Sorry, kandio, did not mean to offend....I've had Sam's club cakes, and I do find that they are horrid tasting. I would never eat one. The frosting is not homemade, and they just don't have that amazing taste that comes from a fresh, homebaked cake. (At least the Sam's in Ohio) Some of them are nicely decorated, but as far as flavor, there is no comparison, so to me, the taste is not good . ..hence my harsh word of "crappy".Some people love them, and that's great, but I just don't. I am sure you are a great decorator....I would bet hands-down that if you made your own cake (from scratch or a doctored mix) that yours would be 1000 times better than Sam's mass-produced cake.
Deana, that is exactly what I was referring to....it is well put and honest.
Apology accepted. I do understand because the ones I do at home are better. But Sam's is what makes my living. Each district is different. We use Telco cakes.
NM is a hard place to start a business of any kind. There is a lot of tape you have to go through to get what you want. I don't even think that I can have a seperate kitchen in my residence.
I do like the clause idea for contracts for one baker/cake decorator to supply all baked goods to one party. I, like you, don't want my cake mixed up with someone elses. Even at work. I let members know which cakes I have decorated.
Me again...
So....as someone who makes 3D cakes it is extremely possible that someone would want me to make a Groom's cake without wanting to use me for everything else. Most people don't even cut and serve a Groom's cake at a wedding, they eat it later with family. So, you would not make a Groom's cake unless the client ordered everything else too?
I am also curious about the 3-D cake question posted by Kitagrl. I have my first groom's cake (for someone other than family) coming up, and am needing to get a contract together, and was wondering what suggestions someone might have when it comes to this situation.
i'll make the wedding cake, the grooms cake , or the sheets cakes for the wedding.....i don't cake what else they do....i'm in it for the money.
the difference in the taste is different enough people can tell when i made the cake...
several times customers have told me they've been at weddings where different cakes were served along with mine....the other ones were usually barely touched.
then there have been times they served sheet cakes that were made by someone else and cut mine last because they thought mine was too pretty to cut.
my icing is very distinctive from anything they got aound here, because i use 50% butter, so everyone knows if theres snow white greasy icing on it they got the cake somewhere else.
it has not hurt my business at all , letting them serve my cake along side the other pitiful cakes.
I had a call just last Friday from a bride who had ordered centerpiece cakes elsewhere and was calling to get "just a small" wedding cake for the bridal party table. I stopped her mid-sentence and used the phrasing "due to reputation protection and liability issues, I cannot provide the wedding cake if other cakes are there." I then explained how if someone got sick and assumed it was the cake, they would sue me, regardless of which cake it was. If the table cakes tasted bad and someone said, "who made the wedding cake?", the guest COULD be told that "debi made the 'wedding' cake", in reference to the 'wedding cake' on the bridal table .... not knowing the guest was then going to tell everyone how "debi's cakes taste like crap!"
The liability issue comes up if the other cakes are cream cheese or other perishable food products and are not handled properly.
I found this clause somewhere here and I incorporated into my contract, I think is great.
NO cake from another creator is permitted to be served at an event where XYL Cakes, LLCâs cake is served. This is to protect our reputation. I do not know the quality of the other vendor's cake and cannot risk being mistaken as the creator of the other cake(s). It is also a liability issue. I do not know the sanitary conditions in which the other cakes are made, and if, God forbid, food poisoning should occur, I don't want to be associated with that. Violation of this policy could mean forfeiture of the cake and all monies paid at no compensation to the purchaser.
I have that exact clause inserted in my contracts, too. I believe that I found that here on CC, too. So far, no problems since my original posting last year. Additional cakes being on site are a non-issue. That clause clears me of liability issues from another's possibly mishandled cake. I just don't need the hassle. All of my brides have been just fine with it.
Amy
Fortunately, this has not happened to me but I also have a very lengthy clause in my contract as well stating there will be no other cakes there.
