioli and manicotti are reportedly shipped frozen to chain restaurants like Olive Garden, so they’re not quite as fresh as the rest of the kinds of pasta. It makes sense from a business standpoint. Why pay a trained cook to hand-fill hundreds of pasta pillows when you can buy them ready to boil?
Mashed Potatoes
The fluffy, buttery mashed potatoes sitting next to your steak might not have started as actual potatoes in that kitchen. Many restaurants use premade mashed potatoes that arrive in bags or boil-in-bags. Boiling potatoes and mashing them yourself is not a difficult feat and many chefs may call my decision to purchase refrigerated varieties blasphemous and textbook laziness, but sometimes life gets stressed and complicated. In fact, the restaurant industry has entire supply chains dedicated to this convenience. Some mashed potatoes are made from fresh russet potatoes and quality ingredients like real milk, never frozen, arriving prepared, refrigerated and ready-to-heat by boiling in the bag or steaming. The potatoes might taste fine, even good, but honestly, they weren’t peeled and boiled in the back. They came ready to microwave or steam.
Soup of the Day
Watch out for the soup of the day, especially if it contains seafood or looks suspiciously thick. According to Kathy Kniss, a 10-year service industry veteran, there are a lot of restaurants that post a few items at the top of their “specials” list in order to sell certain ingredients before they expire, especially the soup of the day, noting “If it contains fish or if it’s some kind of ‘gumbo,’ it’s probably the stuff they’re trying to get rid of.” While soups are often made from scratch in the mornings, they are sometimes heated in a microwave for a short time before being served. I know it sounds crazy, but the “fresh daily soup” may be a hodgepodge of what needs to move before it spoils.
Pre-Cooked Pasta
Your pasta arriving suspiciously fast should raise an eyebrow. Many restaurants use pre-cooked pasta that is briefly reheated in the microwave, ensuring that the pasta is consistently al dente and served hot. At Olive Garden, the pasta is produced at a central facility, bagged into individual servings, shipped chilled, and heated up before it makes its way to your table. The efficiency makes sense from the restaurant’s perspective, but it’s not exactly the Italian grandmother’s cooking you might have imagined when you ordered.
Appetizers Like Mozzarella Sticks and Onion Rings
Those appetizers you love to share? They’re almost certainly coming out of a freezer bag. Pre-made food options from suppliers include popular appetizers like onion rings or mozzarella sticks, which are a good example because they allow for high sales and generally taste the same. Chain restaurants rely heavily on consistency, and the easiest way to achieve that with fried apps is to buy them already breaded and formed. The kitchen just needs to toss them in the fryer. Zero prep, maximum speed.
Desserts, Especially Lava Cakes
That decadent molten chocolate lava cake that comes out perfectly gooey every time? It didn’t come from a skilled pastry chef working magic in the back. Many chains buy dishes like stuffed jalapeño appetizers or that great Lava Cake pre-made, all made in commissary kitchens shipped to distributors who then shipped them to thousands of restaurants. Many frozen treats are given a quick zap before serving, softening the dessert and bringing out its flavors, allowing restaurants to serve a variety of desserts without the need for lengthy preparation. It’s a reliable crowd-pleaser because every single one comes from the same factory.
Daily Specials
Here’s the thing about “chef’s specials” or dishes pushed by your server. They aren’t always highlights of the menu. Executive chef Alberto Morreale never orders the specials when dining out, noting “Some restaurants put together their specials for the day based on what’s about to expire or what they’re trying to get rid of faster.” It’s a clever way to avoid food waste, but it’s worth remembering that the special might be more about moving inventory than showcasing culinary creativity. Ask questions if something sounds too good to be true.
Egg Dishes at Brunch Spots
Brunch is booming, but those fluffy scrambled eggs or perfectly poached eggs? Egg dishes, especially in brunch settings, benefit from the microwave’s speed, with it being a handy method for poached or scrambled eggs, ensuring eggs are cooked evenly and quickly. Some places even keep pre-whisked egg mixture in containers throughout the day. One former Perkins employee claimed that the restaurant where he worked would keep the egg mix for scrambled eggs in a five-gallon bucket, out in the open, all day long, and at the end of the day, they would add more eggs to the bucket and set it aside for the next day. Not exactly the farm-fresh experience advertised on the menu.
Sides Like Vegetables and Baked Potatoes
Side dishes get even less attention than entrées. At Perkins, most sides, except for fried food, will go through the microwave, including quite a number of main course dishes, with turkey, roast beef and pot roast all being frequent visitors to the microwave. At Olive Garden, line cooks use the microwave to heat certain sauces, mushrooms, broccoli, the restaurant’s macaroni and cheese entree, and warm desserts when needed. The classic baked potato is often expedited with a microwave, allowing for a tender texture ready for any topping, and while it might miss the crispy skin from an oven, the convenience compensates for it. The sad reality is that those steamed broccoli florets or that fluffy potato probably spent more time in a plastic bag than being lovingly prepared.
The restaurant industry has changed dramatically, especially as consumer demand for speed and consistency has increased. What do you think about it? Does knowing the truth behind the kitchen doors change how you’ll order next time? Tell us in the comments.
