Midnight-muffin-men stun the baking world by beating face recognition software – a Bake-O-Drama. – Five House Publishing

Read Time:9 Minute, 8 Second

PODCAST: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2YDXlghaCbuEtRlYh5DbhQ?si=sBEGAJQ7RyOgMLi7M8LPNQ

By William Van Zyl. Published in June 2022 (edited in 2025)

The three men walked past the scanner. They looked like three ducks marching in a row, in black and white.

“Beep, beep, beep,” sounds the piezo speaker of the surveillance camera. The three black and white bearded ducks marched through the door. They are undetected. They seamlessly move past the door – no squeak from the High-Tec face recognition sensor is heard. The business owner of the warehouse is sitting in a state-of-the-art surveillance room. He makes eye contact with Charles Stiles. His mobile phone is very quiet. It should have warned him with immediate notifications. Who are these unknown duck-men in his business? What are they up to?

It is just past 9 p.m. You can hear a pin drop in the secretly placed surveillance room on the same premises.

Charles Stiles rewinds the camera footage to 7:00 pm.

At 19:02, the security guard walks out of the warehouse to his truck in the parking area. He looks around and then carefully lifts the tarpaulin off the back of his utility vehicle. To the viewer’s astonishment, two men dressed in white shirts and black trousers get up and jump off the back of the open truck. They open the back gate and unload a sizeable square-shaped machine. They wheel the red-coloured engine into the warehouse.

The high-security industrial food equipment warehouse of a passionate Italian owner has a sophisticated face recognition camera with Bluetooth and a Wi-Fi-enabled notification app. It ultimately secures the building. But tonight, three clever men beat the system. The innovation is off the charts.

The three white and black ducks march through the back door with confidence. They have placed the generator next to a large industrial mixer and oven. They give one another a high-five. They are in business.

“Tree Brothers – Bake-o-Rama!” they chanted. They are in business.

Flour, milk, eggs, sugar, chocolate chips, and vanilla essence – in a sticky batter form – fly into the large muffin pans. A giant industrial mixing machine groans as it whirls and spins the white dough in the large stainless steel bowl. They look like seasoned chefs working together in unison.

Chocolate chip muffins are on the menu tonight. Their client needs a couple of hundred muffins. Bake-o-Rama will deliver in the morning.

Charles Stiles and the owner scan the surveillance cameras from a nearby room. The owner of the industrial food equipment is stunned. How did they get past the face recognition system? What are they doing in his facility during that time of night? He is fuming.

“Now I understand why customers complain about receiving dirty equipment sold by my company,” said the owner.

“Tree Brothers Bake-o-Rama” reads a roll of stickers on the surveillance room table. A hilarious scene followed earlier that same day. The Italian owner misread the label. He read “Three Brothers Bake-o-Rava”, and the lady who found the roll of misspelt stickers earlier that day in a dumpster at the warehouse condescendingly said, “No, it’s Tree Brothers” – as in wood and leaves – whilst pretending to be a tree. Hilarious!

The cameras zoom in.

“It is three identical twins!” gasped the owner.

“All dressed up as security guards – beards groomed to perfection!”

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*Credit image: Life of Brown – WordPress.com.* Read an alternative account here – according to the Life of Brown: https://lifeofbrownsite.wordpress.com/2017/07/31/the-best-mystery-diners-episode-ever/

Here is an image of Charles Stiles, owner of Mystery Diners.

*Charles Stiles of Mystery Diners. Credit:* *https://networthpost.org/charles-stiles-net-worth/*

Being on camera, the owner stormed out of the surveillance room and ran into his facility. He grabbed the freshly baked muffin trays and scattered the steaming muffins all over the floor.

“You are fired, you are fired!” he shouted.

“Wait, said the security guard!” – the real one

“We wanted to ask you to invest in our business and offer you some shares, but we just did not have the time,” said the guard.

“No, you are fired! Leave immediately!”

END OF THE STORY.

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What a weird, unexpected true story.

