wet socks
should I be only mildly infuriated or extremely?
I’m currently on a work trip and decided to check out this viral spot famous for those hyper realistic fruit shaped cakes. The shop looked absolutely gorgeous inside! In hindsight, the biggest red flag should have been that the cakes were just sitting out on a decorative turntable instead of being refrigerated especially since the one I ordered had a mousse and brownie filling. Keep in mind I literally paid $16 for this...
I brought it back to my hotel, got settled in, and went in for my first bite. The moment I got close, a puff of mold spores literally popped right into my face. I looked down, saw weird spots, and decided to crack it open. To my absolute horror, it was a full blown biology experiment on the inside.
I called the owner and left a voicemail. He called me back within five minutes, profusely apologizing and promising it would be handled immediately. But then he threw me off by saying I could have done anything else instead of coming straight to him, which honestly made it feel like this has happened before.
I took my refund, but looking at how deep and widespread the growth is, there is zero chance this accumulated in just a day or two. Definitely debating whether I need to loop in the health department at this point.
edit: The owner was grateful I called him. "I'm glad you called me, you could've gone anywhere with this is and I appreciate you allowing me to fix it. This will be handled appropriately"
I had this happen to my son’s food when he was like 3. I didn’t inspect it and didn’t understand why ten minutes later he was barfing all over my car. I have never yelled at retail or restaurant people before being a 20 year head bartender and trainer. But I lost my shit on the gm. Demanded a full refund and for them to pay to get my car detailed. He thought I was crazy until I emailed him the pictures I took.
I would’ve taken little man to the hospital, to be safe and prove a damn point. Why should a parent hope for the best (even though, yes, often times this is a non-deadly type of occurrence), when a licensed and insured business is at fault and financially liable?? Of course they should get the best, mostimmediate medical attention.
Yeah, I’ve given businesses a lot of leeway for some questionable things (not quite as gross as the original post, here 🫡😝)…but that was when I made the purchase for myself. A kid, someone that is my guest, or any vulnerable party is getting the most complete advocacy I can offer.
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Hah, this post reminds me of my late aunt for some reason. The cemetery our family uses made a mistake and accidentally buried someone in her paid-for spot. Some old drunk who got killed in a bar fight. When she went up there randomly one day and found someone in her plot, they sheepishly offered to give her a new location for free "somewhere nearby", but she said "fuck you, dig up the son of a bitch or you're giving me THREE." As I understand it those were pretty much her words verbatim, lol.
They exhumed the guy that week and she got her spot back, where she now lays after a long life of smoking cigarettes, drinking scotch, cursing, and never taking any shit off of anyone ever. I miss that old woman dearly. RIP Aunt B.
One of my earliest memories is my mom giving me a chocolate donut and me telling her the sprinkles were moving, and it turns out there were ants on it.
One of my earliest memories was getting into a jar of peanut butter to put on my bread and getting upset that someone hadn’t cleaned their knife off before going back in for another scoop and now the peanut butter had a bunch of toast crumbs in it.
Yeah. It was ants. I still think about that over 35 years later.
EDIT: That’s also the same time that I found out that ants can have wings.
