Dear Mary | 13 August 2011

Q. We live in New Zealand and under our ‘business immigration scheme’ a delightful Korean family has moved into the neighbourhood. They are required to buy a business and provide local employment opportunities. Accordingly, they have bought a café, but they do not seem to have any knowledge of the hospitality trade, nor much English. My wife is helping their daughter with her English studies and, as a reward, they are delivering ample supplies of café muffins which can only be described as rocks. How can we tell them that these are inedible (and therefore unsaleable) without causing offence?
– B.W., Auckland, NZ

A. There might well be some cultural confusion over the meaning of ‘rock cakes’ so it is important that you put the family in the picture. Perhaps the best way to do this tactfully is to suggest that one of your own friends — with a palate and with time on her hands — applies for an unpaid ‘internship’ in the café.