Hello. I am new to this site, but definitely not new to baking. I am finally beginning to seriously pursue my dream of having a dessert business. My plan is to provide baked good primarily to restaurants, cafes and coffee shops in my area. Over the past few weeks, I have passed out samples and flyers at a couple of small establishments. I have gotten very positive feedback, but I am still in the discussion stages with them. In the meantime, I am working on my business cards and have a friend who is designing a website for me. I am concerned, however, about licensing requirements. So far, I haven't found very useful information about Illinois requirements for this type of home business. Any information any of you can provide will be greatly appreciated. I am particulary interested in hearing from anyone who is or who has operated a baking business from home in Illinois. Thanks in advance.

Hello,
You must have a commercial kitchen. They do not allow you to do it out of your home.
You can contact your county dept. of heath for the codes and requirements. Their are a bunch of them.

I know in most states you have to have a kitchen off from your home. I checked it to it here in Ca. they told me if i could get a church or maybe a off site kitchen like the vets buliding that has a kitchen and it can be certified or find one that allready has a certificte and they will let you use there kitchen under they certifacte they you can do it . just some ideas Or what one guydid he took a double wide mobile home and converted it into a kitchen on his land and they ok that.

In Ohio you can do business out of your home. Either a cottage foods kitchen or a home bakery. One has to be inspected, the other does not.

I got my info from my state's dept of agriculture. HTH.

There is no way around having a license if you plan to sell to restaurants. Their liability insurance policy will require them to buy from licensed vendors. You will also need liability insurance.

You local health department should be able to explan the rules in your area.

QueenBee1,
Hi! Not sure where in IL you are, but I'm in northern IL in Belvidere. Here is a link to a thread where I typed out most of the info to get you started on your quest. Please feel free to PM me if you have any other questions that I might be able to help with. The info provided is according to state regulations. You'll need to check with your local health dept. to see if there are any extra restrictions/requirements in your area.

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-28864-kitchen.html+il

Good luck, and keep us posted!
Beth