One time I was reading a page-turner of a book and started eating the bag of pecans next to me. Unfortunately, they tasted fine so I didn’t immediately notice the little weevil grubs crawling all over them. 🤢
besides those moths that lay eggs in pistachios. If you've ever had a gross tasting "spicy" pistachio while eating without looking, you ate a moth cocoon and I'm sorry to ruin pistachios for you
I did this years ago rummaging through the fridge for a late night snack. I grabbed a bag of shredded cheese to eat a few pinches, as one does, but my mistake was not having any lights on in the kitchen. I didn't see anything wrong at first, because the little bit of cheese that wasn't hidden by the label looked fine. I ate 3 golf ball sized pinches, while half awake and somewhere between drunk and hungover, before my taste buds finished booting up and told me something was wrong. It clicked immediately, but I still ran to turn on the light so I could see...somehow the only good cheese in there was the tiny bit I could through the bag when taking it from the fridge. The rest was some of the worst mold I have ever seen (possibly an exaggeration since I had just consumed it). That is a vivid moment in my memory because I have never been the insta-puke type, but that "cheese" triggered it. As soon as you realize what you've ate, your brain starts really focusing on that flavor. I was living with my dad at the time, and he actually got out of bed and came downstairs all concerned because he heard me violently trying to expel everything from my system. I told him what happened and he just laughed, said "ooof, that sucks" and went back to bed 😭. Shredded cheese is one of my favorites, and I couldn't touch the stuff for months after that. To this day, even little tiny specs of cheese mold are one of the only things that trigger an instant gag feeling in my throat (the other being a bottle of Bacardi O, which is an entirely different story)
I feel that. One time in hs I was super baked and rummaging the kitchen. Had hot pocket or something in the microwave but needed something to munch on while I waited. It was dark minus the glow of the microwave. Grabbed the panko bread crumbs and took a bite (pinch). Then another. Realized they were really crunchy and getting stuck in my teeth. Turn on the light. The entire jar was filled with shriveled dead bugs.. (ants? Fruit flies? Idk..) but I did go puke everywhere lol man that was gross
Eugh this reminded me of a time I was deep in not eating a lot… I was so hungry and decided to treat myself to a baked potato. I used zero cal butter spray and some random no calorie butter seasoning from the cabinet. I had a couple of bites before I saw something in my food. I ran to the kitchen to better light and saw the butter seasoning swarming with little pantry bugs. I cried, threw up and laid in bed traumatized.
Just to clarify, when you said the owner said “I could have done anything else instead of coming straight to him”, he meant that in a grateful way, right? Like “thanks for bringing this straight to me instead of [reporting to the health dept etc]? Just want to clarify because if he meant that in an angry way that wouldn’t make sense as you aren’t at all to blame
And you’re right, if this has happened before, this is a major major health issue
Yeah he could have been going straight to the kitchen with intent to find out who was in charge of the kitchen that day. That is such a way to tank a business and if the owner was unaware of manager neglect there might be some firing
Unfortunately social media is the best way to get a response sometimes.
Window company wasn't returning my contacts through normal channels to address a warranty issue. Posted on their Facebook page and the owner called me in less than an hour.
the owner might not be great at speaking english and op mistook it as rude but honestly it sounds like he was being grateful that op didnt do what op is sorta doing now, luckily op hasnt named the place and this can all be a genuine mistake by someone new working there and a misunderstanding of language barriers.
Yeah, I read that as gratitude too. If he meant it as blame, that would be a bizarre response since you were doing him a favor by bringing it directly to his attention.
That’s so much fucking mold. It’s gotta be a consistent problem for them to have let this one get to this point and sell it. Health department immediately
I've seen enough Kitchen Nightmares episodes to say this looks like a display case where they never change out the product even though it isn't meant for consumption(still not good practice). Maybe they were served one by a dumb employee or one who didn't know better? Wrong wrong wrong no matter what. This is me trying to assume they are somewhat competent vs letting their main product get that moldy.
Either they aren't rotating product, or they are purposefully doing this. Either way if something like that which is sitting FOH is that bad, imagine the scene BOH. Needs to be inspected ASAP!
I don't understand the point of making posts like this without naming the restaurant. Like sure, something bad happened to you, but now we can't use your learnings cause you didn't tell us where it happened.
i mean that looks like a call to the health department to me. he even so kindly encouraged you to do anything but bring it to him that this happened so
edit: the OP's post was not edited when i commented this. the original phrasing sounded like he would have preferred she not bothered him specifically with this. with the edit it is obviously not the case.
Yeah I didn't know that's what the owner meant either, until I saw the edit. The way it was worded, I thought the owner was basically telling the op that they should've done anything other than contacting them directly.
And having worked retail before, ok yeah I can see it..Why did OP call the owner instead of say manager or whoever. Kinda a prick from owner but I've had many owners that don't want to be bothered by anything and want management to handle it.
Malicious compliance! Though I hesitate to call that "malicious"; it'd be a public service.
ETA: Saw OP's edit that owner meant he was grateful they didn't go elsewhere except straight to him. I still vote OP follow their first instinct to call Health Dept (as their spidey-sense suggests this isn't first time... plus, that mold is REALLY bad). Wouldn't name and shame, though--if they seemed sincere, give owner a chance to show an inspector how they've handled the issue before unleashing the internet horde on a small business.
