We did a deep dive to find out whether it’s worth it to work at Olive Garden.
Do the servers, hosts, and chefs also feel like when they're there, they're "family?" This is
what it's like to work at one of America's most popular Italian chain restaurants.
We're not saying discounted chicken parm is the only reason to apply for a position
at your local Olive Garden — but it certainly doesn't sound like the worst perk in the world.
As it turns out though, employees of Olive Garden are eligible for
more than just lower prices on food served at their restaurant.
"I believe there will be no charge on this 2-4 of beer, thank you."
"Excuse me?"
According to a Redditor claiming to have worked at Olive Garden as a hostess,
the discounts extend to other restaurants owned by Olive Garden's parent company,
Darden Restaurants, like LongHorn Steakhouse and Yard House.
And a Quora user who said they worked at Olive Garden revealed that lower prices
for employees go beyond Darden-owned dining establishments, including:
"[A] multitude of products from computers, cars, theme parks, hotels, travel, food, and more."
The same user went on to explain that these benefits help incentivize people to apply at Olive
Garden since the actual monetary compensation and tips aren't exactly life-changing.
While you may personally adore Olive Garden for its long-running offering of endless soup,
salad, and breadsticks, it seems to be a definite
sore spot for the servers at this beloved Italian chain.
"I heard the salad is good here, as well."
"Well, it's free. It's unlimited."
In 2015, an Olive Garden waiter told Cosmopolitan,
"The hardest part is serving our unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks."
A Quora participant chimed in on a thread about what it was like to work at Olive Garden, writing:
"[T]he 'all you can eat' aspect of it makes it challenging. If you have 6 or more people eating
the soup salad breadsticks meal, you are going to have to do a lot of juggling to keep up."
In a Reddit thread, a server with 15 years of experience reported on
the unexpected ups and downs of their new job at the pasta chain, writing,
"The soup/salad/breadstick/drink refills are absolutely ridiculous,
I've never experienced anything like this in any restaurant I've ever worked for."
So it seems as though you should definitely tip your waiter well if you want to be a good human
and take advantage of awesome deals like all-you-can-eat appetizers.
"Oooooh, breadsticks."
It's probably safe to say that working at any restaurant could make or break your
experience eating there. Maybe you never get sick of spaghetti and meatballs no
matter who's serving it. Regardless, we do have intel from a TikTok video
made by a former Olive Garden worker whose experience dining at her place
of employment was forever tainted by 10 years of slinging pasta at the chain.
While she didn't delve into too many dirty details in that specific video,
her delivery and the content of the clip resonated enough that it was viewed over 2.5 million times.
Many comments on the video were from other former employees confirming that working
at the Italian establishment erased any desire they had to eat there as a patron.
Because it's such a massive chain with over 850 locations across the country, you'd just assume
a lot of the meals you’ve come to know and love at Olive Garden would arrive at the restaurant
pre-packaged and frozen. Surprisingly though, a lot of the popular menu items are actually
prepared from scratch on-site. Who would know this fact better than an Olive Garden employee?
Furthermore, one Quora user who worked at Olive Garden as a server since 2018, wrote:
"Olive Garden, for all its faults, makes all of its sauces and pasta in restaurant
in bulk and makes a separate batch for lunch and another for dinner [...] for
all the answers saying that most of their food is prepackaged, you guys are all dead wrong."
In a different Quora thread, an Olive Garden worker reported,
"Overall, with the exception of the desserts,
it's freshly cooked food with fairly high quality ingredients."
There you have it. That Olive Garden grub might be Americanized Italian,
but most of it is apparently whipped up from scratch.
Olive Garden is synonymous with breadsticks — we think we can all
agree on that. You should not take those hot, fluffy loaves for granted, though,
since you never know if a server was potentially harmed in the making, or serving, of that bread.
Seriously, it's all fun and games until the hot bread starts making its way out
the oven and you've got a boatload of hungry customers chomping at the bit for endless carbs.
“Is butter a carb?”
“Yes.”
According to a Redditor and former employee who wanted to
dish on all the Olive Garden breadstick secrets,
"Every Olive Garden employee that I know has a small scar on their hand from touching the oven,
baking tray, or warmer."
