Olive Garden's Pasta Water Is Salt-Free Investment firm Starboard Value LP took over Olive Garden parent company Darden Restaurants in 2016.
Starboard Value's financial experts advised Olive Garden's chain-wide kitchens to add salt to the water at the start of cooking to improve pasta quality and profitability
Olive Garden, which claims to serve homemade food, never did this until the Starboard Value takeover.
Olive Garden's portions are known to be high in fat, calories, and sodium, making it a less-than-healthy option.
Olive Garden's extensive menu is overly salty. Several chain favorites contain more sodium than the USDA recommends for a day.
The Many Olive Garden Breadstick Secrets Olive Garden's breadsticks are tasty, popular,
and the chain's most famous contribution to American cuisine (the free refills help too).