Canberra cafe Patissez's 'freakshake' craze reaches the UK

It's the food phenomenon that has taken sweet-toothed Canberrans by storm, and it seems similar desserts to Patissez's "freakshakes" are reaching watering mouths as far as Ireland.

Co-creator of the Manuka cafe's famed "freakshake" Anna Petridis has had to trademark the term to distinguish the real deal from the rest.

"I guess it's very flattering, we have... started a food trend," Ms Petridis said.

"But as soon as it went big I was like, alright these are now going to pop up all over the country. I expected it but at the same time the first couple stung a little bit."

Here is the Patissez's original "freakshake" lineup in all its glory, featuring the French Vanilla, Nutella & Salty Pretzel, Salty Nutz and Muddy Pat:

• Cafe Affogato has been experimenting with a nutella salted caramel shake all the way from the United Kingdon and may potentially call them "freakshakes", its Facebook page read.

• Popular Melbourne shake spot Johnny Pump has also introduced Nutella shakes, topped with brownie and whipped cream. Owner Peter Galt admitted he was inspired by the Canberra "trendsetters", but claims he's used different flavours and constructions.

• It's an oozing compound of chocolate overload that café XS Espresso in Sydney's West has been dubbed "the Freakshake of the year" by a customer… but it might have some competition on that one.

• Sweet Republic has jumped on the bandwagon from Ireland's capital, and the Dublin shakes were reportedly "Pinterest inspired".

• Another Melbourne cafe Koffeebar is using the term "freakshakes" and can be seen spotting a nutella & pretzel shake - two very popular ingredients for shake-makers these past couple of months...

• The Vogue Café in Sydney has chucked an entire Golden Gaytime ice cream onto a shake with a shot of coffee and some lime syrup, named "MI GIRL".

The former My Kitchen Rules contestent is opposed to others using the word "freakshake" because it gives the idea that the same shakes are available outside of her store.

"It tarnishes our brand when people do it differently. We have plans for expansion and when people do this it makes that difficult," Ms Petridis said.

And as for chucking a whole ice cream or doughnut on top...

"Our ethos with the shakes is that it's a dessert," Ms Petridis said. "All of the elements have to work together, it's not just about shoving as much as you can on top of a jar."

 Amy Sullivan is an intern at The Canberra Times and works at Patissez

Source: The Canberra Times, Clare Sibthorpe and Amy Sullivan, 27^th August 2015
Originally published as: Canberra cafe Patissez's 'freakshake' craze reaches the UK