Customer goes to fancy restaurant and orders pasta. Then they spot the Barilla farfalle box in back

Photo by@yngpzy/TikTok Esin Deniz/ShutterStock Timolina/ShutterStock

There’s a reason why many restaurants will often push pasta entrees onto their customers: high profit potential. Since tons of different noodles are a filling and inexpensive base for diners, businesses can clear nice margins on them.

This could upset some diners, particularly those who are investing a lot in dining at an upscale establishment. They might believe that if they're dining at a sophisticated restaurant, the pasta dishes would be prepared on the premises.

However, a TikToker named Phoebe (@yngpzy) was shocked to learn this was not the case during a recent outing. Their heart sank after seeing a store-bought pasta box in the back of the establishment.

“When you order pasta at a fancy restaurant and see this,” a text overlay in the video reads.

Phoebe films a red sauce pasta in a dish. She then pans her camera up to a propped-open door that leads to the kitchen. Resting on top of the shelf is a blue box of Barilla Farfalle pasta. An audio clip attached to the video features a woman exclaiming “oh my God” once the dried goods box is revealed to their audience.

“The Barilla Betrayal of 2024,” Phoebe penned in a caption for her video.

Is store-bought bad?

The discussion on whether it's a poor decision for eateries to include pre-packaged items on their menus has been a topic on TikTok before.

A similar situation occurred with a Crumbl cookies customer who observed a staff member using Betty Crocker mix. A crowd debated whether all packaged cookies from the store are the same. In the case of Crumbl, the way it's cooked, along with other ingredients, sets its cookies apart.

This argument can also be applied to various pasta dishes. Indeed, many food lovers and cooks prefer to use dry pasta. The Los Angeles Times wrote an article advocating for dry pasta. This article, written by food expert and cook Evan Kleiman, endorses dry noodles, stating that in nearly every instance, she would choose to purchase dry pasta from the store over any of its “fresh” alternatives.

Acclaimed celebrity chef of the Jon Favreau’s Netflix series Chef Show, Roy Choi, has also professed his love for dry pasta on the series. Some of his more affordable pasta recipes have received serious love online. Again: it incorporates dry pasta and big flavors.

Lost in the sauce

Phoebe's negative view on paying high prices at upscale restaurants and receiving Barilla farfalle as a side dish appears to be driven by her perception of value. Often, when evaluating the quality of a pasta dish, the sauce and toppings should be considered.

Imagine the sauce was made using fresh ingredients from beginning to end. And if it contains top-notch proteins or fresh produce—then that might be what decides the price of the dish.

Many TikTokers who replied to Phoebe's video mentioned that they weren't shocked by the fact that restaurants serve pasta dishes from a box.

“Unless they promote pasta made in-house, it’s box,” one said.

Someone else wrote that other foods, such as desserts, are also brought into stores or are made from store-bought ingredients. “Wait till you find about your favorite cake,” they said.

Another commenter said that sometimes it boils down to pantry inventory. “I worked at a restaurant where if we ran out of ingredients, they’d go to Walmart and buy the cheapest brand to replace it for the day or week,” they penned.

And this user said Barilla is the standard of restaurants all over: “Actually Barilla and De cecco are the standard for dried pasta you should be scared if you see something else. I prefer De cecco tho but barilla is acceptable.”

One TikToker didn’t seem too bothered by Barilla’s inclusion. “The magic of pasta is the sauce anyways,” they wrote.