When a Toronto restaurant announced they'd be serving an outrageous new dessert, they didn't expect people to take them seriously. However, the response to the announcement was so overwhelming that they had to continue the joke by pretending their chef "refused" to make it.

The situation evolved to such a degree that Victoria Bazan of Honest Weight calls it "Bakedalaskagate." The restaurant is known for their versatility with seafood, but despite the talents of the kitchen staff they were never actually planning to serve the technically impressive Baked Alaska dessert they jokingly posted about online.

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"The original post advertising an outrageous Baked Alaska was intended as a bit of fun directed at our Chef, Jordan Gooch. He and our small crew have been superstars throughout the lockdown and I am in constant awe of what they do, how well they do it and their kind spirits," Bazan told blogTO.

"What I didn't anticipate was how many people really loved Baked Alaska and how many people would take the post seriously. I was receiving emails, messages and voice mails asking about it. I realized that I needed to clear things up, which created the perfect set-up to carry the joke on Jordan a little further."

The original post showed a picture of the complicated dessert with the caption "Hello Friends! Very exciting news! This Baked Alaska is going on our take-out menu starting tomorrow. No need to pre-order or anything. Just don't tell the Chef @jogooch8 - haven't told him yet."

The post garnered over 200 likes and comments like "Wow," "Fabulous," "Omg!!!" "My fave dessert in the whole wide world?? Really???" "Best dessert ever. We're in," "I can hear chef's brain exploding now" and "LMAOOOOO."

A sly follow-up post got over 460 likes and over 65 comments, including many from other local restaurants and other food-related accounts who were clearly in on the joke and enjoyed the good-natured poking at outlandish requests on the job.

"Ha," wrote the Fat Pasha account, while Barbershop Patisserie wrote "I demand flambe ice cream to go please @jogooch8." The Best Before account wrote "I freaking love this but you needed way more swear words," and FK Restaurant commented "Sounds about right." Another commenter wrote "Vicky always aims high. I say it isn't over."

"Given the strong reaction to the posts, I think that, as a friend mentioned, 'this isn't over,'" Bazan responds. "Perhaps a Baked Alaska auction for charity might be in the works! For now, I'm pleased that the whole saga provoked a few laughs."