There are many foods which can be filed under the heading "Acquired Tastes," but none of them bears the title quite as well as Vegemite. It's fitting, then, that Pizza Hut Australia is advertising its new Vegemite-stuffed crust pizza with a video showing a whole bunch of non-Australians gagging over it, right?... Right???
If you've never had Vegemite before, the only things you really need to know about it are the following:
- It originated in Australia
- Folks from Australia and New Zealand tend to love it
- And pretty much everyone else in the world thinks it's the most disgusting thing they've ever tasted
The spread, which is frequently consumed on toast, is made from leftover brewer's yeast, a bunch of veggies, and some spices; I also feel it's worth noting that Wikipedia quite literally describes it as similar to beef bouillon. Doesn't snacking on a bouillon cube sound delicious? How about snacking on a pizza crust filled with bouillon cubes? Yum, right? Or...not. It all depends on your frame of reference.
In any event, Pizza Hut Australia's new crust has both mozzarella and Vegemite wrapped lovingly inside; it was created in order to celebrate Australia Day on January 26. As such, in order to drive home the deep-seated adoration many Aussies have for the spread, the ad campaign for the pizza focuses on how much everyone else hates it (national pride and all that). According to Ad Week, ad agency Host Sydney took a camera and a bunch of Vegemite pizzas to a backpacker's hostel and taped folks from places like France, Germany, and Spain getting their first taste of it. And, well...you can probably guess how it went:
Okay, I'll admit it: As gross as I happen to think Vegemite is, it's still absolutely hilarious watching other people find out how gross it is.
Pizza Hut Australia, of course, has a long history of putting the weirdest things you can think of either in or on its crust; that Doritos-covered crust we heard about a few months ago, for example? That was also a creation of the Hut's Aussie branch. Vegemite isn't even the only wacky spread with a name ending in "-mite" to have made its way into the crust of Pizza Hut's offering's Down Under: In March of 2014, Marmite-stuffed crust was on the menu.
All of this got me thinking: What other seemingly divisive things could Pizza Hut (Australia or otherwise) fill its crusts with? I would imagine these options would be equally polarizing among chain pizza aficionados:
1. Cheez Whiz
Does anyone actually like Cheez Whiz? This is a very serious question to which I desperately need to know the answer. Anyone care to enlighten me?
2. Nutella
Hitherto I've been firmly of the belief that Nutella makes everything better. Pizza, though? Maybe not. Unless it was a dessert pizza or something — then it might be acceptable.
3. Bacon Spread
I don't care if bacon is no longer in style, bacon jam-stuffed crust pizza sounds magical to me. That said, though, I suppose I could understand if the idea kind of turns your stomach.
4. Spreadable Beer
Why drink your beer separately when you could have both it and your pizza at the same time?
5. Pretty Much Any Kind of Snack Food from Japan
No one does snack food quite like Japan does.
6. Foie Gras
It's legal in California again, so clearly now is the time for foie gras–stuffed pizza.
7. Another Pizza
I'm sure someone somewhere will eventually manage to shove an entire second pizza within the crust of the first one. That's some Inception-level junk food right there.
Images: Pizza Hut Australia/Facebook; Rebloggy; Giphy (6)