I watched this epic episode of Mystery Diners in June 2022 on New Zealand Television. What an unexpected turn of events. Three identical twins? Are you serious? Three identical Mexican twins! I guessed they were Mexicans – I’m not sure. Are you kidding me? How unexpected was that!

Nobody expected that! What a surprise.

I have created the introduction to this stunning story as I have interpreted it. I endeavoured to use my creative skills to entertain the reader. It is very close to the facts.

——–0———–

My friend, who also watched the show, and I discussed the events the following day. I am still thinking about the unexpected three identical twins who showed up in the episode.

“Why did they use the facility mixer and oven?”

“Why didn’t they set up their own baking business?”

“Maybe they could not afford the machinery?”

“Maybe they are raising money for a mother or father in need?”

“Maybe they work together to raise money to give someone lifesaving treatment at a hospital?”

“Cancer treatment, maybe?”

“Maybe the two brothers don’t have a day job?”

“Maybe they are under lots of financial pressure?”

“Maybe the brothers can’t find work.”

There could be so much behind their intentions. We just don’t know.

“They are wrong! “said my friend.

“Yes, you are right; they are wrong,” I admitted.

“But, just maybe, there is another ulterior motive behind their actions. We just don’t know.”

What do you think?

——–0———

“That is the difference in our thinking,” said my friend.

After thinking about the three Mexican brothers, I felt slightly sorry for them. By the way, what got my attention was the fact that they were very honourable. They were using their own fuel and generator to bake the muffins. They did not rip the owner off using his electricity. They were also very well groomed and well presented. I would love to know the real story behind the intentions of the three men. I must admit, I felt sorry for them.

I have experienced some hardships in my life. I am referring to an African context here. My experiences have shown me how creative people can be when they are under pressure. Were the Mexican brothers under pressure? Were their intentions honourable? We don’t know. We should not be too quick to judge.

I have just revealed my thinking to you. I have a forgiving spirit and a generous heart. It does not mean I am right. My friend alluded to my compassionate attitude.

“They are wrong!” said my friend. “Period!”

——–0———–

What is your initial response to these events?

Where will you place yourself on a continuum, from left to right?

Forgiving or unforgiving?

Guilty or give them another chance?

Nail them or wait.

Let’s hear their story?

Or, get rid of them, call the Police immediately. Don’t even listen to them.

What would your response be?

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Your response will say so much about your way of thinking, your values, and your beliefs. It all works together to make up your identity, your character, and your paradigm. People who know you well will be able to predict what you would do if you were in the owner’s shoes. So, pause for a couple of minutes and reflect. What would you do?

———0————

I have shared this story with several people I know. They all have different responses. Someone mentioned that if the three brothers’ intentions were honourable, he would gift them the industrial mixer and oven. Serious?

What do you think? What would you do?

They should be punished if wicked and dishonourable, showing no remorse. Charge them as guilty. You control fools with a ‘rod’ (Proverbs).

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What would Jesus do?

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I don’t know the whole story behind the three brothers of Bake-o-Rama’s intentions. But, we should ‘Seek First to Understand, then to Be Understood.’ It involves a profound paradigm shift. We typically seek first to be understood. (Author Stephen Covey – From one of his famous books, ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’).

We should be empathic listeners. Empathic listening is listening with the intent to understand. Empathic listening is powerful because it gives you accurate data with which to work. It takes time, but nowhere near the time it takes to back up and correct misunderstandings when you’re already miles down the road. Real wisdom is to lean gently into the problem you have to solve. You need time to reflect. You need time to listen to your gut feel. For Christians, hearing the small, still voice – deep inside. Sometimes, for Christians, there is no small still voice. Then, they have to rely on the Scriptures to guide them. In my opinion, it is the best way to make good decisions. Our lives are the result of the decisions we make every day.

Here is a scripture we could consider when deciding, once we have received the entire story behind a tricky situation.

Matthew 7:1-5 (New International Version):

Judging Others

1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.

2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?

5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Here is the short video of the episode – just over 9 minutes: Link below.