For eight years running, the Georgia-based fast-food chicken franchise Chick-fil-A has been rated one of the best restaurants in the nation. In addition to serving crowd-pleasing items like their classic chicken sandwich, waffle fries and specialty lemonades, they specialize in excellent customer service.
But recently the popular chains has been in the news for something that can’t be considered positive. An employee at Chick-fil-A leaked the recipe for the restaurant’s lemonade on TikTok, creating a viral sensation. (He was subsequently fired.)
Employees at Florida A&M University’s campus Chick-fil-A said they were outraged when the learned about the leak.
They said they could not believe the recipe had been leaked, but it is not the first time a Chick-fil-A “secret” was made public. The previous time was on YouTube.
Diamond Cannon, a third-year pre physical therapy student from Tampa, has been working at the campus Chick-fil-A for about two months, and says she loves it there.
“This has not been the first instance where a Chick-fil-A recipe has been leaked,” Cannon said.
Users were shocked when TikToker Ceey (@slimeball.ceey) revealed what’s actually in the lemonade in a viral video he shared on Oct. 4. Chick-fil-A fans had assumed the beverage contained only freshly squeezed lemons. Almost 3 million people have watched the video.
Briona Hopkins, a fourth-year broadcast journalism student from St. Petersburg, mentioned that this isn’t the first time someone leaked a recipe from Chick-fil-A. The original chicken sandwich was leaked as well.
“You’re fortunate. I was the one who squeezed the lemons years ago. You all now have it easy. Back then, the flavor was excellent,” Hopkins said.
According to the Chick-fil-A website, the chain’s diet lemonade is created with just three components: water, Splenda, and “real lemon juice – not from concentrate.”
Many people believed the product was still manufactured with freshly squeezed citrus juice despite the label on the bag stating they utilize lemon juice with pulp from a distribution center.
The recipe, which seems simple enough, captured the interest of thousands. In just a few weeks, the brief video received more than 350,000 likes and close to 3 million views.
The comments section was teeming with backlash, particularly from former employees of Chick-fil-A. They said they were astonished to learn that fresh lemons are no longer used to make the company’s lemonade.