Here is my clause:
"Business Name" AS SOLE CAKE PROVIDER:
Customer agrees that "BUSINESS NAME" will be the sole provider of all "cake" servings at this function, and failure to comply with this policy will result in forfeiture of both the cake(s) and the full purchase price of the cake(s) as paid by the customer, excluding deposits on rented or loaned material. "Cake" is defined as, but not limited to, any decorated pastry, any sheet cake, Groom's cake, cupcake, or faux/fake cake furnished (purchased, rented, or gifted) by any third party.
Customer agrees that "BUSINESS NAME" will contact function location management and/or caterer to confirm serving requirements for this function and, should a discrepancy be discovered, reserves the right to cancel this contract outright, with full retention of retainer and any other payments paid.
Customer Initials: _____
I haven't had this happen to me yet, and the customer is crystal clear about it because I make them initial that part of the contract. I had one potential bride ask me what I would do with the cake if I saw sheet cakes and I told her that I would donate the wedding cake to charity.
If the venue is close to me, I have on many occasions drove back just to make sure none are there. I have had some brides that are having a dessert reception where there are cookies and pies and such. I have no problem with this, they are just not allowed to have any other cake/cupcakes.
I had one potential bride (on the phone) tell me she was inviting 300 people to the reception but only wanted a cake for 30. I asked what she was planning on feeding the other guests. She told me, "everyone know that only 10% of the guests actually eat wedding cake". Suddenly, I was already booked for that date....
That just happened to us yesterday. My mom and I delivered a dummy cake with a slice of real cake in it. (bride payed very little for it). There were 2 Costco cakes in the fridge. I find this very insulting to us. All that work to decorate a dummy(she took 4 hours) for them to serve Cosco cakes. Yuck.
That is what some of the Bridal magazines are telling Brides these days. To cut cost.
That just happened to us yesterday. My mom and I delivered a dummy cake with a slice of real cake in it. (bride payed very little for it). There were 2 Costco cakes in the fridge. I find this very insulting to us. All that work to decorate a dummy(she took 4 hours) for them to serve Cosco cakes. Yuck.
Didn't you assume there would be other cakes there since you were only delivering one slice of cake?
I was asked by a family member to do a small wedding cake...she then said that they are probably going to look at getting a sheet cake from somewhere else for extra servings.....guess who got stopped right in their tracks. Geesh..you got me doing the wedding cake whats wrong with doing a sheet cake too? Definetly have to reword the contracts...even if it is family.
I understand the reputation part and different tasting cakes part but I was wondering. . . .
Has anyone here or does anybody know someone who has actually been sued or been threatened to be sued because of illness from the cake? What is there in a cake that might make someone that sick?
Just sorta thinking out loud.
Diane
I understand the reputation part and different tasting cakes part but I was wondering. . . .
Has anyone here or does anybody know someone who has actually been sued or been threatened to be sued because of illness from the cake? What is there in a cake that might make someone that sick?
Just sorta thinking out loud.
Diane
Doesn't matter. It's called risk and exposure. That's why we buy insurance. I know people who have NEVER had a car accident. They could logically take the stance of "have you ever known me to NEED insurance since I've never been in an accident?" No, because the risk is there.
All it takes is ONE irresponsible client bringing in a cream cheese iced cake that they've been hauling around in their trunk all dang day while they did OTHER errands. All it takes is one cake maker, who doesn't practice good health habits (as illustrated when a local Olive Garden was shut down by the health dept because they allowed sick employees to work and contaminate the food, sending people to the emergency room with the norovirus).
It only takes one. Just one.
And that is exactly why ALL of my frostings and fillings are nonperishable. I have no control over how long a client is going to leave a cream cheese iced cake sitting out unrefrigerated, so I add cream cheese sleeved filling to my buttercream for cream cheese icing, brides still love it.
I just borrowed and edited this from CoutureCakes. Thanks.
