To think no good deed goes unpunished

[caffelattetogo]

Please tell me if IABU...

I was asked to run a fundraiser for a group my DC attends. It's a class to teach something I do professionally, and I have done for many years. All good, until it came to setting the ticket price - the treasurer looked on my website and saw how much I usually charge for a session. But this is in a village hall, not the venues I'd usually use, which cost much more to hire. I'd thought we could charge less than I usually do, as the experience won't be the same.
But maybe I was wrong: Tickets went on sale and have sold out.
I said I'd buy the materials and invoice them. No need, says the treasurer, and asks me to send her a list.
The session is on Saturday and the ingredients have arrived - with loads missing and much cheaper quality than I'd usually use. There's no way the food we are making will look or taste the same. I rang tonight and she isn't budging - says my list was too expensive and would eat up their profits. In total, the ingredients I wanted were about 25% of the ticket price. I'm giving my time and equipment for free.
Any other circumstances and I'd walk away, but I feel bad for the people who have bought tickets.
What should I do?

no you are absolutely not being precious, butter is butter and clotted cream is clotted cream. You have a professional business and standards. I would be horrified about scones with squirty cream!!! Sounds like one of the car crash tasks on the apprentice, charging premium and skimping on the spend so the punters request a refund

I hate squirty cream. I'd be gutted if I'd paid out for a squirty cream tea. OP, make sure people know why you've pulled out.

You can't serve scones with squirts cream rather than clotted! I'm hoping that you are in the Westcountry where they take these things seriously....I'm predicting rioting on the streets 🤣

I’m a westcountry girl and there is no way in hell I’d accept squirty cream. I personally feel that a cream tea needs protected status, the clotted cream is absolutely fundamental to the taste. People who offer a cream tea and don’t provide clotted cream should be put to death.

Squirty cream is delicious but has no place whatsoever on a cream tea.

Scones require butter AND clotted cream, subbing margerine and squirty cream should be illegal!

Refusing to be involved if they're going to play dirty tricks like that is in no way 'precious' or 'snobby' or whatever else.

I hope you get to hear the outcome, OP. I can imagine a few disgruntled attendees.

It doesn't matter how good the cook is; they can't make margarine and squirty cream taste like butter and clotted cream! If I'd paid to make and eat a delicious cream tea, which sounds like a nice event, and was confronted by catering marg and UHT cream - and not enough ingredients for the participants either! - I would be so disappointed and annoyed and it would certainly discourage me from supporting the organisation further. It seems like very short-termist and arrogant thinking, with no regard for the participants - only their profits.

How can you make scones with margarine?!

@Icantthinkof1 You did not read my post at all.

What I actually said was :
'cheap spices (Asian shop ones) can often be better than eg Barts'

This is often because they're sourced from different places to the regular supermarket sourced spices, and can have different regional influences/notes/highlights/flavours which work better than the blander (IMO) options we are accustomed to, aside from which they're often imported direct from the region cutting out 2 or 3 middlemen and/or come in bigger packets, hence being better priced.

Did you hear how it went @caffelattetogo?

Even though neither of you have much social media presence I would still have put some sort of statement out to explain that you weren't involved, if I had turned up expecting "CaffeLattes Cream Tea Workshop" and bought a ticket because I had seen/attended/heard about how good your baking workshops had been from people who had been to one of your private workshops before then I would be very disappointed to turn up to "Doris' greasy scone and squirty cream tutorial" without being told ahead of time and given the option to get a refund (even if it was just a partial refund due to the change in advertised programming).

Especially as you weren't there you then have no control over what story they spin to the paying customers - even just saying "CaffeLatte pulled out at the last minute but Doris stepped in so we didn't have to cancel" isn't a lie as it is a factual statement but it doesn't paint you in a good light despite the fact you were the wronged party.

Well their cream tea sounds awful and I personally would have complained had I attended. I don't like the taste of either marg or squirty cream. And there's a definite difference between home jam and jar jam. You did the right thing but I agree with posters upthread that you need to do a bit of damage limitation to your reputation now.

This.

In spades.

Doubled, re-doubled and vulnerable.

If clotted cream for a cream tea isn't written into the Magna Carta, it bliddy well should have been.

Honestly, I'd go and buy the usual ingredients and run the workshop as usual. But I'd want the organising committee to know what happened as this woman sounds like a loose cannon.

I am a totally amateur hit and miss cook and I can tell you that duff ingredients give you duff results....but you know that. Well done for sticking to your guns.

You can't make first-class food with second-class ingredients. I've also been in that situation and refused to continue. Your reputation, your skills and your personal standing don't accept being treated like some incompetent amateur. Let the woman do it herself if she knows so much.

Scones and squirty cream

yuck

I can only imagine what type of jam they have bought

shudder

We've all learned from your cautionary tale. Don't agree to anything, voluntary or otherwise, until you have a plan and an agreement (including costs) in writing. The person trying to get your services for free does not have the knowledge or experience you have of your business. Her agenda is to raise money. But I'd hold out for what you need (you'll get it) - or offer something different that offers valuable advice/experience/new skills - and/or look at marketing opportunities, such as great value discounted tickets for future events with you, so they can see you in your element. Because these ticket buyers are your prime target audience for future events.

Well done. A reputation takes a long time to build and only a moment to wreck.

You were put in an impossible position. Pull out and look bad or use second class ingredients and look bad. Glad you pulled out but doesn't sound like they have learnt their lesson.

I agree with all the posters who say your reputation is on the line. I know this is going off on a tangent a but it reminds me of a friend who is a lovely person but so tight.
She made a Nigella dessert and changed so many ingredients: think margarine for butter, mixed ground nuts for almonds, brandy flavouring for brandy etc. I made it myself a few days later with all the right ingredients and it was infinitely superior.
You would face the same thing, OP! I hope you get it sorted.

You may not have much of a social media presence but the people who bought tickets probably do and your reputation can get just as tanked with or without you doing FB etc

I agree. People who never cook decent meals or bake good cakes always underestimate the cost. They don’t seem to realise that cheap supermarket cakes are full of palm oil and God knows what.

I’d 100% be pissed off if a paid for an experience and didn’t get the full experience.
if I paid for a massage at a charity event and paid the same money as a professional job then I’d expect the nice essential oils to be used and not some cheap crap for example!
and if you’re making scones for this event then yes I’d absolutely be expecting proper butter, proper cream and a decent jam…. Squirts cream is completely different to clotted cream, both in taste and texture….
im another bite for giving an ultimatum of buy the items I asked for or refund everyone!!

Squirty cream on scones?! Isn’t that an offence punishable by death?!

Have any of these people ever had afternoon tea?!