To think you don't assume the cake is for everyone.

[Alice6]

Last night I baked a cake. It was a small loaf cake that my colleagues and I had been talking about and I said I would give it a go. It took me quite a while to make and the ingredients weren't cheap. I brought it in and said to one of my colleagues "Sandra, I finally baked it!, would you like a slice? There's a knife here." Pointing to the table where we sit. As she was cutting her piece a few people stood behind her. I hadn't realised that's what they were hanging around for until I looked around and saw most of it gone. I work with about 100 people and about 75% of them use this staff room so I am not making cake for nearly 75 people when I want to treat the few colleagues that I am close to. I wouldn't mind making enough for everyone if there was only 10 of us for example so not to exclude a few people but not this many! AIBU to think you don't just assume you are entitled to a share of something when you haven't even been offered it? When people bring in treats for everyone they will leave them near the microwaves on the worktop with a note not just a tiny cake on a table! I felt too awkward telling them to leave it alone when they had already taken most of it. I'm annoyed that the people I made it for didn't get any after the effort I made. Lesson learned: keep cake in a locked box at break times when you work with locusts!

As soon as you tell someone to help themselves it sounds like a communal cake. You needed to pre-slice or serve your colleagues.

YABU you left cake in a communal eating area, how were people supposed to know it was for your special friends.

When I’ve made things for individuals I package it up and leave it on their desks. Everything else is fair game

Sounds like you left it in a place where people understand food / snacks to be 'up for grabs' so unfortunately id probably go with YABU.
Anyway, no harm done really & next time you can just hand out to your friends.

You should have sliced it at your desk and given it to who you wanted, then put it away in a tub. You shouldn't have loudly announced it then sliced it in the kitchen.

It's just a cake 😂😂
Don't get so worked up about it! Next time slice it up and go hand it to people who you want to eat it, sorted 😂

YABU. If it’s not for everyone you should be discreet about it. Not slicing up a cake in front of everybody in a communal area.

In my workplace it's common knowledge that if it is on the table, it will get eaten. Tough shit if you expected otherwise.

However if there is cake and people want to give it to certain people they cut it up and put it in a paper cloth with the name on it.

Mind you if you leave the cake elsewhere like on fridge people won't nab it. But a communism table as far as I'm concerned is fair game.

If it was for certain people cut it up and put their name on it. Don't do it in the staff room. I've never either in a place where this hasn't been clear.

I wouldn't even leave my sandwich on the table for five minutes without thinking someone might eat it.

YABU, although I can see how disappointing this situation would be for you. It's fairly usual for treats in shared staff areas to be for everyone. I agree with PP who suggested only bringing in slices for your friends.

Call me old fashioned but wherever the cake was left I wouldn't dream of taking any without being asked to first. Manners.

In my office a cake set out with knife, already cut in to, left in a communal area, is fair game. Things intended for smaller teams are handed out individually within teams, eg when my team won an industry award, our boss brought a box of posh cupcakes for us and gathered us in the break out area to say a quick word and present them. We helped ourselves, then a few spares were left on the side for other teams to finish off.

However, its odd to take without comment. In my office if there's a random cake in a kitchen or breakout area, before taking some people will usually say something like "gosh what a treat, what's the occasion?". Obviously we will thank whoever brought in some thing like that so yanbu to expect that.

What is it with workplaces and everyone thinking it's a free-for all when it comes to food? I would never dream of taking something without asking the person who brought it in. I walked into someone with their fingers in my fruit salad that I had left unattended, while they were scoffing an ice cream Sundae. Some people are really disgusting and need a refresher course on manners.

I totally get the fact that you can't always have cake in the work area (shops, laboratories etc). I don't think YABU to just share with your team, but I can understand why some people possibly thought it was a free for all. Next time put it in a closed tin and just let your team know it is there - even label the tin with your name or the dept name. Hopefully this should deter people.

YABU - it’s annoying but you announced it and then left it in a communal area.

This happened at my work. Guy had baked a batch of cakes for certain members of his team. It was his last day with that team as he had secured a job within another department. Left his cakes in a tin on the end of his desk. Other Greedy hogs scoffed them and then ended up sick. He'd laced them all with weed with the intention of handing them around to colleagues that had annoyed him the most whilst working with them!

What is it with workplaces and everyone thinking it's a free-for all when it comes to food?

because food left in communal area is there for everybody?

People stealing your clearly labelled or boxed food, or stealing cans of your drinks from the fridge are just pig, but there's rudeness everywhere.

Absolutely it's a lesson learned and a mistake I shall never make again. I don't think a communal area should mean food is 'fair game' though. It wasn't brought in by you then you shouldn't eat it. I work with chemicals so we don't have desks when we can eat and everyone's food is in that room. I can't just help myself to some else's biscuits, crisps or sandwiches. Again, the idea the food is 'fair game' to people seems to be the consensus here so I'll definitely be more discreet about it and cut it up at home before hand (and keep a closer eye on my lunch too!). It would have been nice to have been asked and it would have been polite to have thanked me.

Speak up next time.

Cake in communal spots is definitely fair game. In our large office - hundreds of people - cake which is specific for your team is kept on someone's desk. But general cake, sweets, etc in the communal area is a free for all. I would have thought this is standard office etiquette. Even stuff on pods is a bit of a free for all cause folk mix between pods. It's not worth getting precious over.

I work in a small office and if we get something in that's just for us three admin then we keep it tucked away on our desks (or in the cupboard) we only leave it on the top if we're happy to share because it gets WOLFED by, who else of course, the people who never bring in anything to share.

I'd have hidden it!

First world problem OP have you seen the news today?

Which cake did I miss out on?

@Pannalash
Ckearky you missed out in 🍰today too!

It’s Mumsnet if you only want life shattering problems maybe try a different website? There are plenty and MN has plenty of life changing problem threads, but we are allowed to oust about minor nighles too!

Nit that cake 🎂🍰is a minor issue 😵

How about cutting it into slices at home, wrapping them in foil or cling wrap and handing them out to specific people. Just a thought.

Spellings Spookily

I get your annoyance but I think YABU, you should have just shared it with the people you wanted to.