i just recieved a call from the sister of the groom asking if i would decorate cakes bought from the local supermarket. all tiers were fruit cake but i declined to do it. was i wrong????/
i said no because i have my own recipie for fruit cake that ppl love so i didn't want to be associated with a store bought cake and have ppl thinking it was mine. also i have to be honest i got a bit miffed when i was told that the sister was going to decorate it as a glitter cake (whatever that is) and it was sooooooo easy to do but the brother wanted a professional to do it. (no i don't class myself as professional yet!) She then asked for a quote for a 3 tier fruit cake 6", 8" and 10" and i told her about £300 to which she said SHE couldn't afford it.
i'm confused. should i have taken the job and a possible hit to my reputation. (only just started up in business) and how many sisters pay for thier brothers wedding cakes?
sorry its a bit long but i need a little advice.
tia

sorry posted in the wrong forum

I don NOT think that you are wrong at all! If you have never tried the supermarkets cake you don't know how good or bad it may be, and people would think that you made it which could damage your rep. Sounds to me like they are just trying to cut too many corners money wise and thought they would get some great deal if the cake was already made. Good luck with your new business.

I would NEVER decorate someone else's cake. You did the right thing by declining.

I wouldn't have taken it either.

I've also had the request to bake and ice a cake and the bride would make gumpaste flowers to decorate it and I didn't accept that either because if the flowers didn't look good everyone would think I made it. Like you said - it's your reputation on the line and it's never too early in your business to start establishing a good reputation.

You were right not to take on the order. Your reputation is not worth the risk when it comes to that sort of agreement.

You were right to decline. I would be worried how many corners they are cutting and if something goes wrong with the store bought cake (stale, allergies, food poisening, etc.) you reputation is on the line as well as liability. Your reputation and good name are worth more than the money she wanted to pay you because once lost you can never get them back.

Absolutely not, no way do I decorate a cake that doesn't originate from my kitchen. I have no idea what someone has done to that cake. If it's bad, I'm the one that going to get investigated by the Health Dept. No, a thousand times no.

I wouldn't have done it either. Your reputation is more important than her trying to save some money.

How the cake ends up looking and tasting is totally secondary to what leahs said. You've no idea how the cake was transported, handled, or how long it sat in someone's truck.

I teach my kids to never-say-never, but in this case ... NEVER decorate someone else's cake.

You did the right thing not too; for all the reasons everyone else has pointed out. Besides; if she is willing to buy the cake elsewhere she might as well pay them to decorate as well.

Run fast, run hard!

Never touch anyone elses cakes.

What if evidence of a nose picker was found in that cake? You were the last one to touch it so you'd get the blame.

[quote="What if evidence of a nose picker was found in that cake? You were the last one to touch it so you'd get the blame.[/quote]

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