When I heard Pila's was only going to do wedding cakes now, I thought to myself "How can I get a piece of that???" I wish I were legal. But honestly, with two cakes a week, I'm pretty busy as it is. And usually one of those cakes i'm not getting paid for.
Try the Fondx at Pilas, its the best fondant I've worked with...tastes good too!

Changing the subject, but with all the Californians here I can't resist. I see that the Calfiornia Cake Club is doing Cake Camp in Las Vegas next year. Did anyone go last year in Riverside and does anyone plan to go next year? I haven't been before, but it sounds fun. It would be cool to have a CakeCentral contingent--and maybe we could brainstorm ways to do buisness in California. (So not changing the subject as much as I thought...)

I'm in!

count me in as well....its too bad its not until next year...

sorry I have a p.s.

should I be a member of the "club" before I say "count me in as well"-I'm afraid my newbieness is showing through again

butrcup,

I had joined earlier this year and got a notice in a newsletter awhile back and just thought of it this afternoon and posted without knowing any more about it. I just found the newsletter "Batter Chatter" which says Cake Camp is Sept 3 - 6, 2006 There is a website at http://www.cakecamp.com, but it doesn't say anything about cake camp yet.

There is a website for the California Cake Club at:
http://www.cakeclub.org/

The website seems to say that it is less expensive to go to the mini-classes if you are a member. Membershp is $20.00 per year. I haven't been to a meeting because none have been near me. I think they are usually in Southern California. It might be worth it to join.
The website has info about the cake camp in 2004 that was at UC Riverside. It looks like they had a good time.

Anyway, I just thought it would be cool if a bunch of us went and maybe we could have a CakeCentral get-together at the same time. I suppose it depends on how much it will cost and what classes they are giving, but it says 230 people went in 2004 and anything with that many cake decorators can't be too bad, can it?

Hi! I'm all the way across, in CT. Here we have local laws which are also completely impossible and many of us have been told by officials to just fly under the radar, and don't advertise as a business. I do get a little nervous because I even have a small brochure out at a couple of places, just with pictures and no pricing. I think here if you get caught it's like a $25 fine, so big woop! My mentor, who has been doing cakes for 35 years this way, has never had a problem....so I'm hoping that I won't either.

Hi everyone I am also in So. Cali I'm right by Pasadena in Monrovia I'm in between everybody the end of the month will be the 1 year mark for me starting cake decorating I took my first class last year. I do a few cake for family and friends. Every now and then I get paid for one. I did make these great flyers but I never got a round to giving them out now I'm glad I didn't. I have taped them on the cake boxes of cakes ordered. ya know just in case they have need so I think that is pretty low-key. I would love to meet and learn with you guys that would be fun maybe a cake central club calif. chapter! just a thought.
Blessed Baking

just moving this back to the top

ok ........call me crazy but ...i think i found a loop hole ok so they say that they stay out of the church thing ..hmmmmmmmmm
ok ordain yourself as a priest on one of those internet sites then your house is a place of worship...hahaha
oh it think that you have to hold mass once a week open to the public... it can be some kind a cake religion.....

sorry its late im getting silly

blessBeckysbaking,
Howdy neighbor! I'm north east San Gabriel, and I work in Pasadena.
Barbara

Well, if need be, I've come up with a way around the 'law'..... seems to me that if I did a cake for someone and that someone wanted to give me a gift card, say one of those prepaid Visa's, as a "Thank You" gift, I'm not actually being paid.
As far as business Vs. hobby, I have toi make a LOT of cakes to actually make a profit due to the amound I have spent obtaining all of my supplies.

