Krabby Patty Explained

Company:United Plankton Pictures
First Ep:Help Wanted
First Type:TV
Creator:Stephen Hillenburg
Genre:Comedy
Type:Veggie burger
Uses:Food product sold at the Krusty Krab
Affiliation:Krusty Krab

The Krabby Patty is a hamburger sold by the fictional restaurant the Krusty Krab in the animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. Created by the restaurant's founder Eugene Krabs and his archenemy Plankton, it is what the main character SpongeBob cooks throughout his job as a fry cook, as well as the restaurant's trademark food and most famous burger in Bikini Bottom. A prominent storyline throughout the series is Krabs' nemesis Plankton trying to steal the Krabby Patty secret formula. This running gag was given a backstory in the special "Friend or Foe", where it is revealed that Krabs and Plankton created the Krabby Patty to compete with the health-violating restaurant Stinky Burgers.

Role in SpongeBob SquarePants

Krabby Patties make their debut appearance in SpongeBob SquarePants pilot episode "Help Wanted" and have had many different variations throughout the show's run.[1]

The Krabby Patty burger is a menu item sold by the Krusty Krab as a fast food product.[2] It is considered to be one of the most successful foods in Bikini Bottom.[3] The Krabby Patty formula is a closely guarded trade secret, and rival restaurateur Plankton's futile attempts at acquiring the secret formula is a major recurring theme throughout the series. The Krusty Krab usually attracts customers from Bikini Bottom because of the Krabby Patty's renowned taste and the fact that Plankton's restaurant, the Chum Bucket, has a menu consisting of mostly inedible chum.[4] Due to the lack of viable competition, Mr. Krabs is generally free to engage in price gouging, a practice he has been known to do throughout the show.[5] Sometimes the Krusty Krab is shown to have a drive-thru to serve krabby patties seen in the episodes "Driven to Tears" and "Drive Thru" as well as .[6] [7] It is noted by Mr. Krabs that the Krusty Krab and the Krabby Patty is clean and disease-free.[8]

Ingredients

The Krabby Patty is made with a frozen meatless burger. It is composed of the buns, the patty, pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, ketchup, mustard, and onions.[9] [10] It may also contain one or more secret ingredients according to a Krabby Patty secret formula, though said secret formula has never been revealed in the series.[11]

The Krusty Krab's menu, the Galley Grub, consists mostly of ordinary fast-food items, such as french fries and sodas. Its signature sandwich, the Krabby Patty, is celebrated to a comic degree by the citizens of Bikini Bottom. In , Mr. Krabs states: "The Krabby Patty is what ties us all together! Without it, there will be a complete breakdown of social order!"[12] In the Season 1 episode Pickles, it's revealed that the sandwich comprises two buns, with the patty, lettuce, cheese, onions, tomatoes, ketchup, mustard, and pickles between them (in that order).[13]

Theories

The formula has been hinted at but remained a mystery throughout the series. A running gag is Plankton's obsession with obtaining it as a way to produce the sandwiches and attract customers to his across-the-street restaurant, the Chum Bucket.[14] The recipe of the patty is a closely guarded trade secret, which have led viewers to speculate about its contents.[15] [16] Several fan theories have been formed to guess the secret ingredient.[17] [18]

According to series animator Vincent Waller, "there is absolutely no meat in the Krabby Patty. There's no animal product in there", something which was always planned by series creator Stephen Hillenburg.[19] Mr. Lawrence, a show writer and Plankton's voice actor, explained that the show's writers are not allowed to depict fish as food, or at least fish eating each other as food (as episodes such as "Hooky", "Wishing You Well", and "My Leg?" depict or allude to fish being consumed by humans); he stated that there is no meat served in Bikini Bottom except at the Chum Bucket.[20] Tom Kenny, the voice actor for SpongeBob, joked: "Krabby Patties are hummus!" Some commentators suggest that there is actually no secret ingredient, pointing to Mr. Krabs' miserliness. A writer for Hollywood.com believes that it is "all a ruse that crafty Mr. Krabs came up with in order to stop Plankton from focusing on [t]he Chum Bucket. It's legitimately brilliant marketing!"[21] The episode "Patty Caper" shows that there is truly a secret ingredient in the Krabby Patty, which is delivered to the restaurant with high security.[22] On the possibility that the secret Krabby Patty formula will be revealed in future episodes, Waller said in 2017 that he "would not count on it".[23] In 2019, Waller stated that Hillenburg, who died in 2018, is the only person to have seen it.[24]

