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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask for a half slice of cake?

162 replies

GretaGip · 14/02/2022 11:26

Ive got disordered eating, sometimes eating something with no low nutritional value (but plenty of pleasure) will start me off on a binge.

I'd done slimming world and lost a lot of weight but am now in the sad position of having put half of it back on.

So im trying a different approach. Using my fitness pal im slowly losing 1 pound a week. Currently 14 down since November.

I bloody love cake. The conception, construction, the aesthetic, and to a lesser degree, the consumption.

Quite often im happy just looking at cakes and have no yearning to eat them, intellectually I know there's better calories out there. I don't feel deprived.

Occasionally I just really really want cake. It's hormonal im sure. So I have some, but want it to be controlled.

I tend to share with very accommodating friends. This will be considered in my calories for the day.

I'm in a lovely cafe on my own and really fancied cake, so I asked for half, and said I was happy to pay full price.

The staff member gave the impression that they thought I was very odd.

Wibu to ask?

OP posts:
BoogieFeet · 14/02/2022 13:31

Yes, smaller portions would tempt me to have some cake with my coffee. As it is I just think ‘I won’t enjoy that because I know that has as many calories in it as my evening meal and I’ll be bored of it/full before it’s finished’. They often look more like a challenge than a treat!

Elphame · 14/02/2022 13:33

@GretaGip

Just wanted to ask all those saying your preference is smaller portions.

Have you ever NOT bought a slice because it was too big?

If cafes realised they were losing out on revenue because their portions were overwhelming, maybe they'd start to offer half sizes and increase sales?

Actually yes I have!

Whilst I am able (and often do) to leave food on my plate, I look at these giant slices of cake and my desire for it evaporates.

I'm in a minority though. I believe that lack of portion control is fueling the obesity crisis and food establishments have a major role in this.

I would rather have a smaller piece of cake with fat/sugar/chocolate/cream etc which tastes nice than a bigger piece made with sweeteners and all the other artificial calorie reducing ingredients that are about to be forced on us. I haven't been able to have a fizzy canned drink since the sugar tax arrived although I'd happily pay extra for a can of real Dr Pepper. Mexico is a long way t o go for one though!

TooExtraImmatureCheddar · 14/02/2022 13:35

Food that’s eaten isn’t food waste! Food waste is food that goes in the bin. Food exists to be eaten, and people need to eat to survive. Some people overdo it but they still need to eat.

BungleandGeorge · 14/02/2022 13:37

I can’t see how people are saying this is unreasonable or weird at all. The slices in many cafes are way too big. Many people are dieting etc I can’t see why anyone would think it odd. I presumed you were going to say that you only wanted to pay half price which possibly would be unreasonable! If the cake hasn’t left the display why on Earth can’t they give it to a member of staff or another customer, most of them accept monetary tips!

SpiderinaWingMirror · 14/02/2022 13:39

Asking for what you want is a huge part of advocating for yourself and being healthy.

EmbarrassingHadrosaurus · 14/02/2022 13:41

Have you ever NOT bought a slice because it was too big?

Yes. I never buy one when I'm by myself. I'll buy one if I'm with someone else and they're happy to share.

I don't know if they're still popular but I couldn't believe that anyone short of an athlete could cope with the size of a portion that the popular triple layer cakes offered a while back.

TooExtraImmatureCheddar · 14/02/2022 13:41

Portion sizes can be crazy. My kids ordered brownies and ice cream for pudding in a pub a couple of months ago, and what they got was two slabs 4 inches x 4 inches each, with two scoops of ice cream. One each with one scoop of ice cream would have been plenty! As it was they couldn’t eat even half of it, so DH, PIL and I all wound up eating some and we still didn’t finish it. I wish there was some indication of portion sizes, because if we’d known how big that was going to be, we’d have just ordered one to share.