OP clarified that the owner was grateful they called him instead of doing something else. Probably was relieved OP didn't leave a scathing review online or something.
You're misunderstanding. The owner thanked her because she could have taken the manner public instead of calling him. Like leave a review, make a video, call the health board, etc.
I think they were saying you COULD have done anything else... like thank God you came to me instead of health department or social media and I am grateful 🙏🏽
I'd still call the health dept because at the very least they're not properly training their front line food handlers. That's different than posting a video for engagement- calling it in is being a good neighbor.
WAIT. When he said you "could have done anything else instead of coming straight to him," do you mean that he was was thanking you (like, "Thanks for not going straight to social media") or was he criticizing you (like "You should have told the waitstaff")?????
EDIT: 100% you must forward this to health services. I think that naming them on social media is too much, it could truly be an honest mistake and a fluke. But send it to the people who know how to do an inspection and determine whether it is a pattern. If it was just a mistake they won't get in trouble, but worst case you could save some people from getting really sick!
Yeah that part made zero sense. It could have meant two vastly and completely different things. One is sweet the other is go nuclear on him 😃 edit- spelling
I had one shaped like a cute white rabbit. It was a vanilla mousse with strawberry jam in the middle. I was laughing my ass off bc the plate looked like a massacre when I cut into it
Just curious if that was the one made for display and NOT For sale and someone fucked up. But then again, don't bakeries put some sort of sealer on the displays to make them look fresh?
Not when I worked at Starbucks. Just stuck in the case. Edit: I should specify that the "display" items are just placed in a case and not sealed, just left to go stale, but what people eat is fresh and stored in the back.
I love that in Japan they have this entire culture of creating these picture-perfect representations of dishes using silicone and resin
The story goes that in the 1920s when the country saw an influx of foreign food, a lot of locals were completely unaccustomed, and an artisan made some artificial dishes using wax.
Now every store* has these resin\silicone displays that show you exactly how the dish will look like. There was a short-lived amazing franchise of these true-to-life Japanese cafes in Moscow in the 00s that has commissioned an entire set for their menu, that was how I encountered these for the first time.
Like these:
Gives you an immediate feel of what looks like what you'd like to eat, no?
I have no idea what the context was, but I learned about that on some Sesame Street thing I saw as a kid because Big Bird was trying to order food by pointing and saying “That one” and was very bewildered that they wouldn’t give him the one he pointed at to eat and kept telling him the samples on display weren’t for eating. He did figure out it was fake food in the end.
I have no recollection of anything else that happened before or after in the story, but for some reason that one scene has stuck with me my entire life since.
Oh, no. You should be extremely infuriated. This should never have happened. The only thing I can think of is it's maybe like Starbucks where they have the display of food that NEVER moves and all the actual stock is in back in a fridge/ case. But if that's the case anyone working should be trained to not sell that.
are you sure this is the famous spot? because ive seen better hyper realistic fruit cakes and a better set up/display. this seems like one of those knock off ones trying to ride the hype wave. glad you got refunded though!
Was that actually meant to be served? Are you sure that was not just the display item meant to show you what it's supposed to look like? I worked in a bakery that did that with bread. Once a week we would bake an extra "display" loaf that we set in the window so people could see what they were ordering. They used to look pretty funky by day 7
Honestly this looks almost like you got sold a display cake. I literally cannot believe that a good place thinks it's okay to have cake unrefrigerated for ANY length of time, much less the length of time it would have taken for this to look so bad.
No, the owner was thankful that OP contacted them directly instead of putting them on blast without the chance to make it right. Those are probably for display & weren't meant to be served, like the dessert tray at a restaurant.
As a restaurant manager, even apologizing holy fucking shit I would have done more than refund him, because what the actual fuck. This would be an immediate fire of whoever is the chef, for not making sure their staff knows how to store properly. This is horrendous.
Yeah, this strikes me much more as new person was not trained the items in the case are display only, not to serve. When I was a server I lost count of how many new hires rolled their eyes at me when I explicitly said to serve dessert from the less convenient cooler, not the very convenient trays, then I got to roll my eyes at them while they got chewed out for serving someone stale cake.
