‘Wildly wacky’: Pizza chain drops new menu

Pizza Hut is drawing inspiration from one of the world’s most beloved cartoons, with a new menu bringing a range of unexpected and “intriguingly quirky” items to Australian customers.

A SpongeBob SquarePants inspired menu has launched across 286 Pizza Hut stores throughout the country and SpongeBob’s best-friend Patrick is behind some of the unusual food combinations Aussies can now order.

In the popular animated series, Patrick was offered an ice-cream topped with dill pickle mustard swirl and bacon bits, and the peculiar desert option is now among the five brand new menu items.

If a salty ice-cream doesn’t take your fancy, Pizza Hut customers can also order a “SpongeBob Pizza” topped with pineapple, sweet chilli drizzle, smoky honey ham, beef, onion and mozzarella or some sweet chilli wings marinated in pineapple and sweet chilli with a hint of jalapeño.

Customers can also treat themselves to a pineapple and coconut blended ice-cream before washing it all down with a pineapple Fanta.

Before hitting the stores, the menu items were taste tested by 30 lucky Australians, with one of the tasters saying “it’s giving pina colada vibes” after trying the range.

“Why do I like this so much?”, another questioned after trying the dill pickle mustard swirl & bacon bits ice cream.

The meals, “straight from Bikini Bottom”, are available as individual items and as a bundle, priced at $35.95, excluding ice-cream.

Pizza Hut Australia marketing and digital director Simon Stocks said the new recipes could be their “best” yet.

“We are delighted to partner with the folks at Paramount Consumer Products again, and in our third year of partnership with them, we think we’ve created the best menu items yet,” Mr Stocks said.

“Above all else, the new menu items are designed to create good times with loved ones, whether that be out and about with your mates, or at home with your family.

The secret tasty test we did last week has given us a lot of confidence our new range will be very well received by Australians.”

Customers can order the new range at Pizza Hut’s website.