Hollis Johnson/Business Insider
Chipotle invited Business Insider behind the lines at their test kitchen.
- Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., which serves popular menu items like burrito bowls, burritos, and hand-mashed guacamole, owns and operates more than 2,500 restaurants around the world, according to the company.
- The company has been trying to cater to wider audiences with the addition of "Lifestyle Bowls" - including paleo, keto, and Whole30 options - to its menus.
- Chipotle has also been trying to win back customers it lost over health and cleanliness issues with its recent Behind the Foil campaign.
- As part of the campaign to make it's food processes more transparent, the chain invited Business Insider to go behind the lines at its test location in New York dubbed Chipotle NEXT Kitchen to see first-hand how everything is made and served.
- I found out working at the chain is more of a culinary experience that I thought - there's an entire team in each Chipotle location dedicated to cooking, seasoning, tasting, chopping, and generally preparing all ingredients for the day.
- While I wasn't able to get a look at the refrigerators and storage spaces, I was able to see that a lot of the food prep is done by hand, it's all tasted by employees to ensure proper flavoring, and handwashing is so important that they heed an alarm at the top of every hour.