I went to a venue I work with yesterday to pick up a display cake that I had there for a promotional event (returning it later this week) and I had to do a double take. The cake for the days wedding had been delivered already by a local cake person (early morning, chef wasnt even in yet, wedding must have been in the evening) I had to have been 100 feet away across the ballroom and it just took my breath away and not in a good way. It was leaning so horribly, I just couldnt believe it. Since no one was around I walked over to look at it up close....OMG unlevel just doesnt cut it. It looked like each tier had been frosted without even cutting off the bump from baking. Not only was the cake leaning but each individual tier was unlevel. The icing was horrendously messy and what was piped on it was horrible. Honestly if I were the bride I would have cried when I saw it. There was even a hump on the top of the cake (the not leveling thingI can only guess) and it was obvious that was not a design element.

There are only a few of us that are preferred vendors at this venue so I have a pretty good idea who made the cake. She has been in business for several years. How can you in good conscious take someones hard earned money and deliver something like that?????? It is so disrespectful to the customer. Honestly it was the worst cake I have ever seen in person (outside of cakewrecks web site) Its not like there is no time to fix it, you delivered several HOURS before the wedding. I dont even deliver until about an hour before so the cake is nice and fresh and less time for people to damage it before the cake cutting pics. I would have used every spare minute to fix it and bring my best work for that bride. Made me sad to see

must have been one of those cakes that brides can make themselves... after all, it's so easy! unbelievable!

guess its possible it was made by the bride or a family member but they are usually brought later when the family arrives, not this early. I know from a previous conversation that this cake person always delivers very early on saturdays to have the rest of the day to herself.

Wonder if it even made it before the reception time? It's crazy how some people can take good money for a cake then when its delivered looks like crap. Sounds like she may need to go ahead and retire!

Maybe it was a family member who made it. I am not in business, but made my nephews cake for his wedding last month. The reception was about an hour from my home, so I delivered the cake around 8:30 in the morning. I wanted to be sure to have time to fix any problems that might come up and still be able to get back home, get ready, and drive back for the ceremony, Luckily the cake traveled fine and it only took me about 15 minutes to get it setup. It's just really hard to imagine anyone who has been in business for several years and would not level the tiers!

unfortunately i have seen pics from other weddings she has done and this is not very off the mark

how is she still in business? crazy!

Wow! This would explain why she delivers her cake before the chef even arrives.

She always delivers her cakes early in the morning so she can have the rest of the day to herself? Really? That doesn't even make any sense. Appaently she doesn't know the first thing on how to make any cake especially a wedding cake. Leaving a cake at the site in the early am for a wedding in the late afternoon or early evening: not even trying to make it right?

It's amazing that she still gets customers for any event let alone a wedding. I'm shocked at the venue too.

So did ya get a picture?

Yes, how dare you start a thread like this without a picture? Please tell us you got pictures?

Sadly I know what the OP is talking about. As a coordinator I've worked many weddings where I just couldn't believe the bad quality of the cake. Where the fondant was lumpy and bumpy or drooping, the cake was leaning so badly I prayed it wouldn't fall before cutting (once I actually had to help the bride and groom cut the cake so it wouldn't fall on them!) or buttercream that looked like my 9 yr old had frosted the cake. And I just shake my head and think "I wouldn't have let that go out in public!". Now I know I'm super hard on myself and I know that not every cake experience goes smoothly (thus my horrid day with fondant yesterday) but I simply refuse to send a cake out that looks that bad. Apparently others don't have that issue.

My daughter has a friend who works for a well known bakery who says that the main caker often lets the interns do the wedding cakes and that she's horrified by what some of these people turn out that the shop then lets be delivered to the wedding! Now I'm all for getting experience but not at the expense of a bride and groom..and certainly not for the prices this place charges!
I'm wondering where ethics and pride of workmanship has gone...Cat

a piccie is a must!

I suggest you post a pic somewhere discreet, like maybe on flickr or your FB page (if the competing cake person isn't a FB friend!) so people here don't go publicly eviscerating the cake person, who may be a member here.

don't you think if she got a pic she would have posted it?

Sorry I was away from my puter. I got a pic on my phone, not great quality, but I am apprehensive about posting it. I dont think she is on cake central (i've looked before for any sign of her work). I dont even know how to get the pic off the phone.

I would think that you are having to work twice as hard when you cant rely on repeat business. You constantly have to get NEW customers. I know someone whos friend got her a "theme" cake for her birthday from this person and it was hideous and burnt. She couldnt even eat it

I wanna see! You can send the pic to your email. Just send it in a text msg, but instead of sending it to a number change the entry mode to 'abc' and enter your email addy.

