Cakeage is here - do you think it’s fair?
We all have heard about corkage - paying a fee when bringing your own wine to a restaurant - but now cakeage is making an appearance as well and people don’t seem to be too happy about it.
Many people celebrate their birthday in restaurants and plan to bring their own cake (I have done it) and might be surprised when asked for a fee.
First off, I agree wholeheartedly with paying a fee and have gained a few raised eyebrows from friends for it (not so much from the restaurant industry though). You need to remember that a restaurant is a business – with staff, premises, inventory etc. – so it has to make money.
Now imagine, you come and bring the cake – you are asking a waiter to cut it (maybe even to hide it for after dinner), put it on a platter, give your guests plates and forks and serve the cake. The waiter needs to be paid, the plates and forks need to be washed, water used etc. All that costs money, hence the cakeage fee.
It is easy to say it’s just one cake but imagine the restaurant gets a few of these ‘only one cakes’ a week. Running a restaurant is expensive and labour intensive and requests like bringing a cake or their own wine adds costs without revenue.
In addition, the staff doesn’t know where the cake was made, if all safety regulations have been adhered to and if the all allergens have been declared – so the restaurant takes a huge risk by allowing handmade cakes.
Most hotels will only allow cakes from approved bakers to avoid any mishaps – a friend of mine is creating a cake for her daughter’s wedding and she will need to list all ingredients including storage, where she bought the ingredients etc.
Most home bakers will not be able to do the traceability needed to be allowed to bring their own cakes. We have some amazing cake bakers in Cork – just check out Cork Sugarcraft Association for their members, most of them are approved and work regularly with hotels (a hotel will also provide you with a list of cake bakers they recommend).
The association also organises a large sugarcraft show in the Radisson Hotel in Little Island (not sure when the next one is) but check out their Facebook page for some amazing cake creations by their members.
Mr T once got me a beautiful cake for a birthday made by Cakes by Caroline – a chocolate biscuit layer cake (you can’t go wrong with a chocolate biscuit layer cake) decorated with a cheese vat (we were making cheese at the time) with a figurine sitting in it that looked quite familiar (she got my hair and glasses spot on).
It was delicious and I was able to keep the cheese vat for quite some time afterwards. But back to cakeage – don’t take offence if a restaurant asks you for a fee to bring your own cake.