Hotel won't serve home-made cake.

Day Lewin · 30-07-2019 11:45am #1

Hi - asking about this issue, for a family member.

Her wedding is in a few weeks and the deal had been that various members of the family would make and ice different layers of the cake - eg to include a Gluten-free type, an eggless layer, and so on.

The hotel however, now say that they have a policy of not serving food that was not prepared on the premises, or by a commercial bakery.

What to do now?
Is this usual?
How do most people get around it?
Is this about insurance if everyone gets cake poisoning?
Is it too late to ask a "real" bakery to bake our cake layers?

Suggestions, please!!

love_love · 30-07-2019 1:07pm

I haven't encountered this issue but I can see where the hotel is coming from - they do not want to take on the liability of someone having an adverse reaction. The only way you'll know if a bakery can accommodate the order is to ring around some. Hope it all works out.

TheyDidWhat?! · 30-07-2019 1:09pm

How would the hotel know whether or not the cake was made by a commercial bakery??

baby and crumble · 30-07-2019 1:16pm

TheyDidWhat?! wrote: »

How would the hotel know whether or not the cake was made by a commercial bakery??

Because pretty much all bakeries will deliver the cake and set it up at the venue. Wedding cakes tend to be fairly elaborate affairs.

The only way you'll find out if a bakery has capacity to do a 'wedding cake' is to ring around, as some one has suggested. However, you could also see if the hotel will allow boxed cakes from a supermarket etc to be used.

By the sounds of it, the friend whose wedding it is isn't going for the classic 'wedding cake' vibe so somewhere that makes general celebration cakes would have capacity for sure.

boombang · 30-07-2019 1:16pm

This sounds strange to me. Especially given that wedding cake is often kindly baked by a family member.

TheyDidWhat?! · 30-07-2019 1:26pm

baby and crumble wrote: »

Because pretty much all bakeries will deliver the cake and set it up at the venue. Wedding cakes tend to be fairly elaborate affairs.

The only way you'll find out if a bakery has capacity to do a 'wedding cake' is to ring around, as some one has suggested. However, you could also see if the hotel will allow boxed cakes from a supermarket etc to be used.

By the sounds of it, the friend whose wedding it is isn't going for the classic 'wedding cake' vibe so somewhere that makes general celebration cakes would have capacity for sure.

Having recently delivered a home made wedding cake to a hotel in Dublin I don't think they knew the difference. I arrived with each tier boxed and any materials needed for set up. Probably not much different to a commercial baker.

c.p.w.g.w · 30-07-2019 1:35pm

I'd imagine it's an insurance thing. Increased risk if it's baked at home I'd assume since they're no standards and checks

Darc19 · 30-07-2019 1:49pm

You're on a hiding to nothing and it could end badly.

What if the gluten free person is a true gluten free person and not someone following a fad.

Can you be 100% sure no gluten will be in it?

Can you be sure of the ingredients and cleanliness of each person that baked each part?

If having a get together at home, that's fine, but most hotels simply won't take the risk as if it's served on their premises and people get ill, the compo cheats will be after the hotel the next morning.

conndeal · 30-07-2019 1:52pm

Last year I brought a cake to a hotel for a wedding. It was baked in a commercial bakery but the staff in the hotel were very helpful in assisting in setting up the cake - they had a stand. Nobody asked us where it came from.

irish_goat · 30-07-2019 1:55pm

Day Lewin wrote: »

Her wedding is in a few weeks and the deal had been that various members of the family would make and ice different layers of the cake

Was this pre-agreed with the hotel already then?

cruizer101 · 30-07-2019 2:19pm

Part of the problem is now the hotel is aware of it. Had they not been and you just turned up on the day with it probably nothing would have been said.

eviltwin · 30-07-2019 2:30pm

Having egg free and gluten free layers in one cake as opposed to individual cakes is a cross contamination disaster waiting to happen for any baker professional or not.

baby and crumble · 30-07-2019 2:36pm

irish_goat wrote: »

Was this pre-agreed with the hotel already then?

Actually I wouldn't be surprised if there's a clause somewhere in the contract about it - most hotels won't allow food not bought on the premises to be consumed there, for what I thought were obvious reasons but maybe not...

jlm29 · 30-07-2019 2:38pm

This is very common. Not every hotel has this rule, but many do. They won’t serve food that was produced in a kitchen that’s not certified.
If you want to get around it, you can buy styrofoam cakes and decorate them for display, pictures etc. Then you can order an ordinary cake from a bakery that no one will see, and get the hotel to cut that up and serve

looksee · 30-07-2019 2:44pm

eviltwin wrote: »

Having egg free and gluten free layers in one cake as opposed to individual cakes is a cross contamination disaster waiting to happen for any baker professional or not.

