Panera is facing backlash after an employee's TikTok video of mac and cheese being prepared went viral. But Panera is far from the only chain to cook food by putting it in a plastic bag and dunking it in hot water.
The TikTok video was reposted last week on Twitter, where it was viewed more than 10 million times. In the clip, Panera employees take sealed plastic bags of mac and cheese and place them in hot water. Each bag is removed, and its contents are dumped on a plate and served.
—UberFacts (@UberFacts) October 11, 2019
Many responded to the video with disgust.
—Anna (@annadelarosa26) October 11, 2019
—afro archangel jay (@JAYVERSACE) October 12, 2019
Panera employees have long grumbled about how the chain makes its mac and cheese. Three employees told Business Insider earlier this year that they would never eat the mac and cheese from the chain, in part because it arrives at locations in a bag, ready to cook.
Panera's mac and cheese is made offsite, in a centralized kitchen, then shipped frozen to locations. Employees reheat bags of the mac and cheese individually when customers order the dish.
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Panera is far from the only chain to cook or reheat food by having employees dunk it in hot water. Many chains cook food in central kitchens, then send vacuum-sealed bags to restaurants for employees to reheat. Several brand this as "sous vide," reframing the practice as a classy French cooking technique.
For some chains, the sous vide method — in which food is vacuum-sealed then slow-cooked in hot water, allowing it to cook at a steady temperature and maintain moisture — can help ensure that meat is fully cooked, avoiding food-poisoning concerns.
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Chipotle began cooking pork and steak before it arrives at restaurants using sous vide after the chain's E. coli scandal; it was part of the company's updated safety regulations. With the new method, Chipotle cooks certain meat in central commissaries, and employees then marinate and sear the meat in stores.
Starbucks also prepares some items, such as its sous vide egg bites, using sous vide machines. The egg bites arrive at stores precooked, so employees only have to reheat the blobs of egg.
While Taco Bell does not refer to its preparation style as sous vide, it also packages its meat in a bag that is then shipped to restaurants and cooked in hot water.
"We prepare it much the same way you prepare taco meat at home: after simmering, it is drained of excess fat and pre-seasoned with our signature blend of 7 authentic seasonings and spices," Taco Bell says on its website. "It is then packaged with added water to lock in the flavor and for added moisture, and then shipped to our restaurants."
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Panera has been cooking turkey and beef using sous vide since at least 2012. According to employees, pastas and soups are reheated similarly to the mac and cheese.
Putting ingredients in a plastic bag and dunking it in hot water might not match up with customers' more romantic ideas of what food preparation should look like, especially at chains like Panera that emphasize the quality of their ingredients.
At the same time, there is nothing inherently wrong with the practice. Preparing items in a central location to be reheated in stores reduces employees' workload and removes variables that could compromise quality.
