[FULL] Jealous cousin demanded grandma's recipe, I ended her baking dreams

Kate Podcast
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My jealous cousin said that I have no right to sell out our grandma's recipe
and demanded that I give her the recipe, but I gave her a reason not to try baking again.
My grandma was a wonderful baker and had a secret cake recipe that she had created herself.
It used some very uncommon spice combinations in the cake and frosting that produced a very
unique but delicious cake. She would always make it for our big family gatherings
and it was always the most popular dessert. When she got sick a couple of years ago,
she decided to share the recipe so that it wouldn't die with her and offered to give
it to any of her kids or grandkids who wanted it. I was the only one who asked for it before she
died. I don't know why no one else did, as there were several other bakers in the family.
After she passed, I took over bringing the cake to family gatherings and everyone was
happy to still be able to enjoy it. I also started making cakes for friends and family,
and then for others by word of mouth to make some extra cash on the side.
My business was really starting to pick up around the time the pandemic hit,
as people who'd had my cakes recommended me to their own friends and family.
It soon became too much to keep up with in my tiny home kitchen, so I reached out to a friend
who had a catering business with a professional kitchen. And since her business took a big hit
with the virus, I made a deal to use her kitchen to make my cakes and help supplement the takeout
business she started to get by. My cousin Jane recently found out that grandma's recipe was one
of my best sellers, and said that I had no right to sell out grandma's recipe, especially after
keeping it all to myself. She had asked for it late last year, but I said no. I told her that
she had the chance to get it from grandma before she died, and didn't seem to care enough to bother
then. Since Jane had lost her job, she had decided to try selling cakes too, which I think is why
The reviews on her cakes have not been good, and no one has been recommending her.
Jane said that the only reason my business was doing well was because of grandma's cake,
and my access to a professional kitchen. The kitchen does help with being able to
work on multiple orders at once, but my business is doing well because
I actually make good cakes. Jane is a good cook, but not a good baker. She doesn't follow
measurements properly and instead does everything to taste, which works for cooking but not baking.
Using too much or too little of any ingredients like flour, eggs, butter, or even their starting
temperature will not give you the result you want. Jane is demanding that I either stop selling
grandma's cake, or teach her the recipe so she can too. I refused, and said she was a hypocrite
for wanting to sell the cake herself after getting angry at me for doing so. When she gave me the
recipe, grandma said that her biggest regret was never opening a bakery like she had dreamed.
I think she'd love so many people enjoying her cake, so I found a great spot near my city's
office park in the big city, where a caterer deli had closed and opened a bakery. We've been open
since June, and business has been great with all the morning and evening traffic and the lunch
crowd from the business park. We sell cakes, pastries, breads, buns, etc. Typical bakery stuff.
I also have a cook who comes in for a few hours in the morning to do eggs and stuff for breakfast,
sandwiches and wraps for the office folks. A few weeks after I opened, Jane stopped by.
She apologized and confirmed what I and others had suspected. She only cared about the cake recipe
because she was jealous of my success with my custom cake business. She'd always wanted to
work in food, but hated the idea of losing her evenings and working in a high-pressure kitchen.
So when I suddenly started doing so well, she thought she could do the same but didn't know
how to start her own catering business. I apologized too for not wanting to share the recipe,
but I was afraid that she would ruin my business by putting out bad cakes, and no one would want
to buy mine either. I then offered to have her come in three days a week to offer a stew of the
day during the lunch rush. I had the extra kitchen space for it, and stews really do suit her style
of cooking to taste. She loved the idea, and they were an instant hit. She had complete freedom to
create whatever two kinds of soup she wanted each day, just adding things on a whim, and they were
always delicious. They got very popular quickly with the office folks since there aren't many
other takeout options nearby, without driving about an extra 5 to 10 minutes outside to fast
food burger places. We soon expanded to her coming in every weekday, and then making a cold soup
option on Fridays for the Saturday lunch. We're closed on Sundays. It's been a great arrangement
since she keeps her evenings and weekends and gets that creative control. She's tried her hand at
baking a time or two again and has declared she just doesn't have the patience for it,
and hasn't asked for the recipe again.
