Outrage as restaurant charges $18 per person to bring cake to birthday lunch
If you've ever been to a birthday lunch or dinner, chances are you've sometimes enjoyed some cake at the conclusion — and maybe even a handful of restaurant staff awkwardly singing Happy Birthday alongside family and friends.
But one restaurant goer has shared his shock at being asked to pay a considerable fee in order to bring a birthday cake along to a celebratory lunch.
Taking to Twitter, Ivor explained he was booked in for a birthday lunch with 11 people but was going to be charged close to $18 per person to bring a cake along.
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A man has revealed a restaurant wanted to charge $18 per person to bring a birthday cake. Getty Images/iStockphoto
"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," he said in a now viral thread, that has sparked a considerable debate.
"They said yes, but they'd charge us cakeage (yes, cakeage) at £10 a head. What is this world we live in?"
The 'cakeage' fee — similar to corkage, which is a charge made by a restaurant or hotel for serving alcohol that has been brought in by a customer — would have totaled close to $200.
Speaking to The Mirror, Ivor said in the end the group decided not to take the cake with them.
The tweet drew thousands of reactions with some people calling the restaurants charges "bad form".
"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," one person commented.
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He had booked a lunch for 11 people so it would have cost close to $200. Getty
"What a sad world it has become that you feel the need to justify this. Where is this restaurant that their dessert is £10 per person? Whatever happened to just doing a good deed for a party of people who, no doubt, have spent a considerable amount of cash already," another questioned.
"Personally, I'd have cancelled the entire booking and found a restaurant that wanted yr business. They truly don't care if you come back again or not... They don't seem interested in making my meal enjoyable at all. Just a transaction," another said.
However, others thought the charge was fair, with Michelin-starred chef Paul Foster weighing in: "I'm a big fan of cakeage, have charged it myself several times."
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In the end the group decided not to bring the cake. Getty Images/iStockphoto
Another person agreed, pointing out: "So you want the staff to cut the cake, serve the CAKE, with plates & cutlery, remove the dirty plates & cutlery, wash and dry the plates & cutlery & put them away & the owner to pay the staff all while losing dessert sales. Sounds very reasonable of you."
"That's a cheap dessert, you could always have it at home, have your own waiter to serve it, use your own crockery, cutlery, napkins, tidy it up and wash it all," was another response.
The group had booked a set menu for lunch, which included dessert, so the cake would have simply been an additional sweet treat.