____________is to be the sole provider of cake and/or confections at the event. Failure to comply with this clause will result in a loss of completed cake and/or confections and entire payment at no compensation to the purchaser. In the event another baker (licensed or otherwise) is providing a portion of the cake/confections for the event, it shall be disclosed and approved of before the event
a. Baker: _________________________________________
b. Item(s)provided:____________________________________________________
Also, how many of you would actually leave there with your cake knowing you left a bride without a cake on her wedding day? I'm not insulting anyone, I'm curious if there should be some penalty added in the contract, so that you would not ruin their wedding day (or rather they ruined it themselves) but you could be compensated or judgement made in some way.
I would do it, and not think twice about it. It's not a matter of us "leaving her without a cake", or her "ruining her wedding day".
If someone can sign a contract (a promise!), fully knowing what the terms are and what will happen if they do that - ALONG with the reasoning - then they are defrauding my company, and knowingly putting me at risk for liability issues - and worse- potential bad reputation by people thinking they are eating my cake.
I think that'd be a pretty malicious thing to do to me!
So, if the bride *chooses* to break the contract, she is *choosing* to not have my cake there. Not my fault, not my problem.
(Luckily I tend to get cool brides)
Oh, furthermore.. any "penalty" assessed after the fact? Kiss that idea goodbye. Even if you take the person to court over it, there is NO guarantee you'll ever see anything from it - the justice system is NOT set up to protect people from being screwed over. Way too much time and effort on our part for something that was an educated and intentional decision on their part.
I won't do groom's cakes at the reception if I don't do the wedding cake too. I once agreed to deliver one because it was a really cute 3-D one and she'd already hired the other baker (who is someone who is "well-known" in my area.) When I got there to deliver the cake the maid of honor was waiting for me to ask if there was anything I could do to "fix the other cake." The wedding cake (made by the other person) was crooked, the color was wrong, and it had a paper towel imprint all over it (they obviously used the Bounty method, not the Viva method to smooth the icing.) It was so obviously ugly and poorly constructed, but there wasn't really anything that I could do, seeing that it wasn't my cake and I had no idea how it was built inside. After that, I made it my policy to not do groom's cakes at the reception without them buying the wedding cake too. I'll do them for the rehearsal dinner, but I have to deliver them, they're not allowed to pick the cake up and try to sneak it into the reception the next day, ha! The bride told me that the groom's cake was cute enough that it attracted attention away from the "ugly" wedding cake, though, so that was good!
costumeczar, you made a good call not to touch it. We will NOT touch another wedding cake except to cut-n-serve it, if it's been arranged with me ahead of time.
Had one reception where the family asked my crew to move a wedding cake. It was a 3-tier cake on a fountain, for god's sake! I wasn't at this one (I had three weddings that day), but my 2nd-in-command made the right call by saying, "No, we don't touch the cake if we didn't make it" and she suggested they call the cake maker to have her come back if they wanted it moved.
All it takes is one slip and you're on the hook to reimburse the bride for a messed up cake that you didn't even make.
i also have a clause that says my cake is the only cake allowed. when it came down to it this is what i would do if a bride brought in sheetcakes from a grocery store or other baker: i would call her on the phone and tell her to remove the sheet cakes or i'm taking away my cake. i wouldn't just up and leave with out letting her know, and i would give her the chance to get rid of teh other cake (since she will definitely want a pretty cake for display). now, if she just brought them in after i left, there's obviously nothing i can do about it.
but, 100% of my brides have been shocked when i go over that clause in my contract. ALL of them have been so surprised that people would do that, and most of them laugh about it. so far i've had really great brides to work with. of course i get people asking if i'll do sheet cakes (which i price the same as the wedding cake, because i torte and ice them just the same). but they are always wanting to get them from me, not from a grocery store.
I've had to tell a good handful of brides lately that NO, they will not be 'supplementing' my cakes with grocery cakes. Haven't gotten any of those orders.
I CANNOT believe how many people put money (I'm assuming only $100-200 or so) before class. I still can't imagine being at one of these weddings that want a "small" cake for, say, 100 people (my minimum), when the guest list is 250... and those extra 150 people get grocery store sheet cake?
Do they give guest lists to the caterer or something? How else do they choose who is important enough for the good cake?