^^^ this.

And hotel has to deal with fall-out from someone with significant allergy issues who gets sick on their premises.

lazygal · 30-07-2019 2:48pm

Can't see the issue. This is standard. A children's play centre we use for parties has exactly the same policy for all the reasons given. Having seen the grime in some homes I can see why.

Tombo2001 · 30-07-2019 2:51pm

To some extent - what do you want to know about this.

They have said no.

Does it matter if its normal, or not normal - or what its about.

Why cant you let them provide the cake? Whats the biggie? A few people miss out on a slice of cake at a wedding. So what. it wouldnt exactly ruin the big day (or shouldnt!).

antix80 · 30-07-2019 2:53pm

Whatever small chance you had of the hotel turning a blind eye to where the cake came from went out the window when you mentioned food allergies.
They just can't accept the risk that they'll be sued. They're providing the venue, most of the food, the plates the cake will be served on, their staff will be dishing out the cake.. all it takes is one of your guests to have a reaction to the supposedly egg-free cake, they sue the hotel and the hotel's insurance premium goes through the roof. e.g. "The hotel shouldn't have used the same knife to cut both layers"

lazygal · 30-07-2019 2:59pm

Didn't even bother with a cake at our wedding and no one noticed. Never got why there's cake at weddings.

antix80 · 30-07-2019 3:02pm

I'd be disappointed if I went to a wedding and there was no cake. I don't mean a traditional fruit cake.. chocolate biscuit cake is the best.

Blaizes · 30-07-2019 3:05pm

Day Lewin wrote: »

Hi - asking about this issue, for a family member.

Her wedding is in a few weeks and the deal had been that various members of the family would make and ice different layers of the cake - eg to include a Gluten-free type, an eggless layer, and so on.

The hotel however, now say that they have a policy of not serving food that was not prepared on the premises, or by a commercial bakery.

What to do now?
Is this usual?
How do most people get around it?
Is this about insurance if everyone gets cake poisoning?
Is it too late to ask a "real" bakery to bake our cake layers?

Suggestions, please!!

Never heard of this but don’t know that that many people make their own wedding cakes now, last few weddings I was at not anyway. My mother in law baked ours and hotel had no problem but times have changed even from a few years back.

. Agree with others who have mentioned hotel afraid of being sued due to allergies etc. Shame that it’s come to this but it has. Anyway if the wedding is a few weeks away of course there will be time to get a baker to make the cake.
Start ringing round straight away I’d say and hopefully you will get it sorted. There must be lists of wedding cake specialists in bridal magazines or even online. Word of mouth as well. I’m not sure if this post is in wedding forum or not, if it isn’t you could try posting there as well for advice re bakers etc.

Disregard last part as I see you have posted in wedding forum.

phormium · 30-07-2019 3:16pm

It's quite common and written into a lot of hotel wedding contracts.

The hotels that seem to not care are just being careless really and not following correct procedures. The hotel should be able to tell any guest who asks what allergens are in the cake being served, the cake maker should have provided a list of these to the hotel when delivering. By and large a home baker is not going to do this, now some hotels don't look for the list but they should! Add actual known allergies and it's a minefield.

I know several hotels who are ok with serving home made fruit cake or chocolate biscuit as it's hard to cause illness with them but draw the line at sponge type cakes, reason being not everyone knows the rules and cakes have rocked up filled with fresh cream, a total no no if the cake is to be on display for hours or similarly cream cheese icing on the red velvet or carrot cake, again not allowed on display and must be kept refrigerated which does not suit the way Irish wedding cake is displayed and served. Registered cake makers will know not to do this and will either use a buttercream as a filling or add cream cheese flavouring.

And then on top of that of course there is the insurance issue!

Day Lewin · 30-07-2019 6:33pm

Well, this is an education!

How times have changed, eh.

Thank you all for the informative and enlightening replies.

In the event, my friend located a "proper" professional baker who will do the cakes in the right shaped tins, with the different layers, etc.
I suppose she is taking a chance on the "disaster" - two definite coeliacs among the attendance, and one maybe-eggs... they were asked!

Thanks for all the ideas, folks.