BarbaraofSeville · 14/02/2022 13:43

@TooExtraImmatureCheddar

Food that’s eaten isn’t food waste! Food waste is food that goes in the bin. Food exists to be eaten, and people need to eat to survive. Some people overdo it but they still need to eat.
Of course food that's eaten when you don't want it or are too full/feel sick already is wasted. It's no less wasted if eaten when you don't want it than if it goes in the bin. And even more so when eating too much causes people to be unhealthy or gain weight.

For the PP that says some pieces of cake are like meals, on the Costa website, the coffee cake has 600 calories and most others have around 400 calories. That's lunch, not a little snack with coffee.

HairyScaryMonster · 14/02/2022 13:47

Our independent cafe does half slices for half price. I'm sure they tempt people to have something sweet after lunch when they wouldn't stretch to a full piece.

SocksAndTheCity · 14/02/2022 13:48

@GretaGip

Just wanted to ask all those saying your preference is smaller portions.

Have you ever NOT bought a slice because it was too big?

If cafes realised they were losing out on revenue because their portions were overwhelming, maybe they'd start to offer half sizes and increase sales?

I have - there have been more occasions than I can count where I would have bought some cake had the slice been smaller. Most cakes in cafes are preportioned and the slices are enormous, ditto the muffins which are always huge now.

I can't leave food on my plate, so I don't buy the giant slices because I don't want to eat that much. So they definitely miss out on sales from me, and I daresay I'd have a couple a week.

TheOldLadyOfThreadneedleStreet · 14/02/2022 13:48

Oh this thread depresses me cos I have never found a slice of cake in a cafe too big and often choose the type of cake which has the biggest slices! Though coffee and walnut is the best.

But there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting a half slice and OP please feel happy about it.

When I’m cutting cake for people at home I generally ask how big a slice each person wants and cut slices varying from tiny to huge. Perhaps cafes should do the same and stop pre-portioning everything up.

Blossomtoes · 14/02/2022 13:49

@diddl

I think that some slices of cake are just about big enough to be a light meal!

I cook at lunch & have been known to have just a slice of cake for tea!

A lot of people ordering cake in a cafe are having it instead of a meal. I’m one of them.
AllOfUsAreDead · 14/02/2022 13:52

Jesus if I'd been that staff member, I'd have thanked you and given you it before you changed your mind. Grin

BronwenFrideswide · 14/02/2022 13:54

@GretaGip

Just wanted to ask all those saying your preference is smaller portions.

Have you ever NOT bought a slice because it was too big?

If cafes realised they were losing out on revenue because their portions were overwhelming, maybe they'd start to offer half sizes and increase sales?

Yes to the not buying cake if the slice is too big.
ColdTattyWaitingForSummer · 14/02/2022 13:57

If I buy cake and coffee in a cafe I have that instead of lunch rather than as well as.
There’s a pub we sometimes go to for a meal that offers a mini dessert and hot drink for about £5 as a pudding option, which I wish more places did the same.

RosiePosieDozy · 14/02/2022 13:57

Not an odd request at all. Some cake portions in cafes are ginormous. There are several reasons why someone might not want a full slice.

I begrudge paying the extortionate prices of cake in cafes nowadays so I am not sure I could bring myself to offer to pay full price for half a slice... but each to their own Grin

AngelinaFibres · 14/02/2022 13:58

@GretaGip

Ive got disordered eating, sometimes eating something with no low nutritional value (but plenty of pleasure) will start me off on a binge.

I'd done slimming world and lost a lot of weight but am now in the sad position of having put half of it back on.

So im trying a different approach. Using my fitness pal im slowly losing 1 pound a week. Currently 14 down since November.

I bloody love cake. The conception, construction, the aesthetic, and to a lesser degree, the consumption.

Quite often im happy just looking at cakes and have no yearning to eat them, intellectually I know there's better calories out there. I don't feel deprived.

Occasionally I just really really want cake. It's hormonal im sure. So I have some, but want it to be controlled.

I tend to share with very accommodating friends. This will be considered in my calories for the day.

