Panera worker is fired after she ‘exposed’ the chain’s mac and cheese as frozen in viral TikTok clip

Panera Bread worker is fired after she ‘exposed’ the chain’s mac and cheese as frozen in viral TikTok clip

  • A woman named Brianna posted a video of herself preparing Panera Bread’s mac and cheese at one of the chain eatery’s US locations on TikTok last week
  • She is seen placing a frozen bag of the pasta product into a vat of boiling water, taking it out and then pouring the contents into a bowl 
  • At the end of the video she smiles at the camera and flashes a thumbs up 
  • The TikTok video quickly went viral as many viewers slammed the prep process for Panera’s supposedly ‘clean’ food
  • Brianna later posted another video revealing that she’d been fired over the clip
  • Panera responded to the video by saying that the restaurant chain freezes its soup and mac and cheese products ‘to avoid using certain preservatives’ 

An employee at Panera Bread claims she was fired after she recorded a TikTok video ‘exposing’ the chain’s mac and cheese as frozen.  

A woman named Brianna posted a video on the social media app last week which showed her placing a frozen bag of the pasta product into a vat of boiling water while a man cackles in the background. 

She then cuts open the bag and pours its contents into a bowl before presenting it to a customer and flashing a thumbs-up at the camera.  

The TikTok video quickly went viral as many viewers slammed the prep process for Panera’s supposedly ‘clean’ food. 

An employee at Panera Bread claims she was fired after she recorded a TikTok video ‘exposing’ the chain’s mac and cheese as frozen

A woman named Brianna posted a video on the social media app last week which showed her placing a frozen bag of the pasta product into a vat of boiling water

The worker then cuts open the bag and pours its contents into a bowl

A woman named Brianna posted a video on the social media app last week which showed her placing a frozen bag of the pasta product into a vat of boiling water. The worker then cuts open the bag and pours its contents into a bowl

At the end of the clip Brianna smiled at the camera and flashed a thumbs-up

At the end of the clip Brianna smiled at the camera and flashed a thumbs-up

‘Panera is gloried hospital food,’ one person commented. 

‘So if that’s all y’all gotta do why does it take so long,’ another quipped.

‘And they just gonna turn around and charge 9 bucks for it too,’ a commenter added. 

Others viewers said that they weren’t bothered by the revelation and said they’d continue to eat the mac and cheese regardless. 

‘I mean… it’s still good,’ one wrote.

‘Am i gonna pay $8.49 for bagged Mac & cheese??! Yes,’ another added. 

Panera responded to the video by saying that the restaurant chain freezes its soup and mac and cheese products ‘to avoid using certain preservatives that do not meet our clean standards’. 

‘We want to make sure that if you’re in Massachusetts or California or in any one of our 2,100 locations that you get that same awesome experience,’ spokeswoman Jessica Hesselschwerdt told USA TODAY. 

‘This is how we are efficient and how we make it consistent. We want that experience to be great, and that’s the best way to do it.’

The TikTok video quickly went viral as many viewers slammed the prep process for Panera's supposedly 'clean' food

The TikTok video quickly went viral as many viewers slammed the prep process for Panera’s supposedly ‘clean’ food

Brianna posted multiple follow-up videos addressing the backlash and defending Panera's policy. In a video on Friday she confirmed that she had been fired over the original clip

Brianna posted multiple follow-up videos addressing the backlash and defending Panera’s policy. In a video on Friday she confirmed that she had been fired over the original clip

Brianna posted multiple follow-up videos addressing the backlash and defending Panera’s policy. 

‘There’s not a reason not to eat it,’ she said in one clip. ‘Most stores have frozen food … and you’ll still eat it.’

In another video she expressed fear that the original clip could cost her her job, tearfully telling the camera: ‘I like my job, I’m really not trying to get fired.’ 

Brianna confirmed on Friday that she had been fired. 

‘I was told we had to part ways,’ she said, citing the viral video as the reason. 

It’s unclear which store she was employed by.  

Hesselschwerdt declined to comment on whether the woman was fired, saying that the company does ‘not discuss personnel matters’. 

Panera responded to the video by saying that the restaurant chain freezes its soup and mac and cheese products 'to avoid using certain preservatives that do not meet our clean standards' (file photo)

Panera responded to the video by saying that the restaurant chain freezes its soup and mac and cheese products ‘to avoid using certain preservatives that do not meet our clean standards’ (file photo)



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