FishOnABike · 30-07-2019 7:27pm

Wouldn't it be far more straightforward to make all the layers of the cake the same 'standard wedding cake' and have an extra separate layer egg and gluten free iced the same as the 'main cake'.

The cake is usually taken away to be cut and served do it shouldn't matter if an egg and gluten free cake is separate but keeping it separate and reducing the number of options to two it would make it much easier to ensure any guests with an allergy are served the right option.

antix80 · 30-07-2019 7:37pm

A guest with a serious allergy wouldn't eat cake served like this.

At least they shouldn't. But as we know, people don't take personal responsibility. Not a dig at the op btw. Just a commentary on why hotels have these policies.

PinkLady2016 · 09-08-2019 9:31am

Just another thing for the hotel to charge you for and for you to spend more money on. Wedding cakes aren't cheap.

jlm29 · 09-08-2019 11:51am

PinkLady2016 wrote: »

Just another thing for the hotel to charge you for and for you to spend more money on. Wedding cakes aren't cheap.

I’m fairness, if great aunt Mary or Johnny down the road comes down with a dose of the trots the day after the wedding, the first thing they’ll say is “I wonder was it the fish I had in the hotel yesterday”. And they’ll probably say it to anyone who will listen. I would put money that they would never say “I have an upset tummy today, maybe it’s because Agnes who made the cake never washed her hands after wiping her bum”.
The hotel is running a business, they need to protect that. Not everything is a scam, sometimes it’s common sense

Cakerbaker · 09-08-2019 3:19pm

PinkLady2016 wrote: »

Just another thing for the hotel to charge you for and for you to spend more money on. Wedding cakes aren't cheap.

The hotel usually don’t provide the cake / charge for it. They just want to make sure that the one you provide has been prepared to set standards. There’s no guarantee of hygiene standards / quality control / allergens when it’s a home made cake.

the_pen_turner · 09-08-2019 3:22pm

jlm29 wrote: »

I’m fairness, if great aunt Mary or Johnny down the road comes down with a dose of the trots the day after the wedding, the first thing they’ll say is “I wonder was it the fish I had in the hotel yesterday”. And they’ll probably say it to anyone who will listen. I would put money that they would never say “I have an upset tummy today, maybe it’s because Agnes who made the cake never washed her hands after wiping her bum”.
The hotel is running a business, they need to protect that. Not everything is a scam, sometimes it’s common sense

They also blame the restaurant or chipper for the "dodgy chicken" they ate last night instead of the 12 pints of stout or 3 bottles of wine

Shybride2016 · 09-08-2019 6:35pm

Our cake was made by my best friend for our wedding in 2016. We had one layer of actual cake (choc biscuit!) and then two fake tiers which were just iced.

We then had two other cake flavours, one of which was gluten-free and clearly labelled all in separate boxes. The hotel never had an issue with it and it certainly never came up as an issue during the planning and back and forth contact with the hotel.

On the day, the hotel cut up the cake which was served after the ceremony, they had a separate serving plate for each layer and the gluten-free cake had one of those cocktail stick/flag things in it so people could clearly see which one was gluten-free.

Having said all that, I can actually see where the hotel are coming from not allowing home-produced goods to be served as the claims culture is ridiculous and if someone did happen to fall ill, the first thing to be blamed would be the food from the meal rather than the cake.

iamwhoiam · 09-08-2019 6:38pm

A friend made our daughters cake last year . We brought to the hotel the day before and they were very helpful . They put it in a fridge and no problems whatsoever .

jesso22 · 11-08-2019 6:40pm

jlm29 wrote: »

I would put money that they would never say “I have an upset tummy today, maybe it’s because Agnes who made the cake never washed her hands after wiping her bum”.

That had me howling! ðŸ˜‚ðŸ˜‚ðŸ˜‚

pwurple · 13-08-2019 7:02am

I think this is a shame. Having family and friends involved in a wedding is part of the personalisation and fun of it. I remember my granny and my mum did some flowers for example.

Sure, this way everyone gets cake though.

bizidea · 13-08-2019 7:10am

How many cases of wedding cake poisoning have there been or have you ever heard of the whole world is definetly going mad id be trying to get a different hotel not a commercial bakery

Irishphotodesk · 13-08-2019 7:38am

bizidea wrote: »

How many cases of wedding cake poisoning have there been or have you ever heard of the whole world is definetly going mad id be trying to get a different hotel not a commercial bakery

Very difficult to say, hotels get sued with people claiming the food made them sick, they cannot specify which food specifically so the hotel is liable for any food served on its premises that it provides.

