Investment firm criticizes failing Olive Garden restaurants for serving bland pasta and begs the chefs to start salting the water



Chain reported nearly $20 million loss over last three months compared to the same period last year

Restaurant facing increased competition from fast-casual offerings like Panera and and Chipotle

Investment firm Starboard Value seeks to replace parent company Darden Restaurant's entire board



With the Olive Garden's sales drooping like an overcooked noodle, one activist investor has released a savage analysis taking the chain to task for wasting cash, not pushing drink sales, and, perhaps most damningly, failing to salt the pasta water .

The 294-slide report was compiled by Starboard Value, an investment firm that's trying to convince shareholders changes are needed.

In response, the Chief Operating Officer of parent company Darden Restaurants Gene Lee said the company is already working on many of the recommendations.



With the Olive Garden's sales drooping like an overcooked noodle, one activist investor has released a savage analysis taking the chain to task for wasting cash, not pushing drink sales, and, perhaps most damningly, failing to salt the pasta water

'The Olive Garden Brand Renaissance is well underway, and the improvements we are seeing in guest satisfaction and traffic trends reinforce our confidence in Olive Garden's potential,' Lee wrote in a response statement.



The company also owns Long Horn Steakhouse and Capital Grille but has seen its business take a hit in recent years against fast-casual chains such as Chipotle and Panera, The Huffington Post reports.

Darden was even forced to sell off Red Lobster to a private equity firm in July.

The company also owns Long Horn Steakhouse and Capital Grille but has seen its business take a hit in recent years against fast-casual chains such as Chipotle and Panera

Overall they reported a $19.3 million loss over the last three months compared to the same period last year.

Starboard, which hopes to replace the entire Darden board, has called for a number of changes at the Olive Garden.



For one, they argue that the restaurants unlimited breadstick promotion as led to 'massive unnecessary waste' as the average consumer does not eat three breadsticks, which is the average serving per customer.

That adds up to nearly 700 million breadsticks per year.

Overall Olive Garden reported a $19.3 million loss over the last three months compared to the same period last year

Starboard also worries that servers are filling salad bowls to the brim with as much as four times the recommended serving of dressing leading to even more waste and soaked, unappetizing salads.

They're also losing out on lucrative alcohol sales by not pushing wine and other spirits with the Olive Garden customer typically drinking much less than at other restaurants.



And, as mentioned, there's the issue with failing to salt the water which the Olive Garden defends as a measure to get a long warranty on pots but which leaves the pasta flavorless.













