The reason that I asked about the cards was because a shop-owner wanted one from me. A licensed shop-owner.
I went to her to ask how to get "going" in our area. As a gesture of my thanks for her taking the time to talk with me, I took 2 small decorated cakes for her. I just wanted to show her my work - one was buttercream the other fondant. I showed her my picture album and we just talked. I did not go with alterior (sp?) motives!
She asked me for a card. I told her I didn't have any because I wasn't licensed and couldn't advertise. She asked could I not just put my name, phone number and maybe a picture of a cake on it. Now she is licensed. So this is what I got confused about. She wanted to call me for future orders.
Yes, it is advertising in one sense - but not in another. She couldn't find something to write with etc. just like the lady at the High School. And sure, I could call the Health Dept and ask but......
And like many of you, I don't have the resources to have my own shop right now and certainly to scared to venture into that option with hardly a client list. I have sincere respect for cake decorators with their own stores and I know if your good and your product is good, you get the business. But how does a home-based decorator stand a chance without recognition for their work? It's almost like a catch-22 in my opinion.
I'm very interested in how some of you with your own shops got started!

wanted to add: the store-owner told me I needed a "front end" like her....

I haven't finished reading the whole thread, but I had to jump in and say YEAH to OhMyGoodies!! I totally agree with whole germ issue!! I'm 30 and, like you, was never that sick as a kid - and neither were the kids in school! I don't have kids, but all my friend's kids are sick a lot like your kids.

Ok - back to reading the rest of the thread....

~Chelle

There is someone on this site who owns a "cottage bakery," in Ohio, I think. I like that idea, and I wish other states would allow them. Basically, it means you can bake and sell from your house anything that does not need to be refrigerated (so, cake is fine, but cheesecake is not), and I think an inspector may come once a year to check for cleanliness (?). I feel like it's in the state's interest--they get fees and taxes then--and the consumer also realizes that they are purchasing from a home baker who has fewer requirements than someone in a commercial kitchen.

Thank you for your reply!!

She is opening up a "full bakery" and asked me for some dummy cakes that if anyone was interested in, they would be special orders. She would turn around and call me. She's asked for some small cakes that she can sell in her shop. Anything that she can refrigerate and/or freeze prior to displaying in her shop.
So, technically, am I not going down the right road? She's trying to help me but also it helps her business as well.

Ohmygoodies - a big Amen to you. You are very wise for your age.

Anywhere there is food there should be hair nets worn. I wear a hairnet and plastic gloves when I cook in my own home. Workers complained so much about having to wear hairnets because they didn't look good. Then there was a while you had to wear a hair net but your bangs could stick out

I did check on insurance and was suprise how inexpensive it was.

I am not afraid to post I can hold my own. I've seen other threads go to far and have to be locked, I just don't want it to get to that point. And I do feel that those that are license pounce on those who are not.

And, I have seen those who are very mean and personal to others.

I was in the third grade, many, many years ago and they showed a film about the life of a fly. Forget it, till this day a fly lands on my food I'm done.

In resturants I've seen flys, ants and roaches. They have a license. I've seen cooks go to the restroom and not wash their hands. They have a license. I've seen cooks put leftover rice/soup from the busing tray back into the pot. They have a license. I have seen inspectors get paid off, alot of good an inspection made. I've seen a young cook wash his car floor mat in the dishwasher where the dishes go. They had a license.

At least the people that know me know I'm clean and they fell safe with my baking.

I guess what I'm trying to say if I want to buy a loaf of banana bread from the woman down the street I should be able to. I know she doesn't have a license and it's my choice to buy from her. I have a huge problem not being able to have a right to make my own choice. The government is always trying to find a way to tell us how to live.

Besides the government getting money the license serves another purpose. Some people think if a place has a license it's a safe place to eat it gives them comfort. That is their choice.

stefy - what did you mean about illegally cause hardship on legal? what
hardship?

I'm glad she didn't want you to have a rear-end like her

I'm bad

Now you know y'all was laughing too

Janette, I think she means by undercutting the prices.

We have set our prices because, at least ..me..I have to pay a big chunk toward rents.

how can I earn a living when someone down the street that hasn't invested what I call..blood, sweat and tears into a business.

I know that I'm not the only 'naughty' baker in miami, but since no one else advertises as such ..I do..and I KNOW that there are a few unlic bakers..and people with unlic storefronts now jumping on the 'naughty cake' bandwagon since I've gotten my write up in the local paper and appearances in local tv.

