Italian-born cook shows off bread she’s making Anna Prezio, a 73-year-old Italian-born California woman who has made a name for herself with social media videos showing her cooking her native country’s cuisine, tells Fox News Digital what bread she’s making for her son.
Panera Bread’s latest menu item is drawing backlash online, as employees of the chain are claiming the new item leads to perfectly good bread and extra salad being tossed in the trash. The fast-casual chain’s new Salad Stuffers, which launched April 8, are marketed as “a bread bowl for your salad.”
But workers posting on Reddit claim the offering requires throwing away significant portions of Italian bread — and in some cases, leftover salad — according to an article in Today.com.
In Panera’s announcement earlier this month about the new category, chief marketing officer Mark Shambura said guests in testing “couldn’t get enough” of the new roll, and called the concept a fresh spin on the chain’s signature bread bowl. The reaction online, though, has been less enthusiastic.
“The core of the bread is thrown out, and a good chunk of the salad gets tossed in the trash, too,” someone claiming to be an employee at the chain wrote onReddit’s Panera forum. “These are a huge waste of money and food. … I wouldn’t recommend spending your hard-earned cash on them.”
Another poster shared a photo on the same Reddit community, showing a tray piled with hollowed-out bread pieces.
The person wrote, “My manager went to a meeting about menu changes and was told these scraps cannot be given to customers or fed to birds.” Some commenters also questioned whether the item represents a true innovation — arguing it closely resembles a standard sandwich with minor changes.
Another chimed in, “Why not just make a sandwich?”
Others suggested ways the leftover bread could be repurposed to reduce waste.
“We made croutons and had a snack,” one commenter wrote — while another said, “I will be making French toast casserole with these scraps.”
Said yet another person, “If the CEO were a smart man, these would be the new croutons.”
Someone else added, “They should bake the dough with a tinfoil thing inside so the bread is hollow and doesn’t need to be wasted!!” Others suggested a bread pudding dessert or stuffing.
One commenter simply exclaimed, “I want my bread guts!”
Outside reviewers have also raised questions about whether the product is worth the price, adding to criticism from some customers. In a review, Tasting Table said Panera’s Salad Stuffers were “meh” as expected. The outlet praised a few heartier combinations, such as the Steakhouse Salad Stuffer, but argued against the value.
The review ultimately recommended that customers just order a half salad, take the free baguette on the side and make their own version.
Some critics have also pointed out that the item bears a resemblance to offerings from Bread Zeppelin, a Texas-based chain known for its salad-stuffed baguettes, Today.com reported.
