When you work in food service at the same place for any length of time, you can get pretty tired of eating the same things over and over again.
I mean, you do it, because usually you get a discount and it makes more sense than going somewhere else to eat on a break, but still – variety is the spice of life and all of that.
These 14 people worked at fast food joints long enough to get creative with the items they had access to, and I’ve gotta say, some of these concoctions definitely belong on the menu.
14. I won’t be the same.
Back in my college days, I worked at Domino’s. We had pre-made, refrigerated deep dish crusts.
One day, I decided to slather one of those crusts in butter sauce and pile on some cheese. It was amazing, and I made them all the time after that. Sort of like a more dense, crispier cheesy bread, and I can’t really explain why it was so much better than the cheesy bread that used regular dough.
Sadly, I’ll never have it again. Since those days, they’ve killed the deep dish and replaced it with the pan pizza, which uses dough.
13. Sounds like the McRib in the States.
KFC in Australia has these on a menu (it’s seasonal so like once a year) they’re called mashies. They potato &gravy breaded and deep-fried.
They’re the fu**ing bomb.
12. Any corndog is a good corndog in my book.
My first real job was at a Der Weinerschnitzel. This was… uh… 35 years ago, when I was 16. I used to make this amazing corndog thing for my lunch breaks:
Take a corn dog, slice it down one side and extract the hot dog + stick from the cornbread crust
Run a line of mustard along the inside of the cornbread crust
Wrap a slice of american cheese around the hotdog
Reassemble and deep fry until you have cheesy-melty-hot-dog deliciousness
I will say, I think DW is one of the better fast-food chains out there. Or, at least, the one I worked at was. Family owned, they made some darn good food considering what they had to work with. I haven’t lived near one in ages, but I’ll always stop in and grab a chili-cheese dog if I spot one.
On the down side, the uniforms at the time were brown-polyester-everything. Ugly AF, and always wreaked of stale fryer grease. Don’t miss that.
11. A real Happy Meal.
I used to work at McDonalds.
One of the things people would order was grilled cheese sandwiches. Basically a slice of cheese between two upside down buns that was put on the grill for a bit.
10. All Blizzards are worthy.
I worked at Dairy Queen one summer when I was a teenager. Somehow, we ended up making a mint Reese’s peanut butter cup blizzard that tasted amazing. (A Blizzard is an ice cream concoction with candy mixed throughout.)
I haven’t tried it in years. Not sure I’d still think it was that tasty. I mean, it’s technically available to customers but I never once had someone order it!
9. Genius at work.
I worked at a mexican fast food place in the mall when I was 15. They served taco salads, so they had the deep fried shells. It is such a good base for anything, you could make any meal you wanted and hide it under a little lettuce, and it would just look like a taco salad.
Mostly, I just used it to get around employee meal option limits.
8. Yikes.
Worked at a cheap movie theater in high school that didn’t have anything fancier than nachos available.
You haven’t lived until you fill up a cup with popcorn and mix in nacho cheese sauce to make the devil’s cheese ball.
7. You can actually order it!
Domino’s. I take a small pizza dough, some Alfredo sauce, a whole bunch of cheddar cheese, some pasta, and some bacon. Mix those together and put them on the small dough. Raise the edges of the dough up like a bowl and run it through the pizza oven.
When it’s done top it off with garlic oil and just a little mango habanero sauce, and you have one of the best Mac and cheese bread bowls I’ve ever eaten.
If anyone wants to know how to actually order this:
-Build Your Own Pasta
-Bowl: Bread Bowl
-Sauce: Alfredo Sauce
-Toppings: (Extra) Cheddar Cheese, Bacon
+ 1 Garlic Butter cup, 1 Mango Habanero cup
You could legit call them right now or go through the online system and get this.
6. Fried pickles are life.
It’s not super unique, but we used to make fried pickles and quesadillas back when I worked at Chick-fil-A.
5. Both of those sound like winners.
When I was at Pizza Hut we’d regularly stuff garlic knots with pepperoni or other meats. I also enjoyed the meaty marinara pasta with a number of veggies on top.
We once made a keto pizza for a customer. Just threw the meats and cheeses for a meat lover’s pizza into a greased pasta pan and ran it through the oven. That looked incredible and I wish I made one for myself.
4. The best thing you’ll ever order at Subway.
Worked at Subway in high school and my favorite was stuffed peppers.
I’d cut the top off and gut the pepper, fill it with cheese, steak, and chipotle sauce, and then bake it in the oven.
Soooooo good.
3. Creative and yummy.
I worked at McDonalds last summer
Put a snack wrap on the grill and made a quesadilla
A sandwich on the bun from a crispy chicken sandwich with a crispy chicken patty, ranch, white cheddar cheese, and romaine lettuce
Ice cream mixed with a seasonal drink, the cold brew frappe
2. You need a little crunch.
I worked at a Jersey Mike’s for longer than I care to say, best “employees only secret menu” thing we had was as follows;
Cook a cheesesteak with peppers onions and jalapeños (chicken or beef doesn’t matter)
Crush up a bag of cool ranch Doritos and mix it in with the meat while you’re cooking
Toast the roll on the grill and put chipotle mayo on the top of the bun and ranch dressing on the bottom.
I was a teenager when I last tried it, but I remember it being absolutely delicious and was usually my go to meal at work.
1. Bacon and cheese is always a winner.
Worked at Culvers for a year.
I’d fill a soda cup 95% Mountain Dew and the rest with raspberry juice from the sundae bar.
Shiz was bomb.
Another classic item I’d make consisted of a grilled cheese with bacon and two chicken tenders in the middle
I would eat most of these, not gonna lie.
If you’ve ever made something delicious out of unsuspecting fast food items, tell us about it in the comments!
