Well, to start this story, I will relate what I have learned at the Cake Convention...people will want to touch your cake--even cake people that should know better. And knowing how they would feel if someone touched their cakes.
THis past weekend we were having an inside garage sale as we are moving my grandmother out of her apartment into a nursing home. I had several orders this weekend for cakes and the last cake was for a family friend. I was making a Tinkerbell cake. Needed to get it finished so the mom could pick it up at the sale. Just finished the cake (it was Tinkerbell sitting on a grassy hill as I have seen in the galleries) and was turning to put supplies in bag. An elderly lady comes over and puts her hands on the "grassy hill" and attempts to turn it around.
I politely said, "Ma'am, please don't touch that." She looked at her hand with frosting on it and said she just wanted to see it. "I thought it was a toy." Then she kept trying to turn it around. I told her I would be happy to show her just please don't touch it. She quickly left the sale after that. So I scraped off the messed up frosting and repaired the cake. Placed the cake in a box and put on counter behind me.
Then a family came in with a little girl...the little girl came over to the counter and reached over everything in front of the cake and poked her finger in it. Then she picked up my decorating bag and started to squeeze the bag into the cakebox. I stopped her before any damage was done. I asked her to please leave that area as nothing in the corded off area was for sale.
I know I was asking for trouble by taking the cake there to finish it but I had no other option...I had to get it finished and the sale was set-up at the last minute. Okay, sorry so long, just had to get it out. Anyway the cake was repaired and the grandmother of the birthday girl loved it.
Why do people always think they can touch things? I wish I could say I was surprised since you had it seperated, but I can't.
Why would the little olf lady keep trying to turn it after she got frosting on her hands, shouldn't have that been a sign to her?
And the mom of that kid should have been watching more closely to totally avoid that situation.
I don't get it - people have this strange fascination with touching cakes! It never fails! I made a wedding cake two weeks ago and my friend told me that when she got to the reception, there was a big hole in the frosting on the side of one of the satellite cakes. They took a sunflower from display and hid the hole. grr
I agree that mom should've been watching the kid! Some parents aren't as vigilant as others.
You know I have always wondered the same thing...I mean you got into a bakery, even at Wal-mart and it never fails some has touched the cake that they have set up so that you can see what a nice job they can do for a wedding cake, etc.
I have a 2 1/2 year old and she knows that she is not to touch anything unless she ask first.....of course sometimes she does anyways...but that is one things she knows not to touch is a CAKE!!!
I had the same thing happen a couple of weeks ago with one of my cakes for church....it was someone at the church that decied she need to stick her finger in my cake on the side not once but TWICE!!!! I could have slapped her, but just let it go and fixed it the best I could.
Again I am sorry, but I would love to see the final product do you have a picture?
I did the grooms cake for my brother's wedding last year. . .and I was taking a picture of it and someone walked right up while I was doing it and stuck their finger right into the border. 
Right in front of me. I couldn't even say anything, just stood their with my mouth open staring at them. . got a sheepish 'sorry' and a smirk and they moseyed off. There wasn't any way for me to fix it, so I turned it around the other way, that cake hadn't even been sitting there five minutes, I still had the large cutting board I'd used for extra support under it.
The shower cake I did, it was in the middle of the dining table at the shower and I know a lot of people touched it, but luckily didn't harm it, until a very cute little two year old boy sneaked quietly over to it and had tugged the table cloth to get it close enough for him to reach (and eat) the fondant pearls on it. 
Two year old are forgiven, adults. . .not so much. Adults know better.
And all I can keep thinking is, when was the last time that little old lady washed her hands?!? Euww.
It is fascinating how some people can't contain themselves when they see a cake. I did a 3-tiered wedding cake with two satellite cakes for a friend's wedding. I was also a guest at the wedding, and watched as people walked up to admire the cake. I noticed some people nonchalantly licking their fingers. I walked over to the cakes and saw that they swiped icing off the sides of all three cakes. It wasn't just a little dab or finger mark. One of them took off half the border on the side of the bottom tiered cake. I could have killed them. I guess there's something about sugar that people just lose control of themselves. At least you avoided a huge catastrophe. I would have had visions of the woman or child knocking the cake straight to the ground.
I've been a guest at a wedding that I did the cake as well, and the grooms kid stuck is hand in the front of it...luckily I already had pics for them.
I also cannot stand it when I'm setting up a wedding cake that is at the same place as the wedding. There's so many people around to watch and bother you. I have had to politely ask parents to keep their children away and they give me dirty looks.
One time I had a faux fondant buttercream cake with a 1" band of cornelli lace around the middle tiers. Well, you all know that perfectly smooth buttercream can take a while, and putting that band in the middle with the time consuming cornelli can take a while too.
I actually had a gentleman tell me the cake looked "easy" and how long a hard one with lots of flowers took. He got a dirty look!
I get my orders from people I work with and I usually bring the cake in for them to take home. I like letting other people see the cakes but a few of them like to pretend they are going to stick their finger in it. Ok..my husband does that too at home.
Anyways...not funny! But I guess I should be happy they aren't actually touching it!
I can feel your pain. I entered a 3 thiered "quilt" cake in the Ga. National Fair last week. My husband and I went to see if I had won a ribbon and as we were standing there looking at it, a man leaned over and thumped it several times and said "yea, it's not real". I was so furious I started to say something and my husband put his hand on me to calm me and slowly escorted me away. Where do these idiots come from? These cakes were roped off. Fortunately it didn't harm it, since it was fondant and had dried pretty hard, but I had many of hours birthing that cake and the protective mama in me was ready to kill!!!!!!!!!!
I will calm down eventually
Lisa
PS, I talked w/an award winning pastry chef not too long ago and he makes those sugar sculptures, said adults were 10 times worse than kids! Go figure
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