If they want to bake for friends and family and make banana bread for the lady down the street..all well and good.

But, promoting yourself when you're not lic or inspected or whatever and undercutting someone like me because the SAHB has no over head and once they pay for the ingredients and supplies all the rest is pure p rofit...THERE is the harm!

I dont' start to make ANY profit 'till AFTER I pull in 3g's!!!

Can you imagine ANY SAHB..working THAT hard to make 3 thousand dollars worth of cake/product..BEFORE they put dollar one in their pocket???

I know it's my choice, it is also my choice to "PROTECT and DEFEND" my business and my livelihood. This..is not my hobby, nor is it something I do for "friends and family" ( even though they benefit!! lol)

It puts food on my table, pays my bills...so forth and so on..but ONLY after I pull in that 3 thousand!!

It frustrates me to no end, that I found an "untaped" niche for my talents. I don't do wedding cakes, because of the established markets. I don't really do birthday cakes because there are some bakeries down here that do AWESOME cakes....So what was left...What I do...then you have people trying to "borrow" your ideas and break into YOUR market.

The SAHB that were doing wedding cakes and birthday cakes are now trying to 'edge' me out! Ok, so it's called free enterprise and all...but, I think...that's the harm that stephy was talking about...

and...

Would you let an unlic doctor treat you? do you let a street mechanic fix your Bently ( if you had one? lol) an unlic makeup artist or hairdresser? Massage therapist? Get my drift there? It seems that every occupation that deals with working with food or the public needs established guidelines.


and for those people doing those NASTY things in the kitchen like washing the car mats in the dishwasher...well!!! WHO WAS RUNNING THAT KITCHEN...they would be soooooooooooo gone in mine!!!!!

Risque:
How many cakes do you make a week to have a business? Did you have a client list established prior to opening a business? Were there agencies that worked with you in helping financially open a business? etc. etc. etc.

there was a big to-do in VA about a month ago. There was a new regulation that food contributions to homeless shelters and the like could only come from licensed facilities. they would no longer accept home goods....

Well, that lasted for about two weeks and they lifted that regulation as people were outraged... their homeless and need as much as help as they can get and so now you are saying a person's good deed isn't acceptable?

I don't know how it all went and why it was changed in the first place, but it got reversed quick.

melissa

People should and do have the choice to eat wherever they want. Sanitation is not the only point in this discussion. . .many restaurants are less sanitary than Mrs. Jones' home bakery that often is seen with her cats in there meanwhile she bakes barefoot with her four-year-old coming in and sticking her finger into the cake. . .

People take a risk everyday when they eat out.

But if it's against the law- it's against the law.

Some laws suck (as does the one that we can't sell edible stuff made at home). . .but we're supposed to abide by them.

I am in Ohio, and I operate under the cottage foods laws right now. I am getting ready to register my business name, and license my business. Even then, the licensing to sell things that do need to be kept cold is just a simple walk thru of my home kitchen by an inspector, and $25. I don't have to keep anything seperate from my home stuff, no seperate sinks, nothing. I guess Ohio just hasn't had a huge lawsuit YET to make them be very strict! I am fortunate to live in a state that will license me, or allow me to sell things that don't need to be kept in the fridge without a license.

Edited to add...we cannot have any indoor pets with fur.

I worked in a hospital coffee shop in 1997 for approx 6 months until I couldn't take it anymore. When you walked in you were in the seating area with the counter located behind all the seating. The "prep station" was next to the register on the front line of the counter where people could watch you prepare thier foods, included on this side of the counter was a large toaster oven, the lettace, tomatoes, pickles, etc. underneath that was the mini fridges where we kept lunch meats and cheeses and such including raw hamburger patties and hot dogs and other meats that needed at least 5 minutes on the grill.

Behind you was the grill.... which was always disgustingly filthy. Behind that wall was the rest of the kitchen. Where the deep freeze was and the large fridge and the meat slicer, sink, etc. There wasn't a sink out front on the front line at all to do quick hand washing after handling money before handling food.... We weren't required to wear hair nets or gloves or anything just our uniform and tennis shoes. I opted to wear an apron, gloves, hair net, and opted to wash my hands 50 thousand times a day while there. I was told after spending 2 hours after my shift ended cleaning the grill that I was over obsessive and should leave that to the person whose job it was. The trash piled up in the back room near the rest of the food. The front line was never cleaned well. There was always old moldy foods everywhere you looked in all the fridges as well as the refrigerated display case. The deep frier oil hadn't been changed in what looked like 10 years.... One night when I came on my shift I came in to find the resturant empty and no employees anywhere so I proceeded to the time clock in the back office where I find the other employee and her boyfriend "going at it" on the table where we prepare most foods before taking them out front..... Needless to say she didn't even wash the table off when finished.... I quit the next morning.

