The plot revolves around the lives of a Hyena (Zig), a Shark (Sharko), and a mermaid (Marina). It was a fun cartoon that boomeranged between Zig and Sharko in a tussle to make a snack versus saving Marina. To have a bit of fun with this cartoon, we picked some amusing characters from the show and turned them into unique desserts as unique as the characters.
The Hyena, Zig, is a predator who is always after Marina out of sheer hunger or just for the thrill of it. Unluckily for him, Sharko is always around the good-natured mermaid who is an overprotective boyfriend and keeps foiling his plans. A cinnamon swirl bun is perfect for Zig's straightforward but somehow conniving nature represented by the coiling appearance of the dessert. The golden-brown baked dough represents his rough and tough character and the cinnamon spice is a metaphor for his constant plans that he hatches and executes to catch Marina so that he can finally eat her.
One of the most delicate yet simple Italian desserts, the panna cotta represents Marina's graceful, cheerful, and gentle nature. The milky white jelly-like pudding dessert captures her polished mannerisms and kind nature, which are her human half. Add a layer of berry coulis and the enchantment of the fishtail, or her mermaid tail rather, is a reminder she’s a magical being yet somehow relatable. Also, like Marina's presence, a panna cotta too is a joyous sight and brings happiness to whoever is about to eat it. Zig would agree to this!
As the daughter of the King of the Sea, Poseidon, Marina has the best sea creature to act as her bodyguard, which is Sharko. He’s a shark who sports the vibe of a protective, menacing, and a macho surfer boy. For such a vibe, a lemon cake feels like the perfect embodiment of Sharko's role, protective nature, and imposing presence. The sharpness of the lemon flavor represents his razor-sharp sensors and occasional grumpiness. Lest we forget let this unusual popular cake also stand as a symbol of his frenemy relationship with Zig, who is always after Marina. He’s also Marina’s best friend and lives in an underwater home like her.
A little hermit crab who almost seems like the sidekick of Zig, but actually, he’s his adopted brother and best friend who helps Zig with his schemes to capture Marina. One of the simplest apple desserts – a sweet apple cake suits Bernie's small size and the red color he sports as a crab. Apple cakes are perfect for little babies and that is a way of referring to Bernie's diminutive stature as a hermit crab. But all isn’t sweet with this little crab, for Bernie does show his menacing side sometimes. That’s like finding apple peels in your apple cake or not using enough sugar in the cake when sour green apples are used to make the cake.
Beyond the main plot of Zig and Sharko’s rivalry to eat versus protecting Marina, the creatures of the island and the sea often pop up and indulge in games. One such recurring character is the Octopus Masseiur who is Zig’s ping pong rival. He’s named so perhaps because of his headband that makes him look like a masseuse, or he already is one. He has a little family with a son and wife and is an ally of Sharko and Marina. For this character a rice pudding is perfect. Despite his ferocity when playing against Zig, he’s a wholesome creature and Marina seems close to his family, especially because she babysits his baby octopus.
Another underwater creature with a fishtail, King Neptune has his own court and crushes hard on Marina when he catches a glimpse of her beauty one fine day. Needless to say Sharko is none too pleased and think this “Don Juan” bodybuilding merman is a pest and in a rare case, Zig agrees, only because he would lose his snack. For this playboy King a salted caramel tart is perfect, because salty is what he’s going to be when he doesn’t get what he wants. The sweetness in the tart is of course his outlandish gestures to woo Marina, who of course is flattered by his attempts. As for the salt content that represents King Neptune's connection to the sea.
King Poseidon almost looks like a comical puffed-up balloon, something a professional balloon maker would create, but armed with an aqua tail and trident, he does cut an intimidating figure.
A dark chocolate mousse is perfect for the King of the Sea, who is powerful, regal, and always looking out for his daughter. The unique flavor of dark chocolate also represents his strong personality and authority that one is reminded of due to his trident. But despite that he’s quite approachable just like chocolate mousse is liked by many across generations.