I don't know.....sometimes an early delivery just can't be avoided. I'm not sticking up for her for doing such an early delievery, but sometimes, it takes me up to two hours just to finish stacking tiers, piping on borders, putting on any sugar flowers, and then sometimes if it's a royal icing border, sometimes it has to be painted in luster to match any icing work that I did previously on the cake that was painted in luster as well....and then if I have to set up the table display around it, with candles, napkins, etc.....I like to know I have plenty of time, and an hour before the reception is not a comfortable window for me. I'm just sayin! Don't pelt me with cake balls! lol

Early set up may not have been the problem. Poor workmanship may have been the issue. Or not taking into consideration the temperature of the venue the cake was set up in. I have no problem with a cake set up early, as a coordinator, as long as it has proper structure and the venue is a good temp for the cake. This summer I have to travel at night with a cake due to the heat, keep it in the refrig till the last minute and then do the set up on the cake table while the couple is taking their vows. It will be in the 90's and the venue is NOT air conditioned. (I have to wonder about brides who think that their guests want to attend a wedding where they are sweating thru their clothes!) I wonder about some of these that look horrible and that's before the cake starts to lean. Just not good craftmanship to begin with and I have a real issue charging people hundreds of dollars for such a shoddy piece of work. According to the OP it sounds like shoddy workmanship is part of this particular bakers style. Just doesn't reflect well on the whole industry. SIGH.

Cat

I a puzzeling experience just 2 weeks ago at my brother's wedding. We had to travel and our daughter was the flower girl so I declined making the cake because I knew I would be a crazy person if I made it.

The cake tasted fantastic, and the cutting cakes were 2 layer with filling not just sheet cakes and nicely decorated with cris-cross piping. My problem with it was that the borders on the 4 tier wedding cake were pretty sloppy and the seperator plates were showing. I've never used seperator plates, I work with foam core boards and straws, but I was really suprised to see the plastic plates showing underneath each tier.

We have a local bakery in town that Im ALWAYS hearing about, and not in a good way. A friend of my daughters' mother is a photographer. She was telling me about this wedding she went to recently that this place had did the cake. She said that the flowers and designs were literally falling off the cake, the cake was sagging and then to top it off, the cake wasnt even cooked in the middle! She said when the bride and groom went to cut the cake it literally oozed.
It just goes to show you that even someone that has been in business for years and years doesnt guarantee that the price their paying for that cake is worth it. It does make you sad as a decorator that people out there would do such a thing and not want to put their best product out there. I mean really, word of mouth can make you or break you! I would be sick to my stomach if someone came back to me and said that one of my cakes was that way. Its really a shame. But their are people out there that just dont have their heart in it as others do. You find it in every type of trade and job out there. Lack of customer service, workers lacking to care what they do or how they do it. All they care about is the paycheck and how fast they can leave the job. (shaking my head). A shame!

Momma28 are you by chance in the Dallas area? A while back,a similar situation was posted by a CCer who couldn't believe her eyes either.

Print the picture here. If she (or he) is a cc member, maybe they will realize that they can always get help here if they need it. Maybe a new member who doesn't know they can get a lot of help here.

I would NOT post a pic, just in case the decorator is a member of CC.
And even if she isn't once it's out there on the internet, whatever you post can come back to bite you. One little Google search and there could be a lot of upset people, including the bride when she discovers people bashing her cake.

I can not tell you how much this bothers me! I am in the process of launching my business...and with the economy it's been really difficult. I take a lot of pride in the cakes that I do , and I have been fairly successful in the competitions I have entered, so I know that my work is good. I have a friend who got her pastry degree from CIA and she also lives in the area. We originally tried to launch the business together, but split it up in the end because, I thought her work was shoddy and I refused to put my name on it, and she said I was too much of a perfectionist...that I "worried too much about the details". She gets more business than I do because she has a lot of friends and family in the area, and because of her degree. And I am appalled when she posts her pictures on her website. The last cake she did was not only leaning horribly, but was covered with poisonous bouganvilla flowers! I'm barely staying afloat and she is getting more business than she can handle! It just amazes me what people who aren't in the business will think is acceptable. People always comment on how beautiful her cakes are...and all I can think is YUCK.

If it's not your cake, I wouldn't post it. As much as I'm DYING to see it, I wouldn't suggest you do it.