Man baffled after restaurant charges £10 per head ‘cakeage’ fee

‘What is this world we live in?’ Ivor Baddiel wrote on Twitter

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A man has been left bemused after a restaurant he was going to revealed it charged a £10 per head “cakeage” fee for those who wanted to bring their own celebration cakes.

Writer Ivor Baddiel, brother of comedian David, tweeted on Sunday: “I asked the restaurant I’m going to for a birthday lunch today if we could bring a cake with [us] 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?”

The tweet quickly went viral and has received 1,700 retweets and over 26,800 likes.

Some Twitter users responded in disbelief, with one writing: “A cakeage I suppose I can understand. £10 / head is ripping the p*** though.”

Another added: “Personally, I’d have cancelled the entire booking and found a restaurant that wanted your 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.”

However, some were on the side of the unnamed restaurant, with one user tweeting: “It costs the restaurant in cleaning and lost revenue from dessert. Many restaurants are on their knees post Covid. Can’t have your cake and eat it.”

Another said: “£10 a head is crazy but tbh so is the ignorance about how expensive it is to try and run a business in the UK right now. The staff, the rent, the washing up - the fact that you are eating your own cake instead of pudding. People think hospitality is easy. We’re barely on our feet.”

Andrew Scott, executive development chef at Wadworth Brewery replied with the question: “You’ve stopped them being able to sell a dessert to you though, as you’ve brought your own?”

Another user said: “Cakeage and corkage are normal in restaurants and they basically account for loss of takings from customers not buying desserts. Depending on the venue and the desert prices, it can range from £5-£10. This has been normal practice for decades.”

Another user said they had recently been charged £40 to bring a Colin the Caterpillar cake to a “posh restaurant” in London.

Baddiel later joked: “Unbelievable, I’ve now been told by a restaurant I’m going to tonight that I have to wear clothes!”