Cake Tasting Etiquette

It would not be in poor taste to meet with poor vendors prior to booking one. Its just liek any other vendor. You arent necessarily goign to book the first photographer that you meet with for example. you should be shopping around and I'm surethey understand that in this business. Most places dont charge for the cake testing.

i think when you are testing the cake dont give the impression that you will be booking them right then and there. taste the cake and politley say at the end "thank you! all those cales were great! My fiance and I are goign to go home and discuss which we liked the best and we will be in touch with you shoudl we decide to book."Hope that helps

I think it's SMART to meet with both and have a tasting! That way you can decide which one you like best! I live in a very small town, and the lady we are going to see didn't even know what a cake tasting was! Scary at first, but I asked around and everyone said her cakes were awesome! I'll see what kind of price she has for what I want, I was also warned to get everything in writing with her, We are also going to check out a 'cakery' when we went dress shopping next month and I phoned and told them I wanted to do a tasting, and they pretty much told me that I have more than enough time to come in for their once a year tasting in march, and I told them that that would be impossible because I workin the oilfield and can't leave work in the middle of the busy season! So we are just going to go there to llok at their work and pricing, if its better than the other lady, the only way I would book and put down a deposit is if they agree to a tasting later in the month... So con't

Just ask lots of questions, take pen and paper, get a quote on what you want/like and ask if there a cake back up in case something happens to the cake and if it includes delivery, even if the one you like is more steep than the other bakery, tell them that you can get the same thing for this much and ask if they will lower their price OR throw in some extras at no additional cost..and don't think it's rude to meet and eat with 2 different companies!

Your post made me think of the cake I just had the other night. It was from Publix. Oh my God! That was the best cake I ever had. But no, I don't think its improper to go to both. You have to compare. I almost made that mistake. I thought this caterer was the best in town. Had the best prices, everything. Well, I never signed the contract. Needless to say, when I had to make some cutbacks for my wedding, I started looking around again. I had only talked to that caterer. Well, I contacted the caterer that my wedding coordinator recommended and although I haven't tasted their food, their price is half of what I would've been paying the other caterer. And I will be getting more things from them. Glad I got scared to sign that contract.

Wedding professionals expect you to shop around. My friend is in the cake business and tells me that the couple will let her know that they had this many # of appointments still to go to before they decide. If you are looking for someone in the VA hampton roads area, check out Shockley's Sweet Shoppe. She does free cake tastings.

Thank you everyone for your advice. I feel much better now!

From a vendor's perspective....

It is totally expected for you to shop around! In fact I offer "shopper's discounts" to those who have already been to a few tastings and done some "homework" already. The most important thing to remember etiquette wise is PLEASE, please if you can not make it for any reason CALL the vendor and let them know as soon as possible. There is nothing worse than baking up cake samples and sitting waiting on someone - all production stopped in my kitchen - for someone who is a no show. It makes it so frustrating to offer free tastings. Aside from that enjoy your shopping and tasting! Make sure to compare size of tiers that equal ___servings, as that can vary from place to place.