Man fuming after restaurant charges £10 per person in 'cakeage' fee
5 April 2022, 16:22 | Updated: 5 April 2022, 16:24
A man has been left baffled after a restaurant charged him £10 per head to bring cake to a birthday lunch.
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A man has sparked outrage after he revealed a restaurant tried to charge him ‘cakeage’.
The Twitter user explained that he had recently organised a birthday lunch with 11 people.
While most restaurants don’t allow alcohol and food to be brought into their venue, this business took that one step further.
In fact, staff asked for a £10 per person fee to bring their own birthday cake, which would total £120.
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Ivor Baddiel, 59, from North London posted: "I asked the restaurant I’m going to for a birthday lunch today if we could bring a cake with to be brought out at the end of the meal.
"They said yes, but they’d charge us cakeage (yes, cakeage) at £10 a head.
"What is this world we live in?"
While Baddiel kept the location of the restaurant anonymous, he later confirmed to The Mirror that the group decided not to take their own cake with them.
I asked the restaurant I’m going to for a birthday lunch today if we could bring a cake with to be brought out at the end of the meal. They said yes, but they’d charge us cakeage (yes, cakeage) at £10 a head. What is this world we live in?
— Ivor Baddiel (@Ivorbaddiel) April 3, 2022
After already paying for a set menu for lunch, they were getting a dessert with their meal anyway.
Unsurprisingly, the Tweet has now received more than 26,000 likes and the public is divided.
One person wrote: "No one eats the birthday cake at a celebration it’s merely for the occasion. People still order deserts. Shame on any restaurant that charges cakeage!"
Another said: "I work in marketing for a hotel group and we WANT to encourage groups of diners for celebrations. Let them bring their cake. Upsell on coffees and liqueurs, and even if they don't have those they'll leave HAPPY. That's what hospitality is about."
But Chef Andrew Scott wrote: “You’ve stopped them being able to sell dessert to you though, as you’ve brought your own?”
Someone else agreed: “Charging for bringing in a cake is 100% understandable. You’re bringing in a dessert item, which they sell – you wouldn’t turn up to a pub with a 12 deck of cans… although £10 a head is reaching.”
While Michelin starred chef, Paul Foster added: "I’m a big fan of cakeage, have charged it myself several times."
