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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to not pay for the slice of cake?

233 replies

bananafish · 03/12/2015 18:13

This isn't a big deal, really, but I'm somewhat bemused, so here goes.

So, we had a bake sale at work to raise money for a local charity before Christmas.

I baked a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. New recipe, newish oven. It looked good when I put it out, but I was a wee bit nervous it might taste horrible, so I cut a small slice to test it.

The woman who organised the bake sale smiled at me and said: "That will be £1.50, please."

I smiled back and said nothing, as I assumed she was joking. She wasn't; she asked for the money again.

I said that I was just making sure it was OK and I didn't think I needed to pay for the slice of cake? She tutted that it was "bad form", and walked away with her nose in the air.

I appreciate we were raising funds but that's a bit weird, isn't it? Or should I have coughed up?

OP posts:
bimbobaggins · 03/12/2015 19:15

What daisybear said.

Yanbu

TempusEedjit · 03/12/2015 19:18

The last time I baked a round cake for a charity sale I cut a sliver out of it to test (at home of course) and then portioned up the remaining cake into 12 as usual. Once it's cut up it's very easy to push the remaining slices together to look round in shape again Wink

witsender · 03/12/2015 19:19

She was a bit precious, but you should have paid for the cake. I bake every month for the food bank cake sale and always pay for some if I have it.

NoSquirrels · 03/12/2015 19:19

Should have given her a tenner and then punched the cake

Hahahahaha! Xmas Grin Xmas Grin Xmas Grin

I didn't know there was charity cake sale etiquette. You live and learn.

Sharoncatastrophe · 03/12/2015 19:20

She brought all the ingredients, baked it and then should pay £1.50 to try it? Really?!

viioletsarentblue · 03/12/2015 19:25

The other woman was just being arsey and trying to throw her weight around and show you who's boss.
Bake sales seem to bring out the worst in some people. lemon drizzle cake anyone

It was your cake. You should have told her to sod off. Grin

ChopsticksandChilliCrab · 03/12/2015 19:26

This kind of crap is why I won't do things for charity. I would've been fuming

Me too Sharoncatastrophe.

If I had gone to the enormous trouble of baking a cake I would expect a medal, not someone judging me for eating a slice.

viioletsarentblue · 03/12/2015 19:28

I'm finding the 'bad form' comment a bit funny as well.

Me too.
It's a CAKE for God's sake.

Snowglobe18 · 03/12/2015 19:28

I understand but I'd have coughed up, tbh.

southeastdweller · 03/12/2015 19:29

What so many others have said - once you put it out for everyone to buy a slice, it's not yours anymore, so YABU, very much so.

atreya · 03/12/2015 19:30

Admit it, you just fancied a piece Wink I wouldn't have believed you were 'testing' it. A likely story indeed. I'd have popped a nominal sum to cover the cost the slice could have raised had it been sold to a paying customer.

ClancyMoped · 03/12/2015 19:30

She was a crabby loon. Of course it's not stealing or 'bad form'. What a ridiculous suggestion. I also wouldn't have cut into it at home as I'd assume it would remain fresher left whole.

OP YANBU, not even a little teeny bit.

The cake sale lady WBU......unless she wasn't aware you made the cake.
Cake Cake Cake

SoupDragon · 03/12/2015 19:31

It's wasn't her cake as she had donated it to the charity. At that point it became their's.

I never taste any cakes before donating them. If it passes the skewer test and the bowl of raw batter I've just cleaned with a spoon tastes good then it will be fine.

viioletsarentblue · 03/12/2015 19:32

I smiled back and said nothing, as I assumed she was joking. She wasn't; she asked for the money again.

She sounds like a joy to be around Hmm

Viviennemary · 03/12/2015 19:32

Technically you were in the wrong. You had donated the cake and shouldn't have taken the slice as it was no longer yours. But I think the woman who asked for £1.50 was being a bit cheeky too.

TheLambShankRedemption · 03/12/2015 19:34

YANBU

Your colleague sounds like a knob.

Kryptonite · 03/12/2015 19:34

I wouldn't have said anything, but I do think it's weird to cut yourself a slice of cake at a charity bake sale under the guise of 'tasting it', regardless of whether you made it or not.
Why not just try the mixture or cake at home?
Once it's out on the table it's out for sale.
I've made cakes for school charity bake sales and if I did cut myself some to taste I wouldn't dream of not leaving any money for it!

Bunbaker · 03/12/2015 19:38

I often buy back slices of my own cakes at fundraising events.
a) Because I know my kitchen is clean
b) Because I want to know if it has turned out well
c) (This is a vanity thing) People are more likely to buy a slice of an already started cake

I wouldn't dream of just helping myself, so YABU.

Creiddylad · 03/12/2015 19:39

She sounds rude and horrid.

I organise a lot of cake sales at work, and do the bulk of the baking too. If I have made a new cake, I will take a small slice and taste it without paying. I would be horrified if someone asked me to pay after I have spent an evening baking and paid for all the ingredients. The same if anyone else wanted some of their own cake, it is theirs to try.

If I have someone else's cake of course I pay. If there are cakes left at the end, not often, I will also give them out free to avoid waste.

Sharoncatastrophe · 03/12/2015 19:39

"It wasn't her cake as she had donated it to the charity. At that point it became their's."

"Technically you were in the wrong. You had donated the cake and shouldn't have taken the slice as it was no longer yours."

Says who? To what technicality / made up law are you referring?

SoupDragon · 03/12/2015 19:41

Says who? To what technicality / made up law are you referring?

Don't be so stupid. When you give a gift, whose it? Does it remain yours forever or does it become the propert of the recipient at the point t of giving

You must be a barrel of laughs at Christmas, trying to retain ownership of gifts.

MoriartyIsMyAngel · 03/12/2015 19:42

Did she know it was your cake? It's understandable if she didn't.

Sharoncatastrophe · 03/12/2015 19:42

Yeah. Because that's exactly the same thing Hmm

ClancyMoped · 03/12/2015 19:43

.
.
.
.Can I suggest a vanilla sponge next time.

AIBU to not pay for the slice of cake?
SoupDragon · 03/12/2015 19:43

Yes it is. Glad you agree.