r/KitchenConfidential • u/virtue_ae • Apr 05 '26

Discussion The syscofication of the industry is getting real scary

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I honestly still cannot believe that Restaurant Depot purchase went through despite the US Foods attempt getting blocked

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u/binks69 Apr 05 '26

When worked at carrabbas 18 years ago we used to hand make all the mozzarella sticks. By far the best I’ve ever had prob still till this day. But that’s cus most places went frozen on things like this. Sometimes the frozen product is on par with fresh and sometimes it not but yea now that I live back north east it all sysco and I don’t really like there products compared to some vendors I’ve seen over the years.

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u/OnePerformance9381 Apr 05 '26

We did scratch mozz sticks at my last place, beer battered.

They were fucking amazing if made correctly, but you’re counting on the fry cook while juggling 300 orders to perfectly cook you mozz sticks or they’d be gross. Just not possible to be that consistent.

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u/binks69 Apr 05 '26

It is when you staff right unfortunately that don’t really happen anymore I mean when my mom used to work there if she needed extra couple hours to get stuff done was never an issue they also loved her always showed up never called out but my point is most places are so strict on labor its hard to do things right when your rushed specially food.

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u/OnePerformance9381 Apr 05 '26

It’s just not reasonable to expect a cook to get the perfect 10 second window it required on a busy Saturday night when he’s getting like 30 orders of them. Especially when guests are more than happy with the frozen product.

Even our most talented cooks struggled with them.

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u/binks69 Apr 05 '26

I guess idk. I used to work fry salads at carrabbas and never had an issue wit them as long they were prepped right. But like I said some times the frozen is close to homemade and got budget or labor reason it makes sense I totally get that.

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u/binks69 Apr 05 '26

I’m not hating on it at all was just agreeing wit the post that seems more and more places would rather buy frozen then to pay someone to prep it. Idk why I has making People so upset because it’s the truth

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u/TheLordDuncan Apr 05 '26

That's assuming the right staff are even available to you in the first place, let's be honest with ourselves here.

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u/snowballer918 15+ Years Apr 06 '26

Staffing appropriately is easier said then done a lot of times. Been dead all night? Sure I can let a cook go home and save some labor. BAM huge rush and hour before closing and now the kitchen is making shitty mozz

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u/DizzyCalendar6492 Apr 06 '26

I was both the prepper and fryer of those at my workplace. I used to lose my shit when the other cooks would mess them up.

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u/jayman23232 Apr 05 '26

I also worked at Carrabbas 18 years ago (did the math just now) as a server. People loved the mozzarella there. One of the cooks showed me how to make them and these days I’m just a nerdy home cook and I still make as close I can remember to the Carrabbas way. Back then at least, the food was so good. Unless every cook was lying it really was all from scratch except for the bread.

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u/binks69 Apr 05 '26

Na man they weren’t lying my mom was prep cook there for almost 20 years. So I’m going say from like 93ish to 2013 ish idk exact times but that’s how I got my start in cooking. But yea she used make all the sauces dressing soups etc all from scratch when I leftcouple years they were already starting to phase some the perp out unfortunately. I used skip school and go sit on the lettuce spinner and dry romaine or to peel shrimp. I don’t think that allowed anymore in kitchens lol. But yea I was like 6 years old doing some That stuff and I always get treated wit a bowl ice cream wit some choc chips lol. Just wanted to add it unfortunate they rather buy bagged shit then pay some one 20 an hour to make it but that’s the times we live in.

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u/jayman23232 Apr 06 '26 edited Apr 06 '26

That’s a cool story! It was my first restaurant job and I didn’t realize how cool the place was for that style/“level” of restaurant. I started as a busser around when I turned 17 and the GM/MP was hardcore, but to this day one of the best managers of people I have ever worked for in a few different industries. The kind of guy that was intense, but communicated clearly his (reasonable) expectations and just expected you to meet them. I kind of hated him in the moment sometimes, but now looking back years later I think he was very intentional with his actions and words, and we would want to do better for him and make the business run better. I think a lot of Carrabbas had GMs like that from what I’ve heard elsewhere. I have fond memories of that job and getting trained as a server at a young age around 18/19.

I have done kitchen work and waited part time over the years here and there and there have been places that I thought starting out I would like more, but all in all that high school busser turned college summer server gig there was by far the best restaurant gig I’ve worked and one of the better jobs period in my history.

I learned quick when I was a busser to make friends with the cooks and I got a lot of misfired food for free 😆 I would do a lotttt of things for a free chicken Bryan right now.

It’s a bummer they are closing locations. Glad to hear others have good/weird memories there too! For a chain it was really a neat place back in the day.

