Olive Garden customers are geeking out over the fact that they can purchase the brand’s trademark white plastic cheese graters they bring to customers’ tables to inundate their prepared pasta dishes with parmesan.
There have been numerous folks posting about how excited they were to receive their latest kitchen accessory after a trip to the casual dine-in Italian-style restaurant chain. But there were some folks who argued against buying the grater from a physical Olive Garden location, noting that folks can get their hands on the same brand from Amazon at a lower price point.
This is something that folks told TikToker Yazzibae (@yazzibae_thegemini) after she posted about how she was able to get her hands on a cheese grater for herself upon visiting the Olive Garden. When people reminded her that it was available online, she explained to them why she would rather buy it in-store, and her reasoning is pretty simple: it comes with cheese.
The TikTok was a short, 4-second response to the following comment: “Amazon has them, same brand and everything.”
Yazzibae simply replied, pointing to the comment, “It doesn’t come with cheese.”
In her original clip which shows her inquiring about the cheese grater purchase, Yazzibae records herself asking the Olive Garden server if she could purchase the cheese grater, to which to employee says, “Absolutely.” He informs her that the grater costs $14.99 and that it does indeed come with Parmesan cheese.
@yazzibae_thegemini Replying to @Eva I know we can buy them anywhere, its just a better experience to buy them at Olive Gardeneith the cheese #influencersbelike #influencers #ugccreator #ugc #influencermarketing #olivegardencheesegrater ♬ original sound – Yazzibae | UGC Creator
Similar handheld white plastic graters on Amazon have different price points: one of the cheaper options that looks similar to the ones sold at the Olive Garden goes for $9.96 online, but as Yazzibae says, the web offerings don’t come with parmesan cheese. If you’re a Temu shopper, it looks like you could get the same exact grater sold on Amazon for even less money at $4.39.
There were some commenters who saw her post who seemed to agree with the TikToker’s decision to purchase the grater—and the cheese that goes along with it—in-store.
“The cheese is a very crucial part,” one individual penned.
Another said, “No cheese, but $5 cheaper.”
If there are other items at the Olive Garden that you enjoy and want in your own home, apparently you can buy that too. As one user commented on another creator’s cheese grater video, Olive Garden will sell “anything that’s not nailed down to [the] wall.”
Are you a fan of the olive oil that the restaurant makes? Well, you can buy bottles of that stuff, too, even Walmart and other grocery stores sell it. If you’re a fan of the dinnerware used in the restaurant and want it in your own home, you could purchase that online too, as there are some folks on eBay who’ve gotten their hands on them and are willing to offload the china for a premium price. They are “heavy duty” as the listing intones, meant to be thoroughly washed and sustain a lot of use.
The Daily Dot has reached out to the Olive Garden via email and Yazzibae via TikTok comment for further information.