The SpongeBob Wiki has a guideline regarding the use of image galleries — collections of episode screenshots are no longer allowed on galleries due to potential fair use violations.
Neptune's Spatula
| "Neptune's Spatula" | |
 King Neptune grasping SpongeBob, who pulled the golden spatula from the grease. | |
| General | |
| Season number: | 1 |
|---|---|
| Production code: | 19b |
| First airing: | April 1, 2000 |
| Sister episode(s): | "Fools in April" |
| Credits | |
| Writer(s): | Chuck Klein Jay Lender David Fain |
| Storyboard: | Chuck Klein (writer) Jay Lender (artist) |
| Animator(s): | Fred Miller |
- “Yes, yes, at last! Someone worthy of being the royal fry cook. Who has freed the spatula from the grease?”
- —King Neptune
"Neptune's Spatula" is a Season 1 episode of SpongeBob SquarePants. It is paired with "Fools in April", and they make up the 19th episode in production order. They premiered in the United States on the same day, April 1, 2000.
In the episode, SpongeBob gets challenged to a cook-off with King Neptune after pulling out a spatula at a museum.
Characters[edit]
Plot[edit]
The episode kicks off with SpongeBob and Patrick's visit to the Fry Cook Museum, where they marvel at a greasy griddle housing a golden spatula firmly entrenched in the grease. A plaque accompanying it boasts of the spatula's unyielding nature, claiming that none have managed to extract it. When Larry the Lobster attempts and fails, SpongeBob reads aloud the plaque's inscription, stating that only a fry cook worthy of King Neptune himself can wield the golden spatula.
In an unsuspecting moment while posing for a photo, SpongeBob effortlessly removes the spatula while pointing out the menu to a museum visitor. A sudden exclamation from the visitor triggers the appearance of King Neptune in a dramatic cloud of smoke. Skeptical of SpongeBob's feat, King Neptune demands proof, leading Patrick to present the incriminating photograph. Unconvinced, Neptune challenges SpongeBob to a patty-making showdown dubbed "The Ultimate Cookoff." Should SpongeBob emerge victorious, he'll be hailed as a deity in Atlantis; failure means bidding farewell to fry cooking forever.
Patrick's persistent taunts provoke Neptune's wrath, resulting in his comical punishment of being zapped multiple times, leaving him with a peculiar transformation. In the ensuing competition at the Poseidome, Neptune outpaces SpongeBob in producing 1,000 Krabby Patties to SpongeBob's lone creation. However, the audience's unfavorable reaction to Neptune's patties prompts a taste test, revealing SpongeBob's patty as the superior choice, much to Neptune's chagrin.
Despite being declared the winner, SpongeBob's heartache at the prospect of leaving his friends behind to go to Atlantis with King Neptune prompts him to reject the prize. Instead, he proposes an alternative: Neptune becomes his apprentice at the Krusty Krab, where he learns the true essence of perfect patties - crafted with love rather than magic.
