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Boss’ unethical demands to employees

<p dir="ltr">A boss who demanded his employees clock off every time they’re away from doing their job has been called out. </p> <p dir="ltr">The vegan bakery in Oregon, USA, had the list of demands stuck to a door and a photo of it was shared to Reddit. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Always clock out when passing this door,” a bold line heads the note. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Including bathroom breaks, 10-minute shift breaks, lunch breaks, questions regarding personal requests.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Questions regarding production should not require leaving the production area, please see floor manager on duty.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Paid break times will be added to your paycheck in accordance with hours worked.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Reddit users slammed the boss for the inhumane demands, saying it’s an easy way to get your employees to leave.</p> <p dir="ltr">“If you want to buy my body for 8 hours, you will pay for its needs, too,” someone wrote. </p> <p dir="ltr">“How to lose 1/4 of your staff in one go,” another commented. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I need water and food to get through a work day. That means I need to get rid of that water and food during the work day as well. Don‘t like it? Hire a robot,” someone else wrote. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Reddit</em></p>

Money & Banking

UK bakery under fire over using “illegal” sprinkles

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A bakery in the north of England has come under fire after using sprinkles that are illegal in the UK. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Richie Myers, owner of Get Baked in Leeds, was infuriated when an unknown customer reported him to trading standards over the use of the confectionery. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the UK, the sprinkles</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> contain an additive known as Erythrosine, which is not banned in the UK but is reserved solely for use </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">in processed cherries, according to the International Association of Colour Manufacturers.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">West Yorkshire Trading Standards confirmed to the </span><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-58896391"><span style="font-weight: 400;">BBC</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> it has taken action to ensure the usage of the sprinkles is stopped.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Richie dubbed the issue “Sprinklegate”, and shared a recount of the issue to Facebook, which has garnered worldwide attention. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The baker who is “passionate about sprinkles” called out the customer that reported him, saying he “hopes they fail”.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844935/get-baked-fb1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/300d0a19e7034e87bc56d943c1ab3ca8" /></p> <p><em>Image credits: Facebook - Get Baked</em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As an investigation began into the elusive sprinkles, Richie said this hurt his small business, as they were a key ingredient in many sweet treats. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He told the BBC that it had been a “horrendous ordeal” and that he had “genuinely lost sleep” over it. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As Richie provided an update on “sprinklegate”, he said he had no choice but to stop using the sprinkles and was trying to think of a suitable replacement. </span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844936/get-baked-fb2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/1821d891cbed49eaba6d0cb5d3ae8a6c" /></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credit: Facebook - Get Baked</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite having to change their famous recipe, Richie and the Get Backed team have kept their signature sense of humour through the whole “sprinklegate” ordeal.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVD0_wdMlpb/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVD0_wdMlpb/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by GET BAKED® (@getbakeduk)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">By posting their hilarious updates online, Richie said he has been presented with “opportunities he could only have ever dreamed of”. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a recent Instagram post, Richie addressed the person who reported them to the trading standards, saying, “</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">I honestly cannot thank you enough. You have inadvertently flung us forward 5 years and saved me a f** load in marketing budget, not that I ever have a marketing budget, but you’ve still done a sensational deed.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I owe you a pint.”</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credits: Instagram @getbakeduk</span></em></p>

