Brought a cake into work the other day - Banana & Blueberry, it was bloody lovely!
One of my colleagues asked me where I had the recipe from and I told her the author. I’ve previously made this before and have shared the recipe with a few of my colleagues, but in the interest of full disclosure I had no intention of sharing it with this particular one because to be honest I can’t stand her (she is a higher banding - band 6 nursing staff - and due to a massive chip in her shoulder she makes junior staff’s working life a misery by being patronising and belittling at every opportunity and is therefore really unpleasant to work with).
Another colleague just told me that a few days after I had brought my cake in she came into work with exactly the same cake, obviously having google searched the recipe and attempted to recreate it. We had a bit of a laugh about it because apparently it was shit as she’d burnt it and managed to make it really dry. But am I right in thinking that’s a really odd thing to do? Who tastes a cake their workmate baked, goes home, looks the recipe up online and comes in two days later saying “ta-da, look, you know the cake you made the other day - well I could have made any other cake in the world but I’ve decided to look it up and make exactly the same one and bring in to work too”? Or is it just me?
AIBU?
To think this is a really fucking weird thing to do?
SummersB · 15/02/2019 06:00
Sounds to me more like she looks up to your standard of cake making and had a go herself, bringing in the the cake to show you she'd had a go at it. Trying her hand at gaining some common ground/friendship with you. 
she makes junior staff’s working life a misery by being patronising and belittling at every opportunity and is therefore really unpleasant to work with.....No she never normally brings in homemade cakes
She's a bully....and this is just another way for her to try and belittle you.
I bet she thought she'd made it better than yours 
She could have made any other recipe but deliberately chose the last one your colleagues had tasted - so she could manipulate them into 'comparing' who's was the best.
Then she could start belittling you.
People will see straight through her game so she's only making a laughing stock out of herself.
I remember a few years ago i was on a training course and there was one woman who made it clear she didn't like me from day 1.
She would point blank ignore me, especially in group work and it was blatantly obvious to everyone.
One day i brought in cookies (shop bought) and put them on the front table so everyone could help themselves - which they did apart from her.
The next day she came in with a tub full of homemade cookies and proceeded to go round the room giving one to each person - except me.
My reaction was to laugh at her as she walked away from me because everybody in the room could see what she was like and what she was doing.
She was a grown woman of 26 and married but behaved like a school bully.
You know you can have a laugh with this now don't you?
Whenever she asks you for a recipe make sure you give her a similar one but not the exact one that you've used.
Her cakes will never taste as good as yours and she will never get the 'oh yours is so much better' response she's after.
Sure - it's immature and unpleasant to refuse to be bullied and to manage the bully in a non-harmful manner 
I don't think I'd find this weird.
I'd probably just think, "Oo! Cake! Yum!"
Could you just post the recipe please? I regularly take cake to work for colleagues and I haven’t done them a banana and blueberry one yet
I actually think she knows she is unliked, knows you are liked and liked your cake so wanted to try and, not only replicate the cake, but also the good feelings.
It is odd....
Sounds like maybe she’s a bit jealous or maybe wants to be friends with people even though she’s a coo to work for....
That aside. Sounds lovely... I would love to make this cake! I’m on mat leave so don’t worry I won’t spread the recipe about
Link???
Not remotely weird 
What's wrong with you all at that workplace?
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