Pancake judgement...who knew?!

[SliceOfCakeCupOfTea]

Work with about 30 people and decided to do something nice and offered to make pancakes for everyone today.

Spoke to boss and authorised some petty cash for ingredients and I brought in various toppings I had at home.

Emailed everyone letting them know and what toppings I'd have and said that if people wanted anything specific or had toppings they wanted to share to bring them in as I only had what I had outlined.

Today, already, I've had 5 different conversations with people either complaining that I don't have their favourite topping, that the toppings I have aren't the right quality (ie own brand golden syrup) etc. One guy is in a strop because I haven't brought in honey, but have golden syrup as an alternative. Apparently shows I have poor taste. Wtf! Why am I bothering??

We cook a certain food at work, we have to do this for samples and to check consistency, the food is given away free to the factory and office staff and is very nice and filling.

Oh the moaning! Theres no variety, its all one flavour, cant we change XYZ to ABC? The answer is no to all of those, we have to test the product, there is only one flavour.

Its like say working for Hovis, and Hovis producing some white bread to test the yeast, and giving the bread away to the staff and people moaning, "oh cant you put currents in it, cant you give us brown bread" "oh its warm" "oh the crust is too thick", you get the gist, it wears you down it really does, its FREE FOOD stop being so picky.

I would love your pancakes OP.

@CommonPrimrose

UK pancakes are thinner, so smoother and chewier than US ones I've had. Imo they are better but need the grittiness of granulated sugar to contrast with that texture and then the lemon to cut through the fattiness.

wishtotravel: So true about bonding through moaning.

Stop saying UK pancakes! Scotch pancakes are nothing like English pancakes and are far superior!

OP slight tangent but you have to try savoury pancakes!

Oh yes - different from the ones you describe, but I love Japanese cabbage pancakes! I just made some last week. And they have great toppings. You could surprise your colleagues with these OP 😂

@MyDcAreMarvel

Tbf own brand golden syrup is grim.

I know. So much sugar, eh?

Tell the honey monster to go fuck himself

@rumred

Shop bought pancakes are like shop bought cake. Vile.

Your team are lucky to have you @SliceOfCakeCupOfTea

Reminds me of the scene in, is it Behind the Scenes at the Museum? Kate Atkinson anyway, when a character gets a cake out that she's bought and imagines her mother and her peers (working/lower-middle class housewives in the 50s) mouthing 'shop-bought' in horror Very Hyacinth Bucket.

@HelenWick

I also grew up outside the UK and find british pancakes weird and slimy but I am far to polite to say anything and limit myself to a moderate 6-8 pancakes per sitting.

Where are people eating slimy pancakes? They’re always fluffy and soft and …dry?

Are you having them with lemon and sugar? That’s the only possible explanation. If so, that’s not the pancakes…

I'm still gobsmacked at the thought of the OP's work's hot drinks area having fresh lemons.

I mean, there's posh!

I promise that only the 3 year old will complain bitterly. The rest of us will be grateful.

Aaah but that may be the straw that breaks the camel's back!

I have already had mine in a cafe! It said with lemon but also came in a pool of golden syrup. Normally I just prefer lemon (and sugar) but I do love the comforting smell of warm golden syrup. Yum!

Means I don't have to bother tonight. More time for my laundry!

@SliceOfCakeCupOfTea

Some of your workmates are joyless feckers.

@SliceOfCakeCupOfTea

Someone has just come in with some ready made pancakes.

I'm leaving.

We once had a sleepover where I lovingly made pancakes for 4 hungry boys, who wolfed them down. At the end one visiting child said 'You MADE these?' I nodded proudly. He then said, in tones of disgust, 'Why would you bother MAKING pancakes when you can just BUY them?'

I judged hard (internally)

@SliceOfCakeCupOfTea

Someone has just come in with some ready made pancakes.

I'm leaving.