All of this was let happen by a hospital. Everyday I had doctors and nurses as well as family and friends of patients eating there in this filth and my co-workers wondered why I wouldn't eat on my lunch break when I got 50% off anything I bought. I'd go hungry or pack my own lunch in a mini cooler with ice packs so it didn't have to go in the fridge. If a hospital resturant can be like this and it's ok.... why can't others bake in their home for profit? I don't understand how so many resturants can be let go with these bad things and it wasn't just that one place there are a few places here in town that are disgusting to the point I won't even step foot in them to use the bathroom I'd rather pee my pants before going in them lol... and no one cares.... and if they do they don't get anyone involved. I've called the HD on many places here in town they clean up their act for about a month and then it's right back to where it was before.

I don't need a food safety course to tell me how to handle food and clean my kitchen.... I know all about cross contamination and the fact you should use two different cutting boards for raw meats and veggies and fruits and such and I know you should have plastic cutting boards that can be washed with bleach or placed in the dish washer.... Most of this food safety course stuff is common sense. You don't pick your nose and then touch food without washing your hands first... it's pre-school stuff no need to get rude over it. Alot of people don't understand why you would need a grease trap I didn't know why you should need one but I know you don't pour grease or oil down the drain. We normally take an empty oil jug and refill it and seal it back up and store it under the counter with the cleaning supplies so it's not used anymore and when it's full it's taken to the landfill where it can be disposed of properly. They have a section for automotive oils as well as cooking oils....

I don't think I'd waste the money of the food safety course when I have a brain I can use to tell me the common sense way to handle things in my kitchen. I wouldn't feed my daughter and husband or anyone else in my family food that was bad or had been made with dirty hands or dirty items or in a dirty kitchen, I wouldn't serve my family food that had been subjected to my pets mouth, feet, fur, or any part of them (I don't have any pets but a lizard my daughter has which is smaller then my hand so he's not a threat on food lol) so I know I wouldn't subject my customers to food that has been comprimized by germs or dirtyness or pets.

I too get a sick stomach reading some of the stories of how thier dog or cat jumped up and licked the cake and then they still served it or sold it..... I would've immediately thrown it out, threw the animal out the door for the day, and made a fresh cake after washing everything in the kitchen again. Just my opinion on things.

Oh and just so yall know the coffee shop has since been closed down and is now a gift shop. Just incase anyone is ever in Easton Memorial Hospital and needs food lol The coffee shop has closed but the cafeteria is still open.... Good luck lol hospital food still tastes nasty reguardless lol

Just because a bakery is licensed doesn't make it clean, and just because a baker is a SAHB doesn't mean they are not clean. No everyone has the ability to open up a shop, and it shouldn't stop them from baking. And yes, the SAHB has overhead too.

If anyone of you have gone to AZ and visited Area 51 there is a resturant I think it's called the Little Alien. It's the only thing out there. Anyway they get the all time award for having the dirtest resturant I've ever been in. But their bathrooms are clean.

Unlicense:

Doctor - I had my brother-in-law take out the stitches in my head because I didn't want to be bothered going back to the doctor's and he also took the stitches out of my hand. Does this count?

Mechanic - I'll take the guy down the street that I know over the machanic shop anytime

Hair Dresser - sure I don't care if she/he has a license or not as long as they know what they are doing.

Massage - no, I don't like a massage of anykind. I find it annoying.

But, it's my business if I want to go to them.

Commen sense - I've always told my children that is one of the most valuable things you can have.

It drives me nuts when these news stories scare people, not giving the whole picture. They just give bits and pieces to make the story more dramatic so you will tune in. I always say "does that make sense?" I hate watching the news for that very reason.

I give up trying to reach my point, it's like beating a dead horse. Just because you are license doesn't mean that your product is cleaner than the unlicense.

And, by the way the guy that washed his mats in the dishwasher. I'm not normally a snitch, but I called the owner at home and told, he was fired. That was just going too far.

