Gibson’s Gourmet Burgers and Ribs restaurant at the V&A Waterfront has set a new Guinness World Record for the most varieties of milkshakes commercially available.
The restaurant boasts a menu of a whopping 207 milkshakes – with flavours ranging from chocolate fudge and strawberry, to gourmet flavours like koeksister and maple syrup, as well as a variety of vegan milkshakes.
The co-owner of Gibson’s, Ian Halfon, who forms part of the group which opened St Elmo’s in the Waterfront over 25 years ago, said they’ve always had over 100 milkshakes on the menu.
“Our milkshake menu always grew according to trend — we have all these shakes including full cream milkshakes, gourmet shakes, fat-free shakes and when the vegan evolution came, we started that too.”
Mr Halfon said about two years ago, he looked at the variety and thought “wow, I don’t think anyone has this many milkshake varieties on their menu”.
After a quick search on the web, it seemed that no one had that many milkshakes in the world.
He said after submitting an application to the Guinness World Records office in London, the long process of phone calls, fact-checking, vetting, and visits to London began.
After the judges arrived at the restaurant, the 207 milkshakes had to be had to be counted, tasted and signed off by the judges.
In addition, they had to audit the recipes and verify that the 207 shakes actually appeared on the menu.
“We are really proud to be the biggest in the whole world.
“We are proud of Africa, the Waterfront and last but not least, Gibson’s Gourmet Burgers and Ribs and our dedicated team. So please come and share this amazing achievement with us and enjoy your way through the world’s largest selection of shakes, he said.
He said customers usually enjoy trying the strange combination of shakes, however, the popular ones are the “Freek” shakes — large flavoured milkshakes with syrups, sweets and sometimes fruit inside.
Other flavours include Chocolate Brownie, Caramel Fudge, Lunch Bar, Butterscotch, Peanut Butter and Crunchie,Honeycomb, Toasted Almond, Nutella and Mascarpone, Oreo Cheesecake, Chocolate and Peanut Brittle, Lemon Meringue, Chocolate and Maldon Salt, Coffee and Doughnut, Creme Brulee, Milky Bar White Chocolate, Choc Chip Cookie Dough, Chocolate Peanut Brittle, Tiramisu, Milo and Banana, Sticky Toffee Pudding, Koeksister and Maple Syrup, Caramel Waffle, Raspberry Meringue and Cream, Ferrero Rocher Supreme, Berry Explosion, Real Strawberry, Chocolate Toffee Cashew, Butter Pecan, Apple Pie and Cream and Salted Caramel.
He said the Waterfront has been the location of choice for the chain of restaurants owned by umbrella company Slick Restaurant Group, which includes Balducci and Balthazar.
“The Waterfront is an excellent destination. It’s safe, there’s affordable parking and the weather and scenery is amazing.”