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Ramy Youssef Doesn’t Shut Up About Panera

Photo: Michael Kovac/Getty Images for AFI

Panera Bread is a glorious place. Have you had its mac and cheese? That’s liquid gold. What about eating it in a bread bowl? Carbs on carbs have never tasted better. So it’s no surprise that the café’s alumni take their former place of work rather seriously and none more so than Ramy Youssef. Youssef directed the fourth episode of The Bear this season, “Honeydew,†in which Marcus makes a trip to Copenhagen in order to learn from a pastry chef. While prepping for the episode, Youssef and Lionel Boyce, who plays Marcus, studied at Noma, which is largely considered the best restaurant in the world. “I kept telling everyone at Noma that I had worked at a restaurant before,†Youssef told GQ recently. “Which I had, but I had worked at Panera Bread when I was 16. It was just really funny to be at Noma and talk about my experience at Panera.†Based on his collaborators’ responses, “kept telling†is really the operative phrase in that sentence. “That man, someone, has to stop him,†Boyce said of Youssef. “He’s out of control.†Even Will Poulter, who guest-starred in the episode as Luca, had something to say about it: “I heard him tell at least five people that he worked at Panera Bread over the course of our two-day shoot.†Next time we need a soup-and-sandwich special, we’re all heading to Ramy Youssef’s place.

Ramy Youssef Doesn’t Shut Up About Panera