Questions to Ask When Ordering a Cake

A cake is so much more than flour and sugar – it can be the focal point of your celebration.  Obviously, visual impact and taste are important, but first things first – how to choose the baker?

Look online for reviews (EasyEventPlanning.com may be a good source of reviews of bakers and cake professionals in your area).  When interviewing bakers, be sure to ask:

Experience
1.    How long have you been in this field?
2.    What made you get in to it?
3.    What were you were doing before?
4.    How long have you had this particular business?
5.    What kind of training have you had? 
6.    What’s your specialty?
7.    Do you have a portfolio?  You may want to ask if those are pictures of cakes they’ve personally created.
8.    Can you incorporate a picture on to a cake?
9.    Can you customize a design for me?

Other
10.    Do you have a website?
11.    Are you licensed by the health department?
12.    Do you carry insurance?
13.    Can I call the last 3 or 4 people you’ve baked for?  (If they give you someone who used them a year ago, that’s a red flag.  There may have been some unhappy customers recently.)
14.    What kinds of fillings/flavors can I choose from? 
15.    Do you offer free tastings? 
16.    Do you use only fresh ingredients?
17.    How far in advance are your cakes prepared?
18.    Do you freeze any of your cakes/desserts?
19.    How many cake orders can you handle for the same day?  (You may need to order months in advance to secure your slot.) 
20.    How many orders do you already have for my event date?
21.    Will you personally be the one baking my cake?  If not, can you tell me about the experience/training of the baker?
22.    How are your cakes priced?  (Some bakers charge by the slice, some by the size of the cake, the number of layers/tiers, the type of filling used.  Obviously decorative elements will cost more.)
23.    Do you offer any guarantees?
24.    Do you rent/sell cake stands and cake tops?
25.    What other kinds of desserts do you offer?
26.    Do you deliver?  Is there a fee?
27.    What happens in the event of an emergency, illness, etc?  Do you have another baker you work with?
28.    Why should I choose you over other bakers?
29.    What is your payment policy?
30.    What is your cancellation policy?