“Utter tosh”: City bigwigs react to office cake ban calls

MANAGEMENT gurus, CEOs and Square Mile workers all slammed a nanny state call by the nation’s top food regulator to ban cake from the office today.

Professor Susan Jebb said bringing in a tasty treat to share with colleagues didn’t create a “supportive environment” for people to cut down on food – and extraordinarily compared it to passive smoking. 

Leadership expert Ann Francke, the chief exec of the Chartered Management Institute, said “sharing office snacks is a great way to come together as a team.

“Subjecting team snacks to some sort of food regulator certainly won’t solve any of the core challenges facing UK businesses,” she continued. 

One high-flying City legal boss told City A.M. that comparing the supply of a Victoria Sponge to lighting up a Marlboro Gold was “utter tosh.” 

Euan Blair, City A.M.’s entrepreneur of the year in 2022 and boss of apprenticeship firm Multiverse said “there are hundreds and thousands of ways to show your appreciation to a hardworking team, but we shouldn’t batter companies that indulge in the odd sweet treat.” 

Jebb, the chair of the Food Standards Agency, made the comments in an interview with The Times.

City workers in Leadenhall Market were in agreement yesterday. 

Steph, who works in insurance, said it was “absolute nonsense.”

And Luciana, who works in the shipping industry, described the comments as “political correctness gone mad. 

“It’s one of the few joys in life – like having a few pints at lunchtime,” she told City A.M. yesterday.

Chefs also weighed in. Robert Singer, the respected head pastry chef at City institutions Duck & Wffle and SushiSamba, said: “As a pastry chef, I’m quite biased about all things sweet. I believe cake should be enjoyed in groups. There is nothing better than sitting around with friends socialising and sharing a variety of different cakes. Lockdown was a really tough time for so many people. It became very lonely and isolated. Now that we’ve come through it and groups can now get together, the general mental health of so many increased back to a safe level.”