Food & Wine

The Austrian bakery being run by grandmas

<p><span>For centuries, coffee houses have shaped Vienna’s culture. The institution has continued to give the Austrian capital a singular characteristic that can be found nowhere else. </span></p> <p><span>And among the many remarkable cafés in the city, the charmingly retro Vollpension has emerged as one of the most popular. </span></p> <p><span>Vollpension, German for “full pension”is not a regular coffee shop – the staff mainly consist of grandmothers and grandfathers, who are in charge of baking cakes, serving the customers and sometimes sharing the history of the various delicacies from behind the counter.</span></p> <p><span>The ambience is also reminiscent of a grandmother’s home – framed old family pictures covered the walls, complemented by vintage furniture, tiny vases and animal figurines around the room.</span></p> <p><span>“This is more than just a coffee shop,” 31-year-old Hannah Lux, the managing partner of the café and one of its three owners, told <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/vollpension-grandma-cafe-vienna-austria/index.html"><em>CNN</em></a>. “I come from the countryside and was raised by my grandparents. Older people are very precious to me. We are working on building a community, a human way of coming together.”</span></p> <p><span>Lux said the venture started out in 2012 as a pop-up and then a travelling show, where 10 grandmas were taken along a tour of the country to go to festivals, beer parties and fairs.</span></p> <p><span>Today, Vollpension stands on Vienna’s 4<sup>th</sup> district with 45 employees, 23 of them being seniors. </span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BjFH90RHiUE/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BjFH90RHiUE/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Oma (@vollpension_wien)</a> on May 22, 2018 at 5:40am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span>“It’s generations coming together,” said 69-year-old Judith Siöberg, a grandmother-of-two who has worked at the café since it opened its doors in 2015.</span></p> <p><span>She said she works part-time, like most of the staff. “We can choose our own days and shifts, and every day is different. Some of us have to be with our grandchildren.”</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt-p4uqBn49/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt-p4uqBn49/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Oma (@vollpension_wien)</a> on Feb 17, 2019 at 2:07am PST</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span>All the cakes offered at the café – such as strudels, poppy seed cakes and chocolate tortes – are made based on the bakers’ own recipes. Siöberg’s specialty is American cheesecake, although she also prepares brownies and other treats. </span></p> <p><span>After the success of the Schleifmühlgasse store, Vollpension is set to open a second café next month. Lux said she and her team are considering opening one or two more spots in Vienna.</span></p>

International Travel

Aussie baker hits back at customer's negative review: "$6 croissant is a joke"

<p>An Aussie bakery has defended its AU$6 (NZ$6.3) croissants against a negative review.</p> <p>When a customer took to social media to complain about the croissants from bakery Flour and Stone, founder Nadine Ingram responded with a thorough explanation.</p> <p>On Sunday, a customer wrote on the business’s Facebook page about her less than impressive experience. "Not the best croissants I have eaten. They're too buttery. 6 dollars [for] the croissant is a joke."</p> <p>Ingram replied with a long statement, which she shared on Facebook and Instagram, to justify why the item is priced so high.</p> <p>"It's true $6 is a lot for a croissant and you're not the only one to raise an eyebrow or two at the price increase," Ingram wrote. "The $6 croissant pays for the training, the ingredients, the purpose."</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpermalink.php%3Fstory_fbid%3D2127585853988397%26id%3D191275080952827&width=500" width="500" height="664" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></p> <p>She explained that the price increase was to facilitate pay rises and training for her staff.</p> <p>"I allocate 3 training shifts a week just on croissant for the bakers in my team because they said that’s what they want to learn," she wrote.</p> <p>“In addition I have a career mentor program where my staff go and spend the day with one of my peers making coffee, cheese, bread or chocolates. Flour and Stone pays for this and I add, this type of scheme is almost unheard of in hospitality. It’s my purpose.”</p> <p>She also said the use of quality materials for the baked goods, such as Pepe Saya butter and Country Valley milk, also influences the price.</p> <p>She also mentioned her refusal to reduce the number of employees on her payroll.</p> <p>"Did you know there are manufacturers out there getting creative about avoiding payroll tax (a privilege I will have for the first time this year) by investing in machines and reducing their workforce? I’m not going to do this! Because I don't believe this is a sustainable way for Australia to move forward."</p> <p>Many of the bakery’s fans have applauded Ingram’s response.</p> <p>"Excellent response. I would rather pay $6 for a great croissant than $2-$5 for a crap one," commented one user on Instagram.</p> <p>"It's a tough gig running a bakery and people just don't understand the price of ingredients from paddock to plate, adding on wages, electricity... and so many more," another chimed in.</p> <p>However, some customers also came in defense of the reviewer.</p> <p>"It's totally out of line to berate a customer personally with feedback in this condescending manner. [The reviewer] is entitled to leave an honest review of their experience with your product," a Facebook user replied.</p> <p>"I don't think it's reasonable to expect everyone to know what goes in to making the highest quality croissants (or what Pepe Saya butter is)," another customer wrote on Instagram. "A lot of people don’t grow up being able to access high quality produce. So it's great to teach people about what does go into producing your amazing and high quality products, but I don't think it's a good idea to undermine people who don't know."</p> <p>Ingram told <a rel="noopener" href="https://kitchen.nine.com.au/2019/02/11/15/41/six-dollar-croissant-bakery-flour-and-stone-outrage" target="_blank"><em>9Honey Kitchen</em></a> she did not expect her posts to stir up an outrage.</p> <p>"I went to a hospitality symposium before Christmas and listened to a lot of people in the industry who are hurting every day. People who are trying to keep prices low but maintain their integrity,” she said.</p> <p>"I made this flippant remark at the end that there should be a revolution to change the way people perceive food to be produced."</p> <p>What do you think of the baker's explanation on her $6 croissants? Share your thoughts in the comments.</p>

