Mr. Krabs, to increase profits and decrease costs, puts SpongeBob into a chef exchange program. SpongeBob goes to work for a restaurant named Fancy!, while the head chef, Le Schnook, works for the Krusty Krab.
SpongeBob leaving the Krusty Krab.
Things do not start well for SpongeBob, as the owner, Mr. Crustacean demands that he cook quality gourmet. Unfortunately, SpongeBob is quite literally incapable of cooking anything but Krabby Patties, to the degree where he cannot even fry an egg without it instantly transforming into a patty. Mr. Crustacean continues to yell at him until he actually tastes a patty. Realizing how good it tastes, he begins to sell them, which all the rich clienteles enjoy. Eventually, SpongeBob's time there is up and he is about to return to the Krusty Krab. Unfortunately, that is not what Mr. Crustacean or the customers want. They attach themselves to his ankles and beg him not to go. SpongeBob has to drag them out of the restaurant.
Meanwhile, things are not going well at the Krusty Krab. Le Schnook is very disappointed by Mr. Krabs' cheap attempts of setting up a lavish establishment. He refuses to cook unless his demands for expensive furniture, ingredients, and real silverware are met. As a result, the Krusty Krab goes completely bankrupt and out of business.
Mr. Krabs sells the decorations, his home possessions, his office desk, and his chair, along with Squidward to pay his debts and protect himself from the angry loan sharks. Pearl even calls him, thinking that their house has been infiltrated by burglars; Mr. Krabs assures his daughter that they are just repo men. Before returning to Fancy!, Le Schnook gives Mr. Krabs a long bill for his services. Mr. Krabs breaks down crying, realizing what giving away SpongeBob cost him. It is at this time that SpongeBob returns with a massive chain of customers still attached to his ankles. Mr. Krabs is delighted and apologizes for ever letting him go.
Later, the Krusty Krab reopens, and old, new, and rich clientele are happily eating Krabby Patties off the floor. Squidward asks if they should even be eating on the floor. Mr. Krabs responds that the only thing they need is food and love.
This episode was originally called "The Big Switch," using the English version of "the" instead of "le."
After this episode originally premiered in 2007, it did not air again until 659 days later, when its sister episode, "Goo Goo Gas," premiered.
Mr. Krabs states "Fancy! is far, far away," although Mr. Krabs dates Mrs. Puff there in the episode "Krusty Love" and it is still in Bikini Bottom.
This is so far the only episode in the series where the Fancy! restaurant is seen during the daytime.
SpongeBob tries to fry an egg, but then it turns into a Krabby Patty.
When SpongeBob puts the eggs in the pan frame-by-frame, the eggs immediately turn into a Krabby Patty, rather than gradually "growing" into one, as cartoons usually do.
This episode was the last program to air on Nicktoons in Latin America before the channel closed on September 1, 2020. The episode also didn't finish airing, with the channel shutting down during the scene where Mr. Luigi Le Schnook criticizes the Krusty Krab's budget cuts.
One of the French customers is the fancy purple fish from "That's No Lady."
It is revealed that one of Pearl's friends who is orange with a purple dress and blue hair ate at Fancy!, meaning that she is rich because a table for one at that restaurant costs $50,000.
This is the only season 5 appearance of Pearl, even though only her voice is heard. She doesn't appear physically in any episode of the season.
Parts of Pearl's cut scene.
In the original storyboards (pictured to the right), there was a full scene showing Pearl in her room as she talked on the phone with Mr. Krabs, and their conversation was longer. This scene was cut from the final episode.
In this episode, Mr. Krabs exclaims that SpongeBob was the best fry cook he ever had, but in "The Original Fry Cook," he states that Jim was the best fry cook that he ever had.
Incidental 6 appears with a mustache in this episode.
The "Meanwhile at the Krusty Krab" time card is similar to the title card of "Dying for Pie."
Both original characters in this episode have reappeared later. A teal version of Mr. Crustacean is a bakery owner in "Don't Feed the Clowns," and a green version of Le Schnook appears under the name "Luigi" in "X Marks the Pot."
Le Schnook gives Mr. Krabs a bill for his services when he was there as part of a temporary chef exchange program.
The opening credits from this episode are the same from "Breath of Fresh Squidward", and "Slimy Dancing".
Dub facts[]
In the Indonesian dub, Le Schnook does not say "My eats." Instead, he says "My ex."[citation needed] Also, the scene where Mr. Krabs and Squidward meet Le Schnook for the first time after sending SpongeBob away to Fancy! was cut[citation needed]. Like most of the season 5 episodes, this was done due to time constraints.
It means Le Schnook did marry and divorce, but he is still living with his ex.
In the Welsh dub, Luke Brookshier, Tom King, and Steven Banks are all listed as writers of this episode, even though none of them wrote this episode. Brookshier and King are also erroneously listed as storyboard directors.[6] This also occurs in many other episodes in Season 4 and Season 5.
Errors[]
When SpongeBob puts the bag of Krabby Patties in his briefcase, the bag is red, but in the next shot, the bag is brown and there is another bag in the other briefcase.
When Mr. Crustacean sips the boiling water, a little bit of water is sipped. However, when he spits the water to Paco, more water is spat out.
When Mr. Crustacean slaps Paco twice, Paco's chef hat disappears. After he does so, Paco's chef hat reappears.
Before Le Schnook comes out from the kitchen, walks up to Mr. Krabs, and talks to him, one frame of Le Schnook freezes on the right of the scene.
When Squidward is being carried out of the Krusty Krab, the fish's eyes on the right are closed, and when he blinks, they open, the opposite of what normal eyes do.
Also, when they take Squidward out, his eyes do not have an iris or pupil.
Le Schnook appears much shorter when he appeared at the entrance of Mr. Krabs' office after Squidward was dragged out.
Then, when he walks up to Mr. Krabs, he is back to his normal size.
When the movers lift Mr. Krabs' desk, the chair appears to be connected to it.
When SpongeBob is working at the Fancy restaurant, he can only cook Krabby Patties. But in the beginning, he is also able to cook coral bits.
Names in other languages[]
Language
Name
Meaning
Arabic
برنامج التبادل barnamaj altabadul
Exchange Program
Finnish
Vaihtokokki
Substitute Cook
French
Échange de chefs
Chef Exchange
German
Le große Tausch
The Great Exchange
Greek
Η Ανταλλαγή των Σέφ I Antallagí ton Séf
The Chef Exchange
Hungarian
Nagy változás
Big Change
Italian
Cucina francese
French Cooking
Portuguese (Brazil)
La Grande Troca
The Big Exchange
Portuguese (Portugal)
A Troca
The Exchange
Russian
Обмен по-французски Obmen po-frantsuzski
The French Exchange
Spanish (Latin America)
El gran cambio
The Big Change
Spanish (Spain)
El gran intercambio
The Big Exchange
Ukrainian
Novy Kanal: Обмін по-французькому PLUSPLUS: Велика зміна Obmin po-frantsuzʹkomu Velyka zmina