No way! I’d ‘flip’

@ifIwerenotanandroid

I'm still gobsmacked at the thought of the OP's work's hot drinks area having fresh lemons.

I mean, there's posh!

Haha that's our boss. He's probably the poshest person I've ever met.

I know you're all dying for an update so here we go!

Pancake Day 2022 was a so-so affair.
Shop bought pancakes and whingers aside, we did have a slight issue with someone burning a pancake and slightly melting the spatula which was mine!

Kitchen is in a separate room from main office fortunately. I made all the batter, laid out all the toppings etc and was making pancakes for people for about 45 mins off and on (as well as eating my own!). I did have some work to do this afternoon so left instructions for people to help themselves as there was plenty of batter, so all they had to do was pour in the pan and cook.
Turns out someone didn't quite do it right and added way too much batter and smoked the kitchen out. Not sure what happened to the spatula but it was intact when I left the kitchen!

Anyways, more or less everyone has been over to thank me in person and they tidied the kitchen up and boxed up all my toppings for me to take home. Someone has brought me a cuppa too so I can't complain.

Literally part of my job is building team morale

It's not really working, is it?

Are you a female human, OP? Normally male humans attempting this would be given a medal for finding their way to a shop and a hob on the same day.

Oh x-posted. Glad the smoke alarm didn't go off.

Why are you bothering? Do you not have anything better to do at work?
My colleagues made pancakes for us. We dont have to be flogging ourselves ever minute. Everyone was grateful and nobody complained about toppings!

Sound great! What sh I worked there!
I'm making a pancake dinner for me and my daughter: savoury will be onions and chorizo or bacon and cheese. Plus we'll have chopped up sweet peppers and tomatoes to add. Sweet will be lemon and sugar or Nutella and banana plus honey yogurt on top!

@SpinningTheSeedsOfLove

Literally part of my job is building team morale

It's not really working, is it?

Are you a female human, OP? Normally male humans attempting this would be given a medal for finding their way to a shop and a hob on the same day.

I am a female human! Do I not get a medal??

Good point re the fire alarm actually...I should probably have a look at that...

Sounds like a successful event, OP!

It sounds like your colleagues are awful OP. I made pancakes for my team one year and the only negative comments I got were from other colleagues expressing envy. It was excellent.

I consider myself to be an excellent cook.

I make my own pasta, crème brûlée including having a torch to caramelise the topping (to the horror of most people, in lockdown I made prawn and crab ravioli, I cook everything from scratch.

And yet I cannot make bloody pancakes to save my life.

In my defence as I am visually impaired I can’t see when the bubbles start to form on the top to turn them, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. But bloody hell if I can caramelise a crème brûlée without serious injury to myself or the surrounding kitchen then surely a pancake can’t be that bloody hard.

I can make the American ones, just not the English ones.

DO away today, so we had ours for tea yesterday.
Majority of mine were savoury, ham and Brie and cheese and bbq chicken (found in the reduced section). Followed by more traditional seeet.

Im terms of ingratitude and free stuff. In sixth form I worked in a supermarket, I used to buy reduced cakes and bring them in for people to help their self. They were normally iced birthday cake type things. I stopped when a lad complained I never brought in chocolate cake! Especially galling as most of my lot didn’t work, and I was spending my hard earned wages.

@AlternativePerspective

I consider myself to be an excellent cook.

I make my own pasta, crème brûlée including having a torch to caramelise the topping (to the horror of most people, in lockdown I made prawn and crab ravioli, I cook everything from scratch.

And yet I cannot make bloody pancakes to save my life.

In my defence as I am visually impaired I can’t see when the bubbles start to form on the top to turn them, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. But bloody hell if I can caramelise a crème brûlée without serious injury to myself or the surrounding kitchen then surely a pancake can’t be that bloody hard.

I can make the American ones, just not the English ones.

I think everyone has something they can't make. I cannot make decent pastry. I've tried hundreds of time, all different types, just can't do it!