I asked Taco Bell's CMO what his go-to order is. I wasn't ready for the hot-sauce count.

• Taco Bell CMO Taylor Montgomery said he eats at the fast-food chain every other day.
• Montgomery's usual order is two crunchy tacos, and he uses one Fire hot-sauce packet "per bite."
• "I have like 10 sauce packets per taco," Montgomery added.

A person's go-to Taco Bell order is a sacred thing.

Selena Gomez was eating a Mexican Pizza when Benny Blanco proposed. Jason Sudeikis grabbed two chicken tacos on the night his son was born. When Dolly Parton would go through the drive-thru on dates with her husband Carl Dean, she always ordered a Taco Supreme.

I'm partial to the Cantina Chicken burrito, and just last week, I convinced three different friends to try it during our 1 a.m. Taco Bell run (which somehow racked up to $117, but that's another story).

So, when I recently sat down with Taco Bell CMO Taylor Montgomery, I knew I had to find out what his usual order is. Montgomery eats at the fast-food chain every other day, but his go-to hasn't changed — nor has his wild hot-sauce count.

"My order is still the same," Montgomery, who has worked at Taco Bell for a decade, told me. "Crunchy tacos, one Fire sauce packet per bite. I have like 10 sauce packets per taco."

"If I'm really hungry, it's three tacos," Montgomery added. "If it's a normal day, it's two."

"Per bite!?" I asked. I've been known to rip through a few of Taco Bell's hot and avocado verde salsa packets myself, but 10 was a whole new level.

"Oh yeah," Montgomery replied. "You gotta go big. Fire sauce, only Fire."

'We truly are one of one'

While some fast-food brands have spent the past week trying to outdo each other with burger taste-test videos, Taco Bell has been focusing on the premiere of Live Más Live, an annual event where the chain unveils every new menu item it plans to release during the year.

Montgomery was originally inspired by Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference when he helped launch the first Live Más Live in 2024. This year, the CMO knew he wanted to shake up the format.

"We truly are one of one, just like Apple, just like Amazon, just like Tesla," Montgomery said. "So I started to look at how some of those companies are behaving, and they are behaving like entertainment companies. That's what consumers want. That's what consumers' expectations are."

"That's how Live Más Live, an unhinged night in Hollywood, was born," he added.

Taco Bell hired the production team behind the Academy Awards, made a streaming deal with Peacock, and rented out the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles for a one-hour awards show on March 3. Celebrities like Sudeikis, Doja Cat, Benson Boone, and Demi Lovato were on hand to help announce the 20-plus new items coming to Taco Bell's menu in 2026.

Montgomery said he hopes the event makes Taco Bell's fans feel "seen and heard," noting that the chain also listened to their pleas for more sweet treats.

"One of the most requested things we hear from our fans is, 'I want more desserts at Taco Bell,'" he said.

Crème Brûlée Crunchwrap Sliders, Strawberry and Cream Mexican Pizza Bites, and chocolate fudge empanadas will all be coming soon, but Montgomery said the core of Taco Bell's brand is still "crunchy, cheesy, saucy, spicy." This year's menu slate even includes an edible version of Taco Bell's Fire hot-sauce packet.

The real question is, will Montgomery be using 10 of them per taco?