If you've ever celebrated your birthday at a restaurant, you'll know the unique thrill – or fear, depending on how much you like being the centre of attention – that comes with having a birthday cake brought out.
Now, some restaurants are charging diners a "cakeage" fee, like a corkage fee for wine, for bringing a cake with them for celebrations. Some are charging up to €5 per person, the Sunday Times Ireland reports.
They found that a quarter of the 20 restaurants they surveyed were charging people who brought cakes with them to parties. One restaurant they mentioned was Chez Max, a French restaurant located beside Dublin Castle, which told a party of 14 that it would charge them €4 each to have a birthday cake with their dinner.
The party was paying €36 a person for an à la carte menu, which included dessert, and the charge would have brought the price to €56. After the customers protested, the restaurant offered to reduce the charge to €2 each.
However, it varies from place to place, as there is no set "cakeage" fee. Some restaurants will only charge if the cake is eaten in the restaurant, meaning you get the 'Happy Birthday' singalong, the photos and the chance to blow out the candles for free – as long as you save your slice for later on at home.
There are other restrictions in place, such as when it comes to allergens.
The term "cakeage" is not new, however, as it's thought to have been coined by San Francisco Chronicle writer Herb Caen as far back as 1991. It was prevalent enough to be entered into the Oxford Dictionary in 2015 but has not reached our shores until very recently.
Speaking to the Irish Mirror, Dermott Jewell of the Consumers' Association Of Ireland said: "I remember they were thinking of doing this in the UK a while back, I'm a bit surprised that it’s coming in over here.
"I’m not unaware of the costs of running restaurants but you can do damage to your business with things like this."
