Just have to share this...

I did my first wedding cake this weekend... PLUS I attended the wedding. The Bride told me 155 servings but I did about 180. LUCKILY I DID! I relied on the staff to cut the cake and they made the slices HUGE!!! They cut an 8" cake into 8-10 WEDGES. (Instead of say, approx. 25 servings) Which of course were placed infront of ladies who looked to be 110 years old (meaning they would NEVER be able to eat that sized slice). I could not believe how big the slices were. NO lie, these things were probably 2.5 in. x 4 in. x 4 in. CRAZY! After that first cake, I think they realized they were going to quickly run out if they kept that up and the slices got smaller.

Shouldn't the staff know how to cut cakes?

Yes, they should. But then, you should ALWAYS provide a cutting chart, too.

As pp said...you should always provide a cutting chart. Who knows where the staff came from and who knows if they've ever cut a wedding cake. And to be honest when bakers don't even stick to the number of servings requested it's hard for anyone to judge how to cut the cake. JMO.

As pp said...you should always provide a cutting chart. Who knows where the staff came from and who knows if they've ever cut a wedding cake. And to be honest when bakers don't even stick to the number of servings requested it's hard for anyone to judge how to cut the cake. JMO.

oh my thats no good.the staff should definitely know how to cut correctly

Did you charge for those extra TWENTY-FIVE servings? I certainly hope so!

Why do people assume that the staff always knows exactly how to cut a wedding cake? Why should they? All wedding cakes are different and I am sure that my idea of a cake slice is way different fron yours, and they bakery across town has microscopic slices. Why should the staff ALWAYS know how to cut a wedding cake? What if they're rentals... just people looking for some extra dough to supplement their student loans?

Always provide a cutting chart.

You can NEVER depend on the staff to KNOW how to cut your cakes. I ALWAYS provide the cake cutting chart (Thanks to indydebi ) hers is the best one that I have found.

I introduced it to the local Elks staff, and she said it was the best thing she has seen in like forever. So much easier to follow, and use. She thanked me very much.

So passing on the THANKS BUNCHES TO INDYDEBI !!!!!!!! Pictures are very easy to follow and the explainations are simple to follow too.


THANKS DEBI

donna

Sure thing Indydebi!!

I even leave it for the smallest wedding/anniversary cakes. It has become standard, also I leave them with the way to wrap & freeze left over layers (if any).

I never even thought about providing a cutting guide. Thanks for that. But as for the comments such as...

There are many different ways that you can cut cakes... There are a million cutting guides and one may say "this sized cake serves this many" where as another will say something completely different. I read that thoses are mearly GUIDES. Who knows exactly how many servings you will get. So when I said I made 180 servings... ok, according to one of the guides. So maybe according to another one, I made 150 servings. I did not charge extra for the extra servings but then again, this was for a friend. It wasn't a big deal. Plus the extra servings were in the form on a one layer sheet cake that was not decorated at all.

One more thing... I work at a Country Club which has weddings/parties/etc. all the time and NEVER, I repeat NEVER has a cutting guide been provided to us. So I would have never thought about providing one for my cakes. We (at the country club) always cut them in normal-1-2 inch servings... Not HUUUUGE wedges. I mean, even if those employees at that wedding were not full time offical wedding employees.... um, common sense, take a look around and notice all the guests... and that cutting 4 inch wedges will not feed everyone. Seriously. I feel that if a venue hosts weddings, the workers should have SOME knowledge in cutting cakes. Because bakeries might not always provide a cutting guide. That's all. BUt I guess I will from now on.

I agree with Sarahssweets about common sense...although I'm afraid it is a lacking quality among many lately.

I had an opposite thing happen to me last year. I made a 2 layer filled 12 x 18 sheet cake for my brother's 60th Birthday party at a very large wedding type restaurant in our area. This place hosts 4 -5 functions at one time, so you'd think their staff could cut a simple sheet cake correctly.

There were 40 guests to be served and the double layer sheet was plenty big enough to give everyone a very healthy slice of cake since it was to be used as dessert.

I noticed them just cutting down 1 layer and about 2" across. They served 1 table before I noticed this unfortunately. I quickly told them to divide the cake in 4 rows with 10 slices per row, pretty simple math. Well you'd think I was trying to teach them college level algebra. Needless to say, they didn't even use half of the cake. Than, I witnessed them serving pieces to the staff that were behind a screen. Boy, was I fuming!! I brought this to my nieces attention and she quickly boxed up the remaining cake to be brought home.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am a very giving person and I would not have minded any of the waitstaff having a piece of the cake, but they should at least ask first.

I'm doing my nephews wedding cake in a few weeks and I will be sure to include a cutting chart this time.

I did a wedding about a month ago for a friend. She asked me to attend the wedding and if I didn't mind, would I serve the cake? I said sure, be happy to. When I got to the hotel, four (4!) bellboys helped with all the cake tiers and equipment. While I set up the cake, the director of hotel dining services came in and introduced himself. He asked if I had brought a cake knife and server or should he use the hotel's? I asked what he meant. He said that he would be cutting the cake. I was surprised and asked if this was their normal policy. He said it was "part of the package" and that he did it at almost every wedding held there. I offered my cutting guide, but he politely declined.

He had a charming accent and I asked "Are you from New Orleans?" and he said he was, that the hotel in Little Rock had hired him away from a N.O. hotel where they did as many as 20 weddings a week, WOW! He said he was VERY experienced and I should not worry. So I attended the wedding and watched while he cut the cake. He cut it indydebi-style, but man! this guy was like a cake-cutting machine. I have never seen anyone cut and plate so fast and so accurately. The cake was 3 tiers 6-8-10 (74 servings, top tier included), plus a 9"heart tuxedo groom's cake (28 servings) totaling 112 servings for both cakes. I think the guy must have gotten 45-50 servings out of the 10" alone. They were ever so slightly narrower than 1" but they looked perfect. Experience is an excellent teacher! The 8" was cut and served and the remainder was packed in boxes to send home with those who wanted it. I am completely in awe of this guy's skill. I wish I'd had my camcorder. The 6" (which was still not to be saved) was sent to the Bridal Suite where my friend and her new hubby finally got to eat some of the cake.

The only complaint I had was that while cutting the cake, Gary completely ignored all my buttercream roses, which were the bottom border on all 3 tiers. I watched the staff take the cake boards to the kitchen and they scraped all my roses into the trash. If I had cut/served the cake, I would have plated a rose with servings of cake. I guess he decided people wouldn't eat them. I dunno.
Ediited to say: I was gonna add a picture, but I forgot. And now I have! BTW, it was 107F that day! I am happy the frosting stayed on the cake.

I worked for a hotel and worked for banquets right out of high school. I did cut the cake once and they provided a cutting chart. Before doing this I had never been to a wedding, so I would have cut them birthday style.

In response to:

dkelly27

Hahahah... I have to admit, at the Club I work at I ALWAYS try the cakes that people bring in... I have to see how good they are compared to my own. Haha, most of the time they look beautiful but taste like garbage. I don't understand it. We have these professional bakeries selling people expensive cakes that look amazing but are dry and taste awful. Why don't they look AND taste good?

P.S. dkelly27 That wedding cake is very pretty!