Debbi

I'm certianly not an expert, but the hobby versus buisness thing doesn't make sense to me. There are lots of businesses out there that lose money. People don't get to designate them as hobbies because of that. They are just "not-proftable" businesses. (Not to be confused with non-profits, haha)

The very fact that so many bakers and caterers are not licensed proves that the system doesn't work. I just wish there was a way to fix it. Trying to work around it makes me nervous. For example, how do you get a buisness license and pay the taxes on income tht you aren't supposed to be making in the first place? Isn't that how they got Al Capone?

hello,
i sure hope i' posting in the right category. I receive a thank you $ for all my cakes except for the ones I bake for my church or kids school. I "accept" the going rate in this area. I called around to some of the top bakeries that most people go to for good cake. The going rate in L.A. is $15-20 for a 9 in. round, $25-28 for a 1/4 sheet and $40.00 for a 1/2 sheet. At first i felt funny. But i was spending 3-5 hours working on their cake. They are paying for quality even though I'm not a professional and a newbie to this decorating. I will have to admit, my cakes are moist. plus i love getting to practice so a lot of times they will get more detailed decorations than what they would for the same price at a professional bakery.
Anyway i am going to the calif. club website when i leave here. i would love to go to vegas for the cake camp. if the californians decide to begin a club, i am definitely in. i'm in the westchester area. Also i just found out about this cake decorating supply shop. i haven't been yet. It's called Gloria's Cake Supply in west l.a. 310-391-4557 open monday-saturday.
sweetycake

I went to the CCC site, I didn't see anything about Vegas...I did see the cruise is all sold out, that would be so much fun. I was going to buy a membership but when I hit the "PAYPAL" button it was set to go straight to payment, how do they know who I am? Will my monthly newsletter find me? (I'm home sick today, excuse the results of my over-the-counter self-medication)
the reason I say that is I subscribed to American Cake Decorating Magazine a long time ago and have yet to receive my first issue-does anyone subscribe to that?
There is also a cake supply store over by Cypress called Classic Cake Decorations, its okay. I always get intimidated when I go into those-there is just so much stuff that I don't have a clue what it is used for...I know its part of learning.

Butrcup,

I think they are waiting til after the cruise to post anything about cake camp, since it is still a year away.

Are you saying you didn't manage to sign up using Paypal? If not, send me a PM and I'll send you the e-mail adderess of the Treasurer so you send her e-mail and can make it work. There should be a newsletter in October and another one in December.

American Cake Decorating takes a long time to start. If you think you should have gotten one, you can go to http:/www.americancakedecorating.com and then click "Customer Service" at the top. That takes you to a page which has a heading called "Subsciber Services" and under that you can click "Check the status of my subscription"

itsacake-
I went to the American Cake Decorating site, thanks.

I didn't sign up using paypal because I felt as if I were missing a step or something. I may just print out the membership form and mail it.

I also saw on the CCC site they hold mini classes etc. Have you ever been to any of those?

butrcup,

I haven't done any min-classes. I'm not sure they aren't using the terms "cake camp" and "mini-classes" to mean the same thing, because I I havent' seen mini-classes listed anywhere. So far, meetings and everything else I've seen has been in Southern California and I'm up here in San Jose. I found out about the CCC at the San Diego Cake Club Cake Show last year. I went as a spectator because my son goes to school less than a mile from where it was in La Jolla and it was a good excuse to visit him.

thecakegirl, butrcup, debsuewoo I know this is an old post but I just want to say thank you for all the information that I got from it. Isn't awful that we have so many restrictions to run a busines??
I read in many posts about renting a bakery kitchen, but my question is, why they will want to rent you their kitchen when you can be competition for them? or also they can think: well if she can do that may be we should do it?? I understand renting a restaurant or church kitchen, but a bakery kitchen I think would be harder or there is something that I'm missing??
BTW I live in San Bernardino, drive every weekend to Riverside, La sierra area to pick up my step daughter, I was thinking may be we could start a cake club or just meet!

Itsacake,

your post is really helpful. I live in Union City, 20 mins from San Jo. Many of my friends (now clients) have told me to get a business license but I now I know I couldn't. Well unless I get enough money to rent a kitchen.
maybe someday.

thanks for all that information. I was just going to call the Health Dept...blah..blah but with a full time job and cake orders...I really don't have time for that.

just saying thank you!