That sounds painful — but maybe worth it? All we know is,
the next time you're shoveling those unlimited breadsticks down your gullet,
remember that there was possibly a scar formed in the process of delivering you that basket.
Working for "The Man" isn't necessarily the average person's dream job,
however, it definitely can have its assets. These include health and
retirement plan benefits, perks at other companies owned by the same corporation,
and knowing you've always got a steady paycheck if you do your job well. While some might claim
that working for a bigger corporate entity creates a sense of being just another number,
others will argue that it really all depends on the company and its leadership.
A Quora user claiming to be a long-time service industry vet pointed out that while
it's not always ideal to be working for a giant corporation as opposed to a small, privately owned
establishment, the situation wasn't too bad at Olive Garden. In fact, the Quora member described
Darden, Olive Garden's parent company, as, quote, "one of the best corporate places to work for."
"I love working at the Olive Garden because of the people. The people just make me smile every day."
We can't think of anyone who doesn't relish the simple joy of a server grating fresh cheese onto
their salad. Isn't that part of why we even go to a restaurant in the first place? Sure,
we can grate our own Parmesan at home, but it's always a treat when someone else takes the reins.
"Would you like fresh parmesan cheese on top?"
Of course, we all know that Olive Garden servers will grate the cheese
until you officially tell them to stop. A lot of the Internet wonders, though,
what happens if you never give them the red light? According to one Quora
user who worked for Olive Garden, if the patron doesn't tell the waiter to stop,
"[Y]ou keep grinding away on the cheese grater until the little block is gone and you say,
'there you go!' smile and maybe also say, 'I see you like cheese as much as I do!'"
And another Quora member replied,
"I worked at Olive Garden for about 15 years and this happened to me twice. If they don't
say stop you continue grinding until the grater is empty but one grater full is the cut-off."
"How much cheese have you eaten today?"
"How much cheese is too much cheese?"
"Any amount of cheese!"
There has been much talk over the years regarding Olive Garden claiming to send
select chefs to a culinary institute in Italy.
"You showed me your Italy. Now I show you my Italy."
But is it really a thing? According to a Redditor who actually took the trip,
it's legit ... sort of. The person described the experience in a thread
dedicated to their time at Olive Garden's Italian culinary institute, explaining,
"It was more like a hotel, during the off-season, with [the] restaurant on site [...] they would
use the restaurant (closed to the public — again off-season) as a classroom for maybe an hour here
or there and talk about spices or fresh produce for a minute before going sightseeing all day."
The person went on to say that it was more like a PR stunt than a training course, writing,
"They paid for everything from meals, sightseeing, flight,
everything except souvenirs. But in return, they sent pre-written
articles to [the] local newspaper with fake quotes from me and a group photo."
So yes, they technically send workers to Italy,
but it's probably not the most rigorous training program for Italian cooking in existence.
Olive Garden and its parent company Darden have faced some legal issues in recent years
in regard to how certain employees view the system of compensation and tipping that's
in place at the company. The frustrations on this issue usually arise when a person
lives in one of the 43 states that allow restaurants to pay below the minimum wage.
This rule operates under the assumption that an employer will ensure the server still ends
up receiving that amount in tips or direct compensation from the restaurant if necessary.
According to a lawsuit filed by activist group One Fair Wage, the aforementioned allowance by
the law sets up an inherently unfair system because the tipping policy at Olive Garden
promotes both racial discrimination and sexual harassment. The complaint,
filed in California courts, was based on a survey of 200 Darden employees. It concluded
that due to certain managerial behavior and the aforementioned minimum wage laws, workers of
color were averaging 18% less money in tips than white workers due to how sections were assigned.
The famous Olive Garden outpost in New York City's Time Square also encountered a lawsuit against
Darden. Workers at this location complained of, quote, "racial and gender-based discrimination,"
citing a blatantly optimal working experience for white employees. They were allegedly given
better shifts, better sections, and better opportunities for large tips. Darden maintains
that the real issue is the minimum wage laws, not their restaurants' operational policies.
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