Hot discussions

Action against cake bungling causes a stir

Motif cakes have become all the rage in recent years - and are also making the ovens of illegal manufacturers run hot.

(Bild: Дарья Геращенко - stock.adobe.com)

An illegal cake baker who has been exposed in Upper Austria is causing a stir in the confectionery industry. Federal guild master Leo Jindrak has announced tougher action against businesses that work illegally. What do people in the country think? The readers of krone.at are having a heated debate.

She collected unemployment benefit and emergency unemployment assistance, but also made a lot of money selling themed cakes on the black market: an illegal confectioner in Upper Austria earned 72,000 euros, who was recently caught by the financial police and is now in trouble - in the form of charges and clawbacks.

Federal guild master Leo Jindrak calls those who tamper with the trade and don't play by the rules a "mess". Jindrak has announced a tougher program and wants to work with the Chamber of Commerce to take an even closer look so that illegal businesses are shut down.

There are many individual entrepreneurs in the confectionery industry who do a great job, but there are also many who operate illegally.

Leo Jindrak, Bundesinnungsmeister der Konditoren

But what do people in the country think about this? There is a heated debate on krone.at as to whether bungling is simply part of life in Austria or whether it should be stopped. "If a cake costs twice as much in the shops, the move into the private sector is perfectly understandable in these times," it says.

Bakehouse in the basement, home deliveries - all black
"Better take care of the big fish and not the small ones," one user urges the authorities. Another user reports on someone in his town who has set up a bakery in the cellar, bakes bread, pastries, Easter crescents and the like and even makes home deliveries on Saturdays - all in the black.

"Will everyone who earns a bit of extra money, whether through flea markets or any other kind of auxiliary work, be checked now?" asks another. "No matter in which area - without bunglers, many things would no longer be affordable," they write. In other words, when it comes to saving money, many people legitimize tinkering.