Real-life inspirations

Publications such as USA Today have named it among other fictional foods that many have wanted to exist in real life,[25] but according to the New York Daily News, there are four restaurants which serve a similar burger to the one seen in the show. These burgers include the Snow Crab Crispy Rice, Phuket Fantasy, Angry Crab Benedict, and Soft Shell Crab Taco.[26]

The Krabby Patties have also inspired real life gummy confectionery treats, primarily in New England.[27] [28] In 2008, a doctor with Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine warned parents to be aware of where the candy their child consumes is produced due to contamination then found in Chinese milk; SpongeBob Gummy Krabby Patties were among those candies produced in China.[29] In 2019, a reporter with the student newspaper of Capital University gave the gummy candies a rating of a 2 out of 10 in their review of Halloween candy.[30]

The Krabby Patty has been used by Katy Perry as a second costume on the red carpet at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.[31] In The SpongeBob Musical, the Krabby Patty was portrayed by an actor on stage at the Palace Theatre.[32] Various merchandise depicts SpongeBob and the Krabby Patty such as HipDot, as make-up,[33] and as dog toys.[34]

Notes and References

  1. News: SpongeBob SquarePants' 20 years of brilliance, explained in 3 episodes . Allegra . Frank . 1 May 2019 . Vox . 2 December 2019 . en.
  2. The Play's the Thing . SpongeBob SquarePants . 7 . 138a . Nickelodeon . 26 March 2010 . . en.
  3. Krusty Krab Training Video . SpongeBob SquarePants . 3 . 50b . Nickelodeon . May 10, 2002 . Springer, Aaron
    Greenblatt, C. H.; Osborne, Kent (writers)
    .
  4. Chum Bucket Supreme . SpongeBob SquarePants . 6 . 122a . Nickelodeon . 10 May 2002 . Writers: Sean Charmatz, Dani Michaeli . en.
  5. Krabby Land . SpongeBob SquarePants . 3 . 57a . Nickelodeon . 3 April 2004 . . en.
  6. The Krusty Sponge . SpongeBob SquarePants . 5 . 89a . Nickelodeon . 10 May 2002 . Writers: Paul Tibbitt, Kent Osborne, Mark O'Hare . en.
  7. Web site: The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water first look review – superhero slugfest drags a good sequel down . Jordan . Hoffman . 3 February 2015 . The Guardian . 2 December 2019 . en.
  8. Fungus Among Us . SpongeBob SquarePants . 5 . 83c . Nickelodeon . 29 September 2007 . Writers: Casey Alexander, Zeus Cervas, Richard Pursel . en.
  9. The Way of the Sponge . SpongeBob SquarePants . 8 . 166b . Nickelodeon . 25 November 2011 . Writers: Casey Alexander, Zeus Cervas, Derek Iversen, Andrew Goodman . en.
  10. Web site: Some genius finally figured out how to make the perfect Krabby Patty . Rolli . Bryan . 31 May 2017 . The Daily Dot . 2 December 2019 . en.
  11. Web site: Why is SpongeBob so damn meme-able? . Chloe . Bryan . Mashable . 8 April 2018 . 2 December 2019 . en.
  12. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water. film. February 6, 2015. Paramount Pictures. Tibbitt, Paul (director). Aibel, Jonathan; Berger, Glenn (writers).
  13. Pickles . SpongeBob SquarePants . 1 . 6b . Nickelodeon . 21 August 1999 . Fonti, Steve
    Mitchell, Chris; Burns, Peter (writers)
    .
  14. Web site: The Latest Spongebob Meme Features the Krusty Krab vs. Chum Bucket Rivalry . Barner . Katherine . Complex . 18 March 2018 . 2 December 2019 . en.
  15. Web site: People Think The Krabby Patty's Secret Was Crab Meat, And It Makes So Much Sense . Rocha . Isai . 18 July 2017 . 20 July 2019 . Foodbeast . https://web.archive.org/web/20190722171726/https://www.foodbeast.com/news/krabby-patty-crab-meat/ . 22 July 2019 . live . en.
  16. Web site: Moore . Sam . People think that the secret ingredient in SpongeBob Squarepants' Krabby Patty is cocaine . Metro . DMG Media . 22 July 2019 . 14 January 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190722171720/https://metro.co.uk/2019/01/14/people-think-that-the-secret-ingredient-in-spongebob-squarepants-krabby-patty-is-cocaine-8343117/ . 22 July 2019 . live . en.
