I did a tasting with a couple & their wedding planner a while back. They all said it was the best tasting cake they had. Yay me, but now the wedding planner has emailed me and asked me if I could give her the recipe.
I don't know how I feel about giving it out & don't know how to say no without sounding rude or should I just suck it up and pass it along? Opinions please & thanks

NOPE!

No way!! Sounds fishy to me...what does she want to do, start making cakes herself too?? You can just politely say, "Sorry, but that's a trade secret. "

Sorry, no. It is a trade secret.

Hi ~ NOPE!!! It sounds like she might make the cake for someone else. Just say you
don't devulge your recipes.

I tell people if I went around handing out recipes I spent years perfecting there would be no sense in me having a business, now would there??

Generally they laugh and say, yeah I guess you're right.....but it was worth a try! lol

No. I don't think it would be rude to just say "No, I can't give out that secret recipe!"

NO!!! There's a thread going on now where the baker gave the recipe to a "friend" and now the friend's opening a bakery.

Fat chance! There is, however, a wiiiiiiiiiiiiide variety for you to choose from online!

no way, i can hear the wedding planner now "do you have someone in mind to do your cake?" "well, I know of someone who makes the best cake you've ever tasted." THEN, your phone will ring with an order!!!

Tell her no-she was RUDE for ASKING!!

even Bush keeps their bean recipe secret.


I say I would love to have Krispy Kreme's recipe...then, I think....nah...I just want the doughnuts...whole lot less trouble, eh?

Maybe you can reply with an email telling her that you are flattered that they loved your cake and just name some basic ingridients. Don't give them your recipe.

Heck no! As a wedding planner she should know that recipes are what makes us unique in this business. That's whay people come to you vs baker B whom by the way she may be freiends with and conveninetly pass along the info to steal your clients. Just tactfully say all your recipes are custom for your business but you would be happy in working with her to design any future cakes she may need.

NO - my scratch recipes are from my grandmother and passed down to me. I will only share them with my my future daughter-in-law, grandchildren, etc. whenever my son gets married when he's older. Other than that, I will not give out my family's recipes.

NO. I agree with everyone else. Did you even really consider giving it to her? I certainly hope not.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

If it is a recipe you have tweeked and worked on protecting, then I would vote no.

If it is a recipe that anyone can go to MarthaStewart.com (or where ever and get) then I'd just direct them there.

I can understand the value of keeping it to yourself, espeically when you are in business, but at the same time I always find it interesting that people here are willing to share with complete strangers, but when asked face to face we freak out about it. Yes I know it is different when you think of that person in another state baking the recipe, and you feel it is no threat to your business, but this board does have thousands of people that visit it daily and you never know how many are in your area.

As its been said before, 5 people can make the same recipe and there is nothing out there that says they will all taste the same. Maybe she just wants it to bake at home, maybe she has some secret desire to bake cakes (didn't we all feel that way at one point?), who knows.

If you don't feel comfortable giving it to her, that is fine, make your reply to her short and simple and leave it at that. You can even make a joke, like the Bush's beans thing, to take the bite out of it.

Find out if she is wanting the actual recipe, or if she just needs to verify whether certain allergens or things the couple don't want to eat are in the cake. She may just need to verify that it's nut-free, for example, and asked the question poorly.

That being said, I don't even give my own mother my cake recipes.

dear xxx.

Thanks for asking for my recipe for the cake you and your clients fell in love with.

There's really nothing special about it -- it's just flour, some eggs, a little water and oil, and some flavorings all whipped up and baked with TLC by me.

It must be that TLC that makes it stand out for the rest.

Sorry, but I haven't figured out how to bottle TLC yet.

Again, thanks for asking! I look forward to creating my special TLC enhanced cakes for you and your clients .

I wouldn't worry about being rude or polite. Someone said on here it was rude of her to ask and I totally agree. Just a simple short "No I don't give out my recipies" I would say "thank you so much I'm so glad you love my cake, but I don't give out my recipies to anyone." The TLC response is so true. I bake with tendor loving care, I put my heart into every cake I make and it warms my heart when the customer loves it. If you were to give out your recipies you would be sabotaging your business. I don't know if you've heard the story of the $250 dollars cookie recipe. That's another option lol

When someone is rude to me, I generally dont' worry about sounding rude right back at them (shocking, huh? ). And she was DEFINITELY rude to ask.

It's not personal .... it's business. And the answer is, "Hell no!"

NO!

HELL ...TO THE NO...

btw, on a wedding forum I'm part of, I read of planners complaining about people who ask them for their forms, seating chart programs, and pretty much all the paperwork they've created for their business "....because don't they realize this is my BUSINESS?"

Huh. Wonder why a planner would think a recipe from a baker would be different?

Things that make ya go "hmmmmmm!"

Tell her thanks for the compliment and your glad she enjoyed the cake, but you make it a business practice not to share recipes. She'll understand if she is anything of a good business woman.

Oh HELL no! There's a reason you write "trade secret" on recipes you send to the health department. BECAUSE THEY'RE SECRET.

No no no - my response would be:

lol you are too funny requesting my recipe I thought for a
minute you were serious but realise it was just a compliment, you know us decorators we'd give you one of our kidneys before our recipes lol glad you liked the cake

or

Yea of course I will, my standard fee is $ 5million per recipe but since you asked so nicely you can have it for 6 and I'll even throw in my leaflet on manners and etiquette for free