Would you eat cake baked by a colleague?

[Seniorschoolmum]

Recently someone had a significant birthday, and two colleagues brought in home made cakes. Both beautifully decorated.

Yet a couple of people declined a slice, saying they never eat home cooked anything because they can’t be sure what the food hygiene was like.
I was a bit stunned. Am I just slow on the uptake or is that normal now?
I “get” not eating cake if you’re on a diet or just don’t like cake.

Some people are grotty though. I’m not a fan of homemade if I know the person isn’t a hand washer, is a taster or I din’t like them!

weirdly animal hairs or “badgers and slugs”,wouldn't worry me. People germs disgust me, animal germs less so.

In real life I don't know anyone like this. It's very, very weird.

How bizarre! And they can be sure of hygiene standard in a factory?!

Well, yes, in that factories have legal hygiene requirements that must be followed and are checked by environmental health.

I really struggle to eat food that I haven't made myself but I would never be so rude. I'm fully aware that the problem is mine and I would hate to offend anyone. I would ask if I could take my slice home and have it as a treat after dinner and give it to dd and would say the next day that it was delicious and ask for the recipe.

I would if it was a colleague, I don't if it's from a kid. Home made food gifts always go in the bin, after gushing thanks and "i'll really enjoy eating that later".

CKWattisthemanager I have a family member who is a prolific cook but whose hygiene standards are pretty low in the kitchen. Her kitchen isn't particularly clean to start with (she has a dish cloth that stinks and makes me feel physically sick) , and she has cats walking over surfaces etc, but even more worrying is that she will cook something like a chicken stock, and then leave it at room temperature overnight or longer and then bring it to family gatherings where she will make risotto with it for example. It's very difficult to refuse in those circumstances. Similarly the beef casserole that she has left out in warm temps for days! People do get ill when they stay at her house, and she is always getting ill too, but for some reasons she resolutely refuses to connect this to food hygiene!

I think cakes are a bit different though because, as I said previously, they have loads of sugar in them, are baked for a fairly long time and don't contain anything too potentially dodgy (apart from maybe cream or custard).

How bizarre! And they can be sure of hygiene standard in a factory?!

Well, yes, in that factories have legal hygiene requirements that must be followed and are checked by environmental health.

And nobody ever breaks laws and environmental health services aren't ridiculously overstretched because of funding cuts.

I'd only turn down home-made cake if I had serious concerns about that specific baker's hygiene, based on what I knew of her/him. The cat hair thing would be a turn off too, of course!

Your colleagues could have said, 'Thank you, I'll save it for later' and then tactfully disposed of their slice of cake when said colleague wasn't around. We never know how others behave in their own kitchens but there may be clues such as hand washing, etc.

We used to eat plenty of cake but as far as I'm aware no-one was sick.

It clearly doesn't bother any of my colleagues because if I bring in cake they descend on it like a plague of locusts.

I think it's fine to decline cake, you're not obliged to eat it. But saying, either to the baker or behind their back, that you think their kitchen might be dirty is just plain rude.

In all my 40 something years I have only been in one person's kitchen that I would refuse to eat something out of, and they're so lazy that there is no danger of them offering to cook anything for anyone.

I'm a bit of an obsessive hand washer myself, particularly when cooking, but I couldn't get worked up about someone dipping their finger in a bowl of cake mix seeing as it is baked at a high temperature afterwards.

Goodness, cakes are fallen upon as if we're starving in our staff room. The times I've seen a whole one at morning break and thought I'll have some at lunch and there's only crumbs... sigh...

often people baking at home use spread instead of butter

I would have thought you’re much more likely to get real butter in a home made cake than a shop bought.

Not rude to decline a piece. Rude to state that reason!

I wouldn't, but I also wouldn't say anything about hygiene. I'd just politely decline.

I rarely eat them. Ive seen some cakes come into my work place on manky plates and trays.

I just decline politely.

They probably have some sort of OCD / germ or sick phobia. It's not normal, my office colleagues fight over cake!

I used to work in a bakery that mass produced cakes for local restaurants and hotels. Having seen the questionable practices at play there, a home baked cake would probably be the safer option.

Also, how rude? Just say you're not hungry.

I work with somebody who always smells like stale cigarettes and BO and uses the toilet sinks as a table to roll her cigarettes on rather than somewhere to wash her hands. I don't think cake is likely to give me food poisoning but the thought of eating something that she's cooked turns my stomach. Wouldn't ever say why though. Just no thanks.

couple of people declined a slice, saying they never eat home cooked anything because they can’t be sure what the food hygiene was like.

Exceptionally rude.

I've come across this, even said directly to me when they knew that I had baked the cakes.

My response is to laugh at them and say "Great! All the more for the rest of us, then!"

I’m more likely to decline shop bought than homemade. I don’t even really care if it comes from a filthy kitchen - there is an infinitesimally small chance that you’d get ill from cake unless you eat too much of it. A friend of mine has a pretty horrid kitchen but she makes the best pistachio cake I have ever eaten - I probably wouldn’t turn it down even if there was dog hair in it.

I used to swerve cakes made as an activity with toddlers. The ones decorated by toddlers in a combination of icing, spit and snot.

I love a homemade cake. Most non meat baked cake type stuff is safe - it’s been in a super hot oven after all!

Can’t believe someone made a sweeping generalisation above that men don’t wash their hands after going to the toilet My dh always washes his hands! He’s horrified by people that don’t.

I'd have just said I wasn't hungry, it's oafish to go on about food hygiene in the way they did. I wouldn't eat the cake as for all I know they could've snotted into it😁 I'm dubious about people regularly bringing in home cooked food to work. I still wouldn't comment publicly tho, it's entirely possible to politely decline

It's just a piece of cake. I can't get worked up over that kind of thing.

There was a thread the other day about someone who doesn't like to share toothpaste with house guests for hygiene reasons.

Mad. Absolutely mad.

Unless the colleague is seriously lacking in personal hygiene i think it's safe to eat a piece of home made cake.

Can’t believe someone made a sweeping generalisation above that men don’t wash their hands after going to the toilet shock My dh always washes his hands! He’s horrified by people that don’t

Casual staff in catering/events industry are have it regularly drummed into them 'wash your hands!'. But they hardly do..maybe (I hope) when theyve been to the loo but apart from that - nope they can go a day without handwashing

I’m another one that struggles to eat other people’s homemade food. I politely decline and don’t give a reason though, a ‘no Thankyou. It looks lovely though’ should suffice. I wonder OP, did they actually offer up the reason when declining it did you ask them why?