Food with Serial Numbers
Over lunch at a recent conference, I noticed that the catered cakes actually had serial numbers!
What you’re seeing is a flat chocolate shell sitting on the back of a piece of mousse cake. Look carefully at the bottom left of the chocolate:
Yes, that’s a serial number (sorry for the blurry iPhone photos). What’s not shown is that the chocolate also had a brand label printed on somewhere else. Neither of these things belong on fine food, which is what this purported to be.
Serial numbers help with inventory tracking and things like that, but that is rarely customer facing. Seth Godin had a recent post about serial numbers, but his best advice was simply “Think hard about whether you need a serial number at all.” Diners do not care that your desserts have inventory tracking codes that help you or your suppliers find them more easily. They just want to be wowed by taste and presentation.
This cake should never have left the kitchen.
Counterargument: Numbering increases perceived worth on the basis that it’s “limited edition”. Similar to art print numbering, or limited edition books. You got a special dessert that is so important that it needs to be accounted for individually and they only make a limited number.
A very different idea than a serial number or a bar code which obscures individuality. In other words: numbering people = bad, numbering things = good.
Reply: the cake was dreadful, so I can’t possibly believe anyone would think it was “limited edition” anything.
I’m with Christi…my first, knee-jerk thought was, “What, was it brought in from Payard or something?” Your use of the word ‘dreadful’ suggests that it was not. :-)
Maybe it’s a gimmick…make you think there must be something special about it if it’s a freaking piece of *cake* with a serial number. Why else would they go to the trouble?
Unfortunately, if the gimmick sets expectations the performance can’t meet, it’s just tacky.