Young people from Northern Europe are gathering in public squares to enjoy “Pudding mit Gabel”—literally pudding with a fork—and share the trend online. What began as a quirky stunt has already spread across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland—and is now hopping more borders, turning into a full-blown European craze.
Organized largely through meme pages and amplified by TikTok, these pudding gatherings attract anywhere from a few dozen to over a thousand participants, who count down in unison, dip their forks into their pudding, and share the clips online—transforming a playful act into a viral pudding-fork trend among young people.
Germany’s pudding-fork trend: From absurd theater to viral ritual
At first glance, the idea appears nonsensical. Pudding is hardly fork-friendly. Yet the humor has fueled the movement’s popularity. Online commenters joke about whether jelly might be next, or whether someone should bring a bread knife.
@mcmonalds fiebertraum live event #pudding #fyp #xyzabc #zartmann #stuttgart
In Hanover, more than one thousand people attended a meet-up on Sunday promoted by a local meme account with nearly 145,000 followers. A city spokeswoman described the event as a playful outlet in difficult times, calling it a “vent in our current times.”
She said the gatherings reflect how Generation Z—those born between 1995 and 2010—often answer serious realities with humor and absurdity.
Pudding-fork trend a budget-friendly escape
For participants, the pudding ritual is not just funny but refreshingly affordable; many attendees noted that most youth activities are too expensive, whereas this meet-up was cheap, accessible, and inclusive—prompting them to bring chocolate pudding and a giant fork to share.
They also described the pudding meet-ups as a collective escape from stress, saying they bring together people who find eating pudding alone—or with spoons—boring, and instead bond over forks, laughter, and a brief break from daily problems.
Origins in Karlsruhe, Germany
The first meeting took place in late August in Karlsruhe after a flyer invited people to join a “pudding-with-a-fork” event at Kronenplatz. A local meme page, karlsruher.memes, with about 84,000 followers, promoted the idea further.
“We found the idea so charming and funny that we thought: Let’s post something about it,” said operator Mehran Nadimi.
@germanwithsammy can anyone tell me who started this trend because i love it so much #germany #deutschland #austria #österreich🇦🇹 #puddingmitgabel
A video of that first gathering showed dozens of young people counting down before simultaneously plunging forks into pudding. Some dug straight into oversized tubs of pudding, while others clinked cups to toast with their desserts. The footage quickly went viral, racking up hundreds of thousands of views and sparking follow-up pudding meet-ups in Berlin, Hamburg, Dresden, and Munich.
Spreading to Austria and Switzerland
By late September, the pudding-fork trend had spread beyond Germany, with Austrian meme pages and TikTok users promoting similar meet-ups in Vienna and Graz.
@katara.schw Es war toll! Pudding mit Gabel essen Treffen in Wien 🧡 #pudding #wien #wienistanders #wiennurduallein #vienna
Meanwhile, in Switzerland, a TikTok account announced events in Zurich, drawing more than 64,000 views within a day. Gatherings are scheduled for October 1 at Chinawiese and October 5 at Platzspitz.
So far, the meet-ups have been peaceful. Participants gather, eat pudding after a countdown, and disperse quietly, leaving behind only viral videos and new connections.
A divided response
Online reactions remain mixed. One user praised the gatherings as “a fun event full of lightness” in a world filled with fears and frustrations. Another scoffed: “Seriously, don’t they have anything better to do?”
Looking back, Nadimi admitted he never expected the craze to spread so quickly, noting that many arrived alone but left with new friends—summed up by one Karlsruhe caption: “Pudding connects people.”
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