There's a lot of buzz in influencer-circles around the launch of a new restaurant from Dubai in London, called Parker's. The main reason there's some buzz around it is because the restaurant serves a slice of chocolate cake that's gone viral in Dubai. They call it the Matilda cake, inspired by Roald Dahl's popular children's book Matilda, which is served as a slice of choc cake smothered in chocolate sauce decorated with a printed paper pick. But since its launch in London, there's another reason why it's being talked about more and I'll get to that reason below.
Image via TimeOut
If you haven't read the book or watched the films, a young boy called Bruce is forced to eat an entire massive chocolate cake by the horrid headmistress Miss Trunchbull as a punishment - you may think being forced to eat chocolate cake doesn't sound like much of a punishment, but trust, being force-fed an entire 18", yup EIGHTEEN inch, layer cake is torture.
Image via Netflix
There are many cakes inspired by the chocolate cake featured in Matilda. It is quite simply a chocolate layer cake with chocolate frosting. Google shows up countless versions. It's an iconic chapter in the book, and the scenes in the movie adaptations are grim and harrowing, hence the relevance of the cake. There isn't a specific recipe for the cake in the actual book so any real life versions of it are up to the creative imagination and recipe of the baker.
So, about real life chocolate cake then. There's one available by the slice at Fortnum and Mason's by Get Baked called Bertha, sister to Bruce - a very sumptuous and indulgent looking slice of chocolate cake and ganache with many many layers for £17 to take away (or £30 in an even cuter wicker basket).
Bertha's made some waves in the press too and I'm yet to try a slice myself (but one of my friends has told me it's AMAZING).
In comparison, the Matilda cake from Dubai is priced at £24. And this is perhaps another contributing factor to its 'virality'.
I'm not one to gawp at prices of cakes. Our cakes range from £80 for a fairly simply styled 6" cake serving 8-10 portions going all the way up to £2,000 for a large and elaborate cakescape. We also sold cake sandwiches from £15-£25. All our cake prices include packaging and delivery but they are still premium.
We do at times get asked WHY our cakes are so expensive. To which my answer is now, "I'm afraid to provide the standard of quality and service that we do, that's how much it costs". There is never going to be a good answer to such a question because the person asking it simply does not value the product the same way we, or our other customers, do. And that is ABSOLUTELY fine.
But that's not to say it's not a valid question! If the value isn't obvious to me, I might just be curious. Which brings me to the Matilda cake.
I shared my thoughts on Instagram and got an awkward dressing-down in DMs from one person.
Ignoring the holes in logic, there is a lot of food for thought in there!
When other alternatives with more appetising aesthetics are present, what makes this slice go viral at such a high price point? Are we too used to cheap cakes, so when a business does charge a price that they need to in order to operate we get a shock? Or is it a clever marketing ploy - to get people to talk about a cake that on appearance isn't really anything wildly out of the ordinary? How much is TOO much to charge for a slice of cake?
With bakeries closing up and down the country, including both small and high profile names, it's seemingly getting harder and harder to thrive. With consumers spending power shrinking with the cost of living crisis, prices can be as high as they can, but would that bring in a sustainable stream of customers to keep going once all the influencers have been fed £24 slices for free?
I don't know any of the answers to the above questions. If you have any answers or theories please drop them in the comments below!
Hot chocolate sauce love,
Reshmi xoxo
Ghalia
September 26, 2024
I’m a few days late reading this, so forgive me if I’m repeating stuff others have already said/cleared up!
1) On the Parker’s cake “slice”, I don’t know if the London offering is the exact same as or different from what they have in their Dubai menu, but it’s not really a single slice of cake. Every time I’ve had it’s been shared among 5-6 people quite generously (albeit after a big meal(. The fun is in the ridiculousness of such a massive “slice”. & I guess that’s the Roald Dahl inspiration – someone accidentally ordering this “slice of cake” for one will find themselves feeling like little Bruce as they face the challenge of finishing the whole thing. Though I bet I could do it for breakfast with the right pot of tea :D
2) On how much to charge for cake….. How long is a piece of string! I’ve no idea, but I also feel like widely varying prices is fine? Different price points in the market for different budgets/quality? The one time I ordered a birthday cake from you it was for my husband, during lockdown, when there would just be the two of us eating it. At the time it would have been something I absolutely would have had to plan and budget for in advance – which is what I did. Another time I wanted to do something similar for a friend but didn’t have the budget, so made one myself at home. Turned out looking very pretty (though my friend did say the piped swirls on top looked a little like the turd emoji, albeit in pink….). Most weekends I was lucky enough to be able to treat myself to a custard slice for breakfast from the french bakery down the road, or get a slightly too expensive Danish from Portobello Road. When that wasn’t feasible and I craved something delicious and sweet, Sainsbury’s sugared ring doughnut always did the job. & on days I knew I could and wanted to, I’d walk into the Selfridge’s food hall and get a crazy expensive and equally delicious eclair, or Longboy doughnut, or whatever, and enjoy every last bite of it with a cup of coffee. Each and every one of those treats gave me joy in equal measure. Never did I get angry at the price of a pastry/dessert item – what’s the point? There is ALWAYS an alternative that can meet my budget. Now, I will say that I left the UK in March 2022, just as the nightmare that is the cost of living crisis was coming. So maybe what I’m saying doesn’t apply any longer; maybe it sounds completely out of touch; I don’t know. Someone let me know!