Terms of Service

1. What OurCakewalk is

OurCakewalk is a software platform that lets independent food makers ("Chefs") run timed pre-order sales ("Drops") and lets customers order and pay ahead for pickup. OurCakewalk provides the software only. We are not a food business, a party to the sale between Chef and customer, a marketplace curator, or an employer of Chefs.

OurCakewalk is operated by OURCAKEWALK, a registered Ontario sole proprietorship. Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle personal information and forms part of these terms.

2. Chefs are responsible for their food

Chefs are solely responsible for compliance with all food-safety, health, licensing, labelling, and allergen laws that apply to them in their province, territory, and municipality — including home-kitchen and cottage-food rules, permits and inspections, safe preparation and storage, accurate ingredient and allergen information, and applicable tax registration and remittance. OurCakewalk does not verify, inspect, or endorse any Chef, kitchen, or food item. Customers transact with Chefs at their own discretion.

Where a Chef chooses to publish nutrition information, those figures are entered by the Chef and shown as the Chef's own estimate. OurCakewalk does not calculate, verify, or warrant them, and the display is not a Nutrition Facts table within the meaning of the Food and Drug Regulations. Any nutrient content or dietary claim a Chef makes about an item is the Chef's responsibility, including whether the claim is permitted and whether making it triggers further labelling obligations.

3. Payments and fees

Payments are processed by Stripe. Chefs receive payouts through their own Stripe account and agree to Stripe's terms. Each order carries an OurCakewalk service fee (currently 5% + $0.55 CAD, configurable by the Chef as customer-paid, split, or absorbed) and card-processing costs. Fees are shown before payment. Tips go entirely to the Chef. All amounts are in Canadian dollars. Chefs are responsible for their own GST/HST obligations; prices are presented tax-inclusive. Charges are made on the Chef's behalf, so the Chef's business name is what appears on the customer's card statement.

4. Orders and refunds

An order is a purchase from the Chef, not from OurCakewalk. Refunds, cancellations, substitutions, and disputes are between the customer and the Chef; Chefs can issue full refunds through the platform. If a payment completes after stock has sold out, the order is automatically refunded in full. Missed pickups are at the Chef's discretion. When a Chef refunds an order, the refunded amount is returned from the Chef's balance and OurCakewalk returns its service fee in proportion.

5. Chargebacks

A chargeback happens when a customer asks their bank to reverse a payment. Because the Chef sold the goods, the Chef bears the cost of a chargeback on their order, including any fee the card networks or Stripe charge for it. The Chef authorizes OurCakewalk to recover that amount from their current balance or from future payouts, and to pause payouts while a dispute is open. Where a balance is insufficient, the Chef agrees to repay the amount on request.

OurCakewalk will notify the Chef of a dispute and pass along the order records we hold — the itemized order, pickup window, pickup code, and any messages exchanged in the platform — so the Chef can respond. We may submit that evidence on the Chef's behalf. Deciding a dispute is the card issuer's call, not ours, and we cannot guarantee an outcome. Repeated chargebacks may lead us to suspend an account under section 8.

6. Text messages

Customers may opt in to texts and emails from the Platform about an individual Chef's drops. The Platform is the sender of every message; Chefs cannot compose or send messages. Consent is recorded and every text identifies the Platform and includes a STOP opt-out, per CASL. Transactional texts (order confirmations, pickup reminders, lookup codes) are sent as part of the service. Message and data rates may apply.

7. Your content

Chefs keep ownership of everything they upload — photos, menus, item descriptions, and their business name. By posting content, a Chef grants OurCakewalk a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, display, and reproduce it as needed to operate the service: on the Chef's storefront, in the messages the platform sends about their drops, and in previews of their pages. We may also feature a Chef's public storefront in OurCakewalk's own marketing; email us to opt out and we will stop. Chefs are responsible for having the rights to what they upload and for the accuracy of their listings.

To report content you believe infringes your rights, email hello@ourcakewalk.com.

8. Accounts and acceptable use

You must be the age of majority in your province or territory to open a Chef account or place an order. Provide accurate information and keep your credentials secure — you are responsible for activity on your account.

You may not use OurCakewalk to: sell anything illegal, or anything on Stripe's prohibited and restricted businesses list; mislead customers; send spam; interfere with or disrupt the service; scrape or bulk-collect data from it; probe or circumvent its security; or reverse engineer it. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms.

9. Availability and changes

We work to keep OurCakewalk fast and dependable, but we do not guarantee the service will be uninterrupted or error-free. We may change, suspend, or discontinue features; where a change materially affects how Chefs sell, we will give reasonable notice. We are not liable for losses caused by downtime, maintenance, or events outside our reasonable control.

10. Disclaimers and liability

The service is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind. To the maximum extent permitted by law, OurCakewalk is not liable for the acts or omissions of Chefs or customers, for any food product, for indirect or consequential damages, or for amounts exceeding the fees OurCakewalk earned from you in the three months before a claim. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.

11. Indemnification

Chefs agree to defend OurCakewalk and hold it harmless from claims, damages, and costs (including reasonable legal fees) arising from their food and its preparation, the content they upload, their breach of these terms, or their violation of any law or third-party right. Customers agree to the same for claims arising from their breach of these terms or misuse of the service.

12. General

These terms are governed by the laws of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable in Ontario. They are the entire agreement between you and OurCakewalk about the service. If part of these terms is found unenforceable, the rest still applies; if we don't enforce a provision, we haven't waived it. We may assign these terms as part of a sale or reorganization of the business; you may not assign them without our consent. Neither party is responsible for delays or failures caused by events beyond its reasonable control. We may update these terms; material changes will be posted here with a new date. Questions: hello@ourcakewalk.com.