  17. Web site: SpongeBob Theory: What Are Krabby Patties Actually Made Of? . Hood . Cooper . March 16, 2019 . July 20, 2019 . Screen Rant . Valnet Inc. . https://web.archive.org/web/20190722171719/https://screenrant.com/spongebob-theory-krabby-patty-ingredients/ . 22 July 2019 . live.
  18. Web site: Asarch . Steven . Secret Ingredient In Krabby Patty? Cocaine! Says Internet . Newsweek . 22 July 2019 . January 16, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190722171719/https://www.newsweek.com/krabby-patty-secret-ingredient-poseidon-powder-cocaine-spongebob-1294303 . 22 July 2019 . live . en.
  19. Web site: What's In A Krabby Patty? Here's What The Spongebob Producer Knows . Joest . Mick . 22 July 2017 . 20 July 2017 . CinemaBlend . https://web.archive.org/web/20170725193849/https://www.cinemablend.com/television/1684060/whats-in-a-krabby-patty-heres-what-the-spongebob-producer-knows . July 25, 2017 . live . en.
  20. Web site: Krabby Patty Formula, According To 'Spongebob' Cast Members, Isn't What You Expected . Kolokathis . Tina . 23 July 2017 . 20 July 2019 . Elite Daily . Bustle Digital Group . https://web.archive.org/web/20190719085317/https://www.elitedaily.com/entertainment/spongebob-krabby-patty-theory-formula/2024695 . 19 July 2019 . live . en.
  21. Web site: We FINALLY Know What The Krabby Patty Secret Formula Is From 'SpongeBob'! . 22 July 2019 . 5 May 2016 . Hollywood.com . Tinubu . Aramide . https://web.archive.org/web/20190615091801/https://www.hollywood.com/tv/we-finally-know-what-the-spongebob-krabby-patty-secret-formula-is-60577938/ . 15 June 2019 . live . en.
  22. Patty Caper . SpongeBob SquarePants . 6 . 108a . Nickelodeon . 5 August 2008 . Writers: Casey Alexander, Zeus Cervas, Eric Shaw . en.
  23. 881707307071033350 . VincentWaller72 . I would not count on it. . Waller . Vincent . 2 July 2017 . 28 July 2019 . https://archive.today/20190728104411/https://twitter.com/VincentWaller72/status/881707307071033350 . July 28, 2019 . live . en.
  24. 1087776914343845888 . VincentWaller72 . Yes, but no human has seen it, other than Steve. . Waller . Vincent . 22 January 2019 . 28 July 2019 . https://archive.today/20190728103802/https://twitter.com/VincentWaller72/status/1087776914343845888 . 28 July 2019 . live . en.
  25. News: Order up: Krabby Patties, Apollo Bars and other fictional foods we wish were real . Ali . Rasha . 13 June 2019 . USA Today . 2 December 2019 . en.
  26. News: SpongeBob inspiring you to find your own Krabby Patty? 5 New York eateries with fresh takes on crab sandwiches . Gina . Pace . New York Daily News . 2 December 2019 . en.
  27. News: Buchanan . Jesse . New Southington shop offers kids activities, nostalgic candy . 2 December 2019 . Meriden Record Journal . 9 June 2019 . en.
  28. News: Finaldi . Laura . Finaldi: Express, Candy Barrel leaving Sarasota Square mall . 2 December 2019 . Sarasota Herald-Tribune . 19 June 2019 . en.
  29. News: Sigman . Ashlea . Doctor: Be Cautious of Candy Made in China . 2 December 2019 . KBTX-TV . 30 October 2008 . en . 25 February 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190225003525/https://www.kbtx.com/home/headlines/33617284.html . dead .
  30. News: Pasco . Shirleeah . Not all candies are created equal: Halloween candy reviews . 2 December 2019 . The Chimes . 24 October 2019 . en.
  31. Web site: Katy Perry, former chandelier, changed into a hamburger at the Met Gala . Lieu . Johnny . 7 May 2019 . Mashable SEA . 2 December 2019 . en.
  32. News: Playing a giant Krabby Patty in 'SpongeBob SquarePants' musical can leave you feeling fried . Gina . Salamone . New York Daily News . 30 November 2017 . 2 December 2019 . en.
  33. Web site: Zimmerman . Kelsi . SpongeBob Is The Latest Beauty Influencer Thanks To The HipDot x SpongeBob Makeup Collection . Elite Daily . 14 June 2019 . 2 December 2019 . en.
  34. Web site: SpongeBob SquarePants Krabby Patty Dog Toy . Geek Alerts . Ryan . Cooper . 3 October 2018 . 2 December 2019 . en.

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