I've never read anything you posted that would have a little drop of critic. Are you dev or management maybe? Your avatar here is really you?
I do not feel that this is a relaxed and nice event, even though I got the Appleton already. Since a week or longer I can't bake, missing ingridients even though I do the daily for it. I know that InnoGames wants me to spend cash (diamonds) but I refuse! The only thing I get is Apples of which I got enough already. I'm stuck without using diamonds, I'm back to apprentice even though I was professional. I'm aware that InnoGames wants to give a chance to DIA-players to make them feel good and spend more cash but at the moment I find the situation ridiculous...
The Beta server leagues are always more competitive and have a higher threshold for reaching the higher ranks. Because most players spend the free diamonds and because they are also more likely to finish the event. The final days of the fall event are always baking just a few recipes and the reward from the daily quest always alternates between ingredients, so apples every fifth day, if you are receiving just apples from Daily Special, that is bad luck. If you refuse to save up ingredients for a few days and instead spend ingredients everytime you can bake you are more likely to end up being unable to bake or with too many unique ingredients.
Honda wants people to buy its cars and Insurers want you to buy Home Insurance, but they don't force you to. Of course Inno wants players to buy diamonds, they are running a business! Doesn't mean you have to buy them, I don't understand those that complain they can't spend ingredients that they got for free, Beta server is good practice for when an event goes live, just try and avoid making the same mistakes there.
Some people are naturally positive and see the best in what is offered, accepting that nothing is ever perfect, no matter how much they might want it to be. This event has more random factors than any other (except maybe the archeology event) so there is imbalance for everyone unless you are extremely lucky, best to just accept it, because most other players will.
I feel like any event based around baking and collecting ingredients is pretty relaxed, unless it's actual baking and you are collecting ingredients in a forest and baking over an open fire!