As far as wedding guests are concerned the hotel served the food and to a solicitor that’s all that matters, so the hotel are trying to protect themselves by ensuring that the supply chain allows them to push the blame to someone who can take them blame.

I’m guessing you haven’t organised a wedding at a hotel at any stage in your life, to suggest that you would try to get a different hotel is laughable.... hotels are often booked 12-18months in advance, a lot of research can go into which hotel/venue to choose for your wedding reception, A lot of research/planning is required to organise a wedding, and it’s only in the last weeks/days that things can be organised and confirmed, it is an incredibly stressful thing to do.

bizidea · 13-08-2019 1:27pm

Irishphotodesk wrote: »

Very difficult to say, hotels get sued with people claiming the food made them sick, they cannot specify which food specifically so the hotel is liable for any food served on its premises that it provides.

As far as wedding guests are concerned the hotel served the food and to a solicitor that’s all that matters, so the hotel are trying to protect themselves by ensuring that the supply chain allows them to push the blame to someone who can take them blame.

I’m guessing you haven’t organised a wedding at a hotel at any stage in your life, to suggest that you would try to get a different hotel is laughable.... hotels are often booked 12-18months in advance, a lot of research can go into which hotel/venue to choose for your wedding reception, A lot of research/planning is required to organise a wedding, and it’s only in the last weeks/days that things can be organised and confirmed, it is an incredibly stressful thing to do.

Would everthing not be nearly done already all you have to do is find a different venue and move it what would be stressful about organising a wedding its just a big party with family and friends

iamwhoiam · 13-08-2019 1:43pm

bizidea wrote: »

Would everthing not be nearly done already all you have to do is find a different venue and move it what would be stressful about organising a wedding its just a big party with family and friends

It would be a awful lot easier to have a cake baked in a bakery than move a whole wedding venue .

Lackadaisical · 13-08-2019 1:47pm

I think you’ve accidentally introduced problems by the claims of gluten free, egg free, nut free and so on. That’s a huge issue in the food services sector, as you have to be able to evidentially back it up and there are serious consequences to the hotel if anything goes wrong. There’s a whole load of regulatory issues around ensuring those items are allergen free, to the point they can’t even be baked or in contact with stuff that may have contained the allergens and you’ve issues around things like ensuring supply chain is actually reliable etc etc

Even layering the cake would be a cross contamination issue straight away.

Had it just been a plain wedding cake without any of those claims, probably wouldn’t have been a major issue.

I’m not trying to be a party pooper or critical but it’s just that there’s a hell of a lot of food safety focus these days and also huge liability coming from risk of lawsuit if you get it wrong. It’s also not all coming from the EU either, a lot of it the way we deal with food allergens domestically and the consequences of getting it wrong can be financially huge here.

So your hotel is likely just protecting itself.

Perhaps discuss dropping the free from claims and you might get a different response.

Neyite · 13-08-2019 3:30pm

Is it layers or tiers you mean?

If it's layers then there's no way that you'd avoid cross-contamination of allergens so the hotel was right to make sure you don't serve it. Tiers are different though. They are still a risk if the baker doesn't know much about preventing cross-contamination though. But if you had different cakes, made, decorated, stored and displayed separately then maybe you'd be safe enough.

Even then though at a big wedding it would be hard to ensure that when sliced and passed around that the right type of cake ends up with the person who has that allergy and not accidentally swapped for another slice that contains the ingredient that could harm them. Especially if they are all iced to match each other.

I think a bakery cake is your only option now the hotel know that was the original plan they will be making sure that the cake coming in comes from a professional kitchen.

jlm29 · 13-08-2019 6:37pm

bizidea wrote: »

How many cases of wedding cake poisoning have there been or have you ever heard of the whole world is definetly going mad id be trying to get a different hotel not a commercial bakery

They’ve obviously paid a deposit. They can hardly just forsake that because their nose is out of joint, even if they could find somewhere else at this stage.

23-08-2019 5:42pm

Maybe it’s been the home made weddings cakes at a number of weddings I’ve been to that had be feeling like boiled sh1te the next day and not the 16 pints of stout and rake of jager bombs

It’s total nonsense, if I was you op I’d just tell them you have arranged a baker to do it and send down a family member pretending to be one to set it up. Sure a lot of wedding cake makers are just people doing them at home in their own kitchen, it was certainly the case when we were looking at wedding cake makers.

Hotel won't serve home-made cake.

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