Golden Heart
Ben Hague Conceives New Original ChopShop Juice.
For over 10 years, Original ChopShop has prided itself on serving “feel-good food” that’s as healthy as it is tasty. That includes its new Golden Heart juice, a beverage made not by its corporate culinary team, but by one of the Southlake location’s very own employees.
As the assistant manager for the Southlake restaurant, Ben Hague has over five years of experience working in some of Original ChopShop’s busiest restaurants in Park Cities and Lakewood.
“I love the positive vibes, the feel-good food we offer and watching the guests enjoy it every day,” Ben says. “All of the ingredients we use are freshly prepared in-house the day of. It’s something you can eat every day and never feel bad about it.”
When the Plano-based company held a competition to see who could come up with the next big drink, Ben put her juicing skills to the test and concocted a drink that embodies all of Original ChopShop’s greatest qualities. Calling it the Golden Heart, Ben’s beverage is blended with a mix of pineapple, golden beets, lemon and orange that brings out the sweet citrusy taste in every sip.
“I finish it with a pinch of salt to enhance the sweetness of all of the fruits that are in there,” Ben says. “It tastes sort of like a healthy mocktail. It’s always my go-to.”
Company leadership loved her drink so much they rolled it out to all 22 locations across three states.
“I didn’t believe it at first — I actually thought it was a joke,” Ben says. “Like ‘No way, I never win anything.’ But then again, I’ve never really put myself out there before, and it paid off big time. I’m over the moon about how much people love it.”
With repeat customers ordering the Golden Heart juice over and over again, Ben says her culinary exploits have motivated her to experiment with new drinks, including lemonade. Whatever Ben comes up with next, you can trust that she’ll pour her whole heart into it.