‘Most marked up item on the menu’: Taco Bell worker warns against going there before 11 a.m.

After quitting her job at Taco Bell, a worker posted a viral TikTok sharing the secrets she thinks customers should know before eating there again.

Katie Brown (@kates.brown.03) reached over 1.7 million views and 99,000 likes on her slide show. In a caption, she told viewers this was done “in celebration of no longer being employed!” 

Using photos selected from her camera roll, Brown chose seven different pictures that she took during her shifts at Taco Bell and added captions to explain what each one means.

Taco Bell 'secrets'

In the first photo, Brown added the on-screen caption to preface, “Taco Bell secrets I can say since I am no longer employed.” 

The next photo pictures a Crunchwrap Supreme. Brown explains, "A lot of the burritos have mostly the same ingredients but are called different things with different prices.” She says that the grilled cheese burrito, cheesy double beef burrito, and the beefy melt use almost all the same ingredients. 

The grilled cheese burrito, sold for $4.99, contains seasoned beef, nacho cheese sauce, three-cheese blend, fiesta strips, seasoned rice, reduced-fat sour cream and chipotle sauce. The cheesy double beef burrito sold for $2.79, has all the same ingredients as the grilled cheese burrito except for chipotle sauce. The Beefy Melt was recently discontinued from the menu. 

Brown’s next slide is a photo of a car that looks to have been taken through the drive-thru window. Her caption says, “Food used in the morning is just leftover food from the night before, not new food!”

Additional insider info

She recommends that customers don’t eat at Taco Bell before 11 a.m. That's because, in her opinion, all of the breakfast items are “nastayyy.”

The next photo Brown used shows two different serving platters full with items off the menu, 5 of them being separate packs of cinnamon twists. She says, “Cinnamon twists are just fried pasta with cinnamon sugar. They are also the most marked up item on the menu.” The cinnamon twists are currently sold for $1.29 a package.

Brown emphasizes that viewers should always prioritize drive thru over dining inside, especially at night time. “Business is crazy about drive thru times,” she adds.

The sixth slide is a picture of an ordering screen that lists 13 different items. She mentions that cross contamination happens “ALL THE TIME,” especially with toppings.

Before ending her video, Brown added one more slide with a picture of her holding a makeshift sword. She says, “Chalupas are disastrously overpriced (they’re literally just fried flatbreads).” On the Taco Bell website a Chalupa Supreme is currently priced at $5.19.

Viewers react to the exposé

In the comments, former Taco Bell employees and frequent customers weigh in on Katie's Taco Bell exposé.

“As someone who also worked at Taco Bell, the cinnamon twists are $1 for like 5 or 6 puffed up noodles,” wrote one user.

Another user added, “I knew cross contamination happens. I tell them all the time I'm allergic to lettuce (I'm not, I just hate it) and lettuce STILL ends up in my food.”

“Let me tell you they are so bad at cutting the quesadillas,” one user said. “I am literally going insane. One time I got one that wasn't cut at all??”

How hard is it to cut a quesadilla?

In the Reddit thread r/tacobell, a user questioned, “Taco Bell employees, is it really that hard to cut a quesadilla? Genuinely curious.”

“I wonder if TB employees intentionally do these kinds of things, then hover in this sub,” one user responded.

A user explained that “It’s not intentional… it’s from going fast. The quesadillas are cut through the packaging using a dull curved 'blade'?? Idek what to call it. But you roll it over the ‘dilla to slice it and it’s easy to roll slightly off course, thus getting a wonky cut.”

“Holy crap I never thought about how they get in the package so perfectly. Y’all really cut em after they’re in the package? That’s kinda wild lol,” one responded.

“Sometimes when we’re really rushing as soon as it gets off the little grill press we just use the spatula since it’s slightly sharper. Sometimes even cuts the bag.”

The Daily Dot reached out Katie Brown via the TikTok comment section and direct message and Taco Bell via email. 

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