Definitely name and shame. This type of mold growth will definitely not happen overnight. They likely left it out of refrigeration for days, and there's no way a responsible owner would sell that to someone.
I’m also not saying the “you could’ve done anything” line is because it’s happened before but in my mind, I went to “this would go viral and ruin my business” on TikTok and if it was an issue he was NOT aware of…. Now he can fix it.
I don’t think that automatically means he’s done it multiple times.
I think you're doing the right thing by not naming them on social media. People are just parroting "name & shame!" because it rhymes and they like to see shit happen. It could be a single mistake made by an otherwise perfectly run restaurant.
BUT I think you absolutely MUST report it to the health department. They're not the cops or anything, they will be fair, do an inspection, and give the restaurant a chance to fix anything they do find.
I agree with you 100% I have contacted the health department just now. They're looking into it and I will not be blasting their name on social media. Just a crazy story to tell
GOOD FOR YOU!! 😃 Inaction is so tempting and easy to rationalize in cases like this, you handled this in the most effective way possible in my opinion! You're a class act.
Yes, PLEASE call the health department. That is a LOT of mold, and there is no way anything accumulated that much mold unless it was being stored WAY past its shelf life, like multiple times over its shelf life. A dessert like that has, at best, a discard life of 5 days, and that is NOT 5 days of mold.
I wonder if you were accidentally served from the fake display vs. the fridge. Like, maybe that was the only one left so a naive worker just went ahead and grabbed that one without realizing the consequence?
Because otherwise… dear god. That’s vile and wrong on so many levels.
Signed, disgusted bakery owner.
Edit: Saw your comment where he grabbed the dessert from the back. Report this, please.
There's a casual dining chain in the northeast called Friendlys. They used to be bigger but have been on the decline, i'm not sure how many are left but it's not many.
When I was a kid, we were eating lunch there, and my brother got a taco bowl salad. He noticed some mold on it, and we called the waiter over, quietly pointing it out.
The waiter yells across the restaurant for the manager "HEY BOSS! THIS SALAD HAS MOLD ON IT!"
Another time, different Friendlys, I'm in college. It's like 1am, and me and some buddies are there eating food while slightly drunk. They have those drop ceiling lights that are part of the celing. I just happen to be looking up as a mouse or something runs across it. I tell the waitress. She yells across the restaurant "HEY JESS! THE RATS ARE BACK!"
Oh hell no my dude. This has been there for quite a long time well past any form restaurant due diligence for rotating food. If they are letting something like this get to this point there's probably no form of real rotation and they're just trying to sell things regardless of the condition and quality. 100% report this to the health department. Your suspicion about this being an ongoing thing is not without merit. That has been there most likely for days.
The owner needs to understand that if you found their information, then their process to contact someone with an issue is harder than the process to find their personal number.
Did they say it as a statement of gratification - you could’ve done anything besides coming to me. I appreciate you giving me the chance to fix this? Otherwise, I’m struggling to understand the statement.
Ewww.. Ugh.. what’s also scary is you even got lucky here that it wasn’t something worse. Green mold is probably the least dangerous thing you could put in your mouth from food that’s been sitting out for like a week, especially if it contains fruit and dairy? someone could get really hurt from this.
Help me understand- “…But then he threw me off by saying I could have done anything else instead of coming straight to him, which honestly made it feel like this has happened before.”
Hmm. Ive seen restaurants do this for display only items. Chef Gordon woild like a word with them. In any case, I'm wondering if the person sold you a display only item unknowingly.
Definitely report it, as it’s clearly an issue they’re not taking seriously. Mould is often present well before it’s visible so someone could have a few bites unaware that it tastes off because it’s gone bad, not just a bad recipe.
Lmfao at the owner just casually assuming you weren't also going to report them. It would take 5 figures minimum for them to convince me not to. This is fucking disgusting and you literally could have died. They're manipulating you by saying what they said and you were right to feel weird about that.
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u/N0stradama5 4h ago
I had this happen to my son’s food when he was like 3. I didn’t inspect it and didn’t understand why ten minutes later he was barfing all over my car. I have never yelled at retail or restaurant people before being a 20 year head bartender and trainer. But I lost my shit on the gm. Demanded a full refund and for them to pay to get my car detailed. He thought I was crazy until I emailed him the pictures I took.