Wow this thread has grown really fast. Will have to catch up on it later, but did want to say we like eating at Waffle house cause you can see the kitchen and they cook the food right there in view. We were visiting a new WH and while we were waiting to be seated, they were sweeping the floor instead of going to get a dust pan to sweep the dirt, napkins and old food in the girl reached for a menu layed it on the floor swept all the nasty stuff up in it dumped it in the trash, ran the menu across her pants leg and then placed it right back on the little menu rack that is on the tables. I thought I was going to die!!! We walked out!! Just because they do have a "lic" doesn't mean everyone working there is safe and know what they are doing.

OhMyGoodies - I am also in Maryland, I am in Baltimore County. I haven't checked into it myself, but I understand that it is next to impossible to be licensed to bake from home. I have heard that I would have to have a completely seperate kitchen.

I have taken 2 cakes to work for Birthdays in the last 2 weeks. My question is, why is my kitchen ok to make a cake to give away, but it's not ok to make a cake to sell to someone? The people who receive my cakes seem to enjoy them and people are constantly coming to me wanting to order a cake. The other day I was approached by a lady who does a small catering business. I have to tell everyone I'm sorry, but I can't bake for them because I don't have a license. It's crazy! My home is clean, I would never dream of selling or giving a cake that has been walked on by a cat. I have been baking and cooking for 35 years and haven't killed anyone or made them sick yet! I have been in (and quickly left!) a local sub shop that had someone behind the counter with disgusting open sores on her arms. In "Licensed" and "Inspected" restaurants I've seen roaches and flys, and walked on sticky floors. In a fast food restaurant, I was eating a bowl of chilli. I bit down on something hard. Turns out it was a wooden knob off of the pot lid. (The manager's response to my complaint was -- "Oh, we wondered where that went!) IMO, being licensed does not mean safe, and does not mean better. I love baking and decorating. I would love to be a home baker. I can't imagine that I would be doing more than 2 to 3 cakes a month. Looks like that will never happen. It's such a shame!

Yes, it is truly ashame... but unfortunately we have to abide by the rules of whichever county we live.. sigh!

OK, but how much grease does a baker ever dispose of? And why not then tell them to throw it in the trash instead of the disposal? I have yet to EVER have any grease except for the remainder of what's on my spatulas and mixing bowls from making icing... I'm not a restaurant with frying oils... I'm sorry... don't get that at all..

Separate kitchen... do restaurants have to have a separate kitchen for doing their desserts from doing their regular meals where there will be cross contamination? None that I've gone to!!!! So... I don't get that either... Do restaurants have flour they use for pizza and flour the use for cake separate? Not at the restaurants I've worked for...

I'm lucky that in VA I get a home license easily - have to have separate storage space for home versus "work" stuff, separate shelf in the fridge for cake supplies, have to have a double sink, but putting in two rubbermaid containers in my big one sink qualifies, and I can't make foods that need to be refrigerated for sale... THIS is reasonable imo as they are will to work with home bakers... we'll see how long that will last though!

Melissa[/quote]

What kind of grease trap are you talking about? The 1000 gallon one or the grease interceptor? For a bakery I would have them get a grease interceptor - goes under the sink and can be cleaned when it gets full. I have seen people not baking have problems with grease - bath oils and such and it causes problems.

Yes most restaurants have separate work stations for baked goods and regular meals. Even McDonald's has a place for salads and a different one for hamburgers.

To me it's more than getting a license so you can go on your merry way baking cakes. It's being inspected and learning ways to be safer with food. It's working within guidelines and having the proper equipment. There are things an inspector knows to look for that you may not.

We live in a hypocritical society. Governments make one law and then change it, or make another one that contradicts one but make up some random BS to make it acceptable. . .

I have no desire to have a full-time cake business right now, but it is frustrating not to be able to sell a cake from time to time when someone asks. However, I appreciate the reasons behind these often overwhelming rules and regulations.

Food safety in this country is by no means perfect, but it's come a long way because of the work of the government.

Has anyone ever read The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, published in 1905? It's an absolutely stomach-turning expose of the meat packing industry that changed the path of food processing in this country.

I'm (mostly) grateful for standards and regulations that try (albeit not always successfully) to keep our food clean and safe.

Of course it goes too far sometimes and the system isn't perfect. I hope that creative people find ways to make at-home cake businesses viable (where they're currently not allowed) at some point in the future and maybe make the regulations for licensed bakers a little easier and less expensive to comply with.

This has been an interesting thread, and I'm impressed that it's been pretty civil (compared to some past heated discussions).