''Each time I see the picture of my wedding cake, the
rather funny but sad story of the wedding cake comes to mind.
I was told by a good friend, during my wedding preparations that there was a
lady at Enugu that makes great wedding cakes. Infact my friend, though not
familiar with the lady, offered to take me to hers:
Dressed rather casually, I decided to park my own Mercedes and I joined my
friend in her own car which was a cute looking but modest Volkswagen (known as
Beetle in those days) and she drove us to the cake maker’s place.
Upon our arrival, The popular cake maker, (whose name I withhold for obvious
reasons) totally oblivious of my identity, took one derisive look at the car we
arrived in, and was not impressed. I told her I needed her to make my wedding
cake, and she started coming up with all manner of excuses.
First, she told me her cakes were very expensive and I definitely would not be
able to afford it ( at 25,000 naira in those days), and offered to direct me to
a cheaper cake place, stressing that she only makes cakes for important
personalities ( even going ahead to drop names..such as one Union bank manager,
one boutique owner, etc who in her estimation were ‘dignitaries’) but I told
her that I could manage to afford it. She then asked where the wedding was
taking place and I told her it was at Abuja. She said I would have to pay for
her transportation to Abuja to mount the cake and that since she only travels
by air, not road, this added cost would be difficult for me to carry, to which I
replied that I would pay.
She raised the issue of hotel accommodation, which I assured her, would be
taken care of. My friend kept nudging me and whispering in my ear, ‘ Tell this
woman who you are so she can put a stop to these nonsense questions’, to which
I replied no. I was secretly amused, albeit perplexed at that moment about
human nature and social climbers, which by her attitude, this lady clearly was.
What I found surprising was that the lady herself was definitely not well off,
her own car was an old Corolla, her surroundings not plush, and she was merely
one of those ‘I must belong by all means’ type of people, yet she had the
temerity to look down on others she considered not ‘rich’.
To cut a long story short, still not convinced that I could afford her services
( judging by my casual dressing and the modest ride, which was not even mine,
meaning I probably had no vehicle of my own), she briskly discharged us both,
telling me to drop my number, and that she would call me. I dropped my number
with her under my Igbo name Odinaka, and we left. I never heard from her again.
I simply took up a generous offer from the Canadian chef at the Nicon Hilton
Abuja then, who was a master baker, and my gigantic multi tiered wedding cake
was made at no cost at all, simply as PR to market and advertise the Hotel’s
services.
The Enugu cake maker one day, just a week to the wedding, saw the television
broadcasts of our impending wedding which was a big event at the time, and
realised it was me who had come to her place for a wedding cake. She flew into
a panic and quickly managed to find her way to my house, and started begging,
with all kinds of bland explanations, asking why I didn’t introduce myself
‘appropriately’ ( by which she meant as a ‘VIP’), and even offering to make the
cake free of charge, but it was too late.
On this day, a beautiful breezy day in November 1994, it was a memorable
wedding ceremony at the Nicon Noga Hilton ( Today’s Transcorp Hilton), Abuja,
the first wedding event ever hosted there. And it was grand. The life size
multi step cake, much bigger and more lavish than any conceivable one the Enugu
cake maker could ever have offered, was donated by the management of the
Hilton.
The Enugu Cake maker lost a great opportunity to showcase her skills and her
product since the event was telecast across the country TV, radio, Newspapers,
Magazines and every conceivable news medium with the Hilton Master Baker taking
the cake credits. This advertisement masterstroke greatly boosted the Hilton
Events hosting business and facilitated countless more weddings at the same
Congress Hall at Hilton. Last I heard, the Cakemaker’s business has since
folded after she faced some difficulties in her business several years ago''.
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