Naming controversy over novelty baked goods

Flipping open a nearby cookie book, I see that it contains recipes for “Mother Lode Brownies” and “Sweetie Pies.” My recipe index lists Monkey Bars, a Raspberry Chocolate Mink and Dirt Cups (pictured).

The thing that all of these recipes have in common is that the name is not indicative of what, precisely, the dessert is. “Mother Lode Brownies” contain no gold, and the Raspberry Minks are entirely mink free. Creative names intrigue people and draw them in wondering what to expect in a way that “chocolate chip cookies” never will.

But it turns out that not everyone supports such creative naming practices. A baker in Dorset, Val Temple, of Weymouth’s Sgt Bun Bakery, has recently been forced by officials to change the names of several of the dessert pies and tarts that she sells in the bakery she has run for the past three decades. The officials felt that “Pig Tarts” and “Robin Tarts” were misleading names, since the treats contained “jams, cream, fondant and a sugar paste” instead of the (apparantely anticipated) pig or robin mentioned in the name. Her “Paradise Slice,” a bar-type sweet made with fruit and nuts, are now to be called “almond, fruit and nut slice.” Said a spokesperson for the bureau, “Consumers have a right to know what they are buying.”

Attention was drawn to the naming “problem” after the officials at the trade bureau received a complaint and decided to investigate. Unsurprisingly, given that the situation is so ridiculous, locals have flocked to the bakery to buy the pie pies in support of Temple, who said, “I’d also like to thank the person who made the complaint in the first place because it’s obviously backfired.”