News

Why this Christmas ad has caused so much outrage

<p>A Christmas ad from British bakery chain Greggs has caused a stir in the UK, prompting the company to apologise. When you look at the full image, it’s easy to see why.</p> <p>The image, as part of a promotion for the company’s advent calendar, depicts the famous Nativity Scene, with baby Jesus substituted for a sausage roll.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Headlinechallenge?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Headlinechallenge</a>: Greggs says sorry after advent calendar replaces baby Jesus with a sausage roll. Altogether now...OH CRUMB ALL YE FAITHFUL <a href="https://t.co/xfaMUZ6C9W">https://t.co/xfaMUZ6C9W</a> <a href="https://t.co/CBtIqHkA9Q">pic.twitter.com/CBtIqHkA9Q</a></p> — Peter Barron (@PeteBarronMedia) <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteBarronMedia/status/930487323971735552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 14, 2017</a></blockquote> <p>Many customers were shocked to see the Three Wise Men look upon the savoury treat, accusing the bakery chain of religious insensitivity and calling for a boycott.</p> <p>Greggs responded to the criticism in a statement: “We’re really sorry to have caused any offence, this was never our intention.”</p> <p>What’s your view? Do you think customers are taking this too seriously? Or does Greggs have something to answer for? Share your thoughts in the comments. </p>

Art

French baker to sell business to homeless man for $1.50

<p>A French baker has decided to sell his business to the homeless man who saved his life, only asking for a single Euro for the Parisian boulangerie he built.</p> <p>But the baker Michel Flamant, 62, has a good reason to offer his business at such a bargain. Just last year Mr Flamant was working when disaster almost struck.</p> <p>When one of the pastry ovens started leaking carbon monoxide Mr Flamant was in trouble, dazed and staggering around the bakery.</p> <p><img width="499" height="305" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/18587/baker-2_499x305.jpg" alt="Baker 2" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"/></p> <p>Jerome Aucant, the 37-year-old homeless man who regularly stopped by the bakery, was walking past and quickly noticed something was amiss. When he saw Mr Flamant staggering around he immediately contacted emergency services.</p> <p>"If Jerome wasn’t around that day I would have been a goner," Mr Flamant told said.</p> <p>Mr Flamant spent the next 12 days in hospital, before returning to health.</p> <p>Mr Flamant offered Mr Aucant a job at the bakery, and Mr Aucant has impressed the bakery owner so much with his application he taught him the baking business.</p> <p>Now, with retirement just around the corner, Mr Flamant has offered Mr Aucant his business for just one euro ($1.50).</p> <p>"What's more important, money or life? I don't care about money. I'm not rich but I don't care. I want to be free, I want to take it easy now. And also, if this makes him happy..." Mr Flamant said.</p> <p>And Mr Aucant is very grateful for the offer, "I have to be 100 percent on the job/ Michel has given me a real gift, and now... I want to be worthy of it."</p> <p>To see the pair at work, scroll through the gallery above. </p> <p><strong>Related links: </strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/retirement-life/2016/04/oldest-skier-in-britain-retires-from-sport/"><em>102-year-old skier retires from the slopes</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/retirement-life/2016/03/grandmother-lifts-100kg/"><em>78-year-old grandmother lifts weights like a pro athlete</em></a></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/retirement-life/2016/03/man-celebrates-92nd-birthday-by-jumping-out-of-plane/"><em>Grandpa celebrates 92nd birthday by jumping out of a plane</em></a></strong></span></p>

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