I'm in a lovely cafe on my own and really fancied cake, so I asked for half, and said I was happy to pay full price.

The staff member gave the impression that they thought I was very odd.

Wibu to ask?

Sometimes the slices are huge. I just ask them to wrap in foil, whatever I haven't eaten. A very nice cafe I often go to has special slice shaped boxes for this purpose. She was probably just being a cow.
SocksAndTheCity · 14/02/2022 13:59

@TheOldLadyOfThreadneedleStreet

Oh this thread depresses me cos I have never found a slice of cake in a cafe too big and often choose the type of cake which has the biggest slices! Though coffee and walnut is the best.

But there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting a half slice and OP please feel happy about it.

When I’m cutting cake for people at home I generally ask how big a slice each person wants and cut slices varying from tiny to huge. Perhaps cafes should do the same and stop pre-portioning everything up.

I wish I could do the same, but the sugar gives me a terrible headache afterwards and I just can't eat it all! I like those little Portuguese custard tarts and I can (and will) tackle any size of scone though, so it's not as if I'm deprived Grin

I know cafés need to work out their margins, but I'm sure just having two different cake sizes available wouldn't be too taxing and then I (and the OP) could have more cake.

nannybeach · 14/02/2022 14:06

I can never eat a whole slice either. We always end up taking half home.

Wilkolampshade · 14/02/2022 14:09

Oh my goodness OP, those cakes look amazing! How beautiful!
I hope you really enjoyed it. And no, YANBU at ALL.

BewareTheBeardedDragon · 14/02/2022 14:14

@Toanewstart23

You hate food waste?

Well if this is what you’re going to start doing in cafes and bakeries - be prepared for a lot of it

Cos it's much less wasteful for someone to order a huge portion and leave half. Or for someone to eat it all when they're not actually hungry for it all. That is much less wasteful. Not.

I cannot possibly fathom how anyone could think that ordering less - an amount you will actually eat without stuffing yourself, leaving the rest of what would otherwise have been served for someone else to consume, could be in any way undesirable or wasteful.

People are insane (not you OP). Also - I approve your. Voice of cake flavour Grin

ABCDEFyou · 14/02/2022 14:17

@GretaGip

Just wanted to ask all those saying your preference is smaller portions.

Have you ever NOT bought a slice because it was too big?

If cafes realised they were losing out on revenue because their portions were overwhelming, maybe they'd start to offer half sizes and increase sales?

I never buy cake by the slice for this reason, rarely have desert when out too, unless I have a child with me and can order a child's portion. It feels like a waste of money when I know half will be left on the plate.

That's another thing that bothers me, Sunday lunch sizes are massive here but they don't let you order a child's portion even if you offer to pay the full price, I have a dog now so it feels like less of a waste of money because she gets a doggy bag now but the places we go for Sunday lunch majority of plates have quite a lot of food left on, and people do that rubbing tubby like pregnant woman thing and you can see the men opening the belt and top button as they walk to their car. It's just way too much for even a big appetite eater to manage.

I'd have thought it makes better business sense to not pile so much on plates for it to be scraped into the bin.

They always scrimp on the fucking gravy though. The best part and they scrimp on it. Grin

BewareTheBeardedDragon · 14/02/2022 14:19

@Hont1986

Bit performative to ask for the other half to be given to the staff. Hmm

If you want to eat half then just buy the full one and only eat half of it. Take the rest home in a napkin if you want, or leave it if you don't want the temptation.

How so? They don't have to eat it. They could offer it to a local homeless person. They could take it home for a family member. It's a nice gesture. Hmm
WouldBeGood · 14/02/2022 14:20

Half slice world sounds good to me @GretaGip!

Ddot · 14/02/2022 14:23

I struggle to eat a whole slice and a small coffee. So I'm with you please can we buy a small slice instead of a brick please. Oh and a small coffee too. Hate it when my option is a medium or a bucket