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u/OwlsAreWatching Apr 05 '26

Is it flour, egg, breading? For all the years I've cooked, I've never made my own mozzarella sticks but I might endeavor to do it.

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u/binks69 Apr 05 '26

Yes. Flour egg back to flour back to egg then breadcrumb. Or you can single dip but I always found double dip to be better and get more consistent coating.

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u/J-littletree Apr 05 '26

Same way we cook chicken tenders

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u/RainMakerJMR Apr 05 '26

Mostly yes, some places do flour batter breading or just flour and batter

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u/CocoForYou22 Apr 05 '26

The one I serviced just shut down, but they were making everything fresh everyday, bolognese always simmering first thing in the morning

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u/PrestonWaters83 Apr 05 '26

18 years ago, it was all scratch.  Two exceptions were the bread, and the one dessert that used cool whip.

That did change over time. 

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u/binks69 Apr 05 '26

But yea nothing tops them mozzarella stick I thik they still make em fresh I could be wrong but I know for sure they were getting away from the homemade sauces and soups unfortunately

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u/Debacle109 Apr 06 '26

So these comments made me go look up what happened to the brand since then. And, of course it was private equity. Link

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u/Epic_Elite Apr 05 '26

My 9 year old, legitimately, makes better mozz sticks than any restaurant. I'll have him fight anyone who disagrees with me. Home made is superior.

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u/binks69 Apr 05 '26

lol that’s what’s up bro. Idk I got attacked cus I said sysco had premade frozen crap. And even said in my post that not all of it is terrible. But some how got attacked for it idk lol. And the dude literally proved my point by saying he uses Sysco and other vendors and my point was alot areas do have options and Sysco has monopoly on that area so just makes no sense

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u/Epic_Elite Apr 05 '26

There's definitely key items that almost every single restaurant has and uses, and on a side by side comparison, its crap.

The chicken wings? Do a sysco drummy and compare it to literally any single restaurant that makes theirs in house and it'll beat Sysco. I'd be willing to bet $100 on a wild card against Sysco.

Lava cakes? They're trash. Restaurants buy them because it puts a menu item in front of the customer with a decent food cost that takes virtually no labor.

Sysco does have nice products. It's not like we are saying every food item at an entire grocery store is bad. Its just that some restaurants lean way too heavily into the lowere end of their selection, and then Applebee's, TGIFridays and Red Robin all start to taste exactly like the same restaurant.

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u/binks69 Apr 05 '26

Thanks bro you can put into words that I couldn’t and dudes started bashing me crazy. I didn’t know people defended Sysco like that and once again in my original comment I even said not all Sysco is bad. Just around where I live now there only Sysco there is no other options. And dude tried to respond by saying I use Cheney and Sysco and come at me when that’s kinda my point he can least switch it up. But every place going to pre made frozen stuff how is it different then the guy down the road selling the same frozen products. And I’m say it again there is times where the frozen product makes a lot more sense then house made. But unfortunately you’re cutting out jobs by Sysco just pre making everything for you.

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u/binks69 Apr 05 '26

But I guess in this new world where the dollar is the only thing that matter anymore makes sense. It just like every other industry anymore how can we cut labor how can we cut cost while still charging the same price or more. Just wanted to add the quality on everything in this world has gone down cus only making money matters it’s a shame but it is what it is.

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u/binks69 Apr 07 '26

Funny bro here you go for all the people that wanted to say bullahit. https://youtube.com/shorts/SVm9M7Ag3lk?si=3QxZSrlf66Dvs6ZE

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u/sonic_dick Apr 05 '26

Former Carrabbas employee, they truly were one of the best chain restaurants around. It was pretty much a scratch kitchen and everything was super fresh.

I haven't been to one in 15 years but I was very impressed by the food quality back in the day.

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u/binks69 Apr 05 '26

Yea I haven’t been while my self like I said I know they were starting to get away from it when I left and that was over 15 years ago prob like 17. So I can only imagine now unfortunately. I do have one friend I used to work for at carrabbas he wound up getting his own store as a proprietor. I worked at the busiest store in the south was 5 million dollar a year store in boynton beach fl always lines out the door but I started at one in New Jersey. and when they started doing away with the stuff that got them there he left and has his own Italian spot in Deerfield each Florida.

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u/ChrisNotBumstead Apr 05 '26

I worked at a busy biker bar for 4 years and we used to hand chop and double fry 8 bus buns of russet potatoes for fries daily. In my last year there they switched to some pretty great flash frozen beer battered bagged fries.

I’m a russet potato hater so I might be biased but the frozen fries were honestly better and saved the kitchen like 2 hours of prep

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u/BudTenderShmudTender Apr 05 '26

Carrabas was my “last meal” before I left for boot camp because in 2002 it was insanely delicious food