I have always enjoyed cake decorating. My mom has done it for years and my favorite tape as a small, small child was a Betty Crocker cake tape, haha. So when I took this job at a grocery store deli/bakery, I was excited. But now I'm just bored. All I can do are sheet cakes and the various divisions of them and 8" rounds. My manager just slaps a couple roses and a border on, or some shafty balloons... and she wonders why our cakes don't sell.
So, any ideas? Please?
I actually just interviewed for a position exactly like that! I feel ya, and I ran the other way! I wanted to try to supplement some income and still enjoy what I did. I took in some pictures of my work, and the only ones they were interested in looking at, were the sheet cake ones. No creativity, and absolutely no personal style. I know in this day and age, almost everyone needs a job. I realize that, but I am not going to told that I am "too creative, and to tone it down a little".... uh, nope!!! Not for the amount you are paying me, thank you!!!!!!
So, I am sorry you are going through that! I just want to tell you, keep your head up, and don't allow anyone to tell you to stop being creative and different! No job is worth that!!!!! Good Luck!
I have always enjoyed cake decorating. My mom has done it for years and my favorite tape as a small, small child was a Betty Crocker cake tape, haha. So when I took this job at a grocery store deli/bakery, I was excited. But now I'm just bored. All I can do are sheet cakes and the various divisions of them and 8" rounds. My manager just slaps a couple roses and a border on, or some shafty balloons... and she wonders why our cakes don't sell.
So, any ideas? Please?
A grocery bakery will probably not allow you to be overly creative, but sounds like you are quite bored so can you proactively suggest some changes? Perhaps bring in some photos of other types of work they could be marketing. There are a few grocery/delis in my area who are offering some nice looking cakes - but nothing like the great confections you see on this site (I assume to give them a marketing advantage). If your direct manager won't discuss this with you, maybe speak with someone higher in the food chain...and if no one will listen to you maybe its time to move on.
I don't know of any grocery stores where the cakes are neccessarily creative or unusual. Some stores have nice quality, but creative and unusual??? Not that I know of.
There's a reason for it though. They have to have consistency and shoot for that despite the lack of creativity it causes. You may be the best decorator to ever have picked up a piping bag, but what happens when you leave? The quality of the work changes. Customer will have come to expect your quality of work and it won't be there anymore.
So, they go for generic, pick it out of book style that almost anyone, with a little training, can do. That's the entire reason why buying a cake from an independent decorator will almost always result in a higher quality cake. It's the nature of the beast and I don't think there's any way around it.
From my point of view, I like it that chain stores have boring cakes....it's why people call me!
I'm not about to go to work for Wal Mart and give them the quality of custom decorating for minimum wage even if they let me!
Go with the season. It's back to school time; try a school bus or a ruler and pencil or something. Also baseball is in full swing and football is just starting. Next month you can start on ghosts and spiders and pumpkins.
Well I dont know about where you live but in my neck of the woods Krogers does some pretty creative cakes. Nothing grandure or anything but more than you expect from a grocery bakery. So, my point is it is possible to be creative. However, to concure with the previous post everything they make looks like it could be taught or replicated without a tremendous amount of talent.
I know this is wrong to say but, if they wont allow you to be creative at the store ....be creative on the side 
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