Caterer: "Name?"
Guest: "Bob Whatever"
Caterer: "Ok mr whatever, you're on my B list, so you get Walmart cake"
?
I personally don't think you should invite 300 people to your wedding unless you can wine and dine them equally. Otherwise, it looks like you're cheap and the whole thing is just a gift grab, IMHO
I CANNOT believe how many people put money (I'm assuming only $100-200 or so) before class. I still can't imagine being at one of these weddings that want a "small" cake for, say, 100 people (my minimum), when the guest list is 250... and those extra 150 people get grocery store sheet cake?
Attended a wedding with about 300 guests in attendance. Some of the tables ("reserved", family tables) were served their dinner plated by a wait staff. The rest of the guests had to go thru the buffet line and get their own.
Don't think THAT wasn't the talk of the families after the wedding!
I have to laugh I mean people get a grip here. Okay I truly understand all the problems with being sued and reputations and all but not all of us are rich yes rich enough to afford most of your prices. yes you get what you pay for and all that but have you ever heard someone say "oh the wedding was terrible." why? Was there something wrong with the bride? " oh no she looked fantastic" No dancing? oh no there was a great dj everyone was dancing and having a blast" no booze? " oh no it was open bar" oh the food was no good? " heck no we ate like pigs" Well what made the wedding so terrible that your complaining? "well some of us had really moist delicious cake and some of us had dry cake" lol Years later they will still say how great the wedding was and the pics will look fantastic and no one will think about the cake. Most of the world has been brought up on store bought cakes or box mixes their mom made so please yes put a clause if it's better for your business but dont be shocked by this I think it's perfectly normal for non cake people to act this way if they are on a tight budget. And personally I happen to like the greasy icing on store bought cakes and most of my 10 sisters and brothers do as well since my mom only made super sweet icing when we were growing up.
Years later they will still say how great the wedding was and the pics will look fantastic and no one will think about the cake.
Not necessarily true. My sister has been married almost 30 years and we still talk about how bad tasting her cake was. 2 of our friends used the same cake lady and they also talk about their cake with distaste (no pun intended!) in their voice.
This same sister was telling me about a recent wedding she attended and she told me how terrible the cake looked .... but it tasted great! This cake civilian said to me, "I think most people will forgive any bad looking cake as long as it tastes great!"
Many of us work for years to build a cake reputation and I for one don't want it torn down by any person eating a grocery store cake and telling their friends, "Don't get a cake from debi ... it tasted like that crap you get at the grocery!"
I can imagine that CC'ers who have worked long and hard on their scratch recipes probably feel even stronger about that than I do.
If you have a budget to invite 300 people and get a custom cake, you have the budget to have the same cake for everyone.
If money is THAT tight, one should cut the guest list. I see no reason why half the guests should get second rate cake, and the other half get the torted, filled, GOOD cake.
If you can't afford my prices.. you aren't going to order a cake from me anyway so I don't feel bad about my exculsivity clause. Sorry.. but if you want WalMart cake to be at your wedding.. order the whole cake from them. If you want your great aunt Millie to make you a cake.. have her make a few to cover the guests. I won't have my cake next to any other cake. I don't care if you want to have other desserts like pastries or things of that nature.. but no other cakes. My customers know about it and have no issue with it. It covers my heiny and assures that no one walks away with a bad cake experience associated with me that wasn't my own doing (not that that would happen 
).
If you have a budget to invite 300 people and get a custom cake, you have the budget to have the same cake for everyone.
If money is THAT tight, one should cut the guest list. I see no reason why half the guests should get second rate cake, and the other half get the torted, filled, GOOD cake.
AMEN SISTA!!! If you can't afford the party, you don't have that big of a party.
Maybe I'll have a dinner party. 6 couples ... 12 guests. But I can only afford steak for 6 of them, so the 6 sitting at THAT table will get hamburgers. Hey! It's still beef! One is just cheaper and ground up! What's the problem?
yeah... that'll work!
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