I want to start a home-based cake decorating business…?
Do I need to have a food handler’s card, business license, or a health inspection? I know all of these things are necessary if I were to sell my cakes commercially, but would it be required if I were to do it as a small business at home?
Call your city hall and find out what is required to set up a food related home-based business. Every state/county/province etc will have different rules.
If you are selling your pies or cookies at a farmer’s market, there are some leniencies apparently, depending on where you live.
If you are making /decorating cakes that you are selling, that IS commercial in a sense, even if from home. The rules just change sometimes depending on where you live for home-based vs. commercial location. So check them out. You never said where you live, so nobody who posts here will give you specific rules to your area. You need to check that out yourself at your city department, as I’ve probably already mentioned lol.
I know there are plenty of people who don’t follow the rules and have ‘successful’ home based cake decorating businesses. Personally I would never do that because I just believe in doing things by the book. But each to their own.
The reason I call myself amateur cake decorator is because I lost my commercial kitchen I was using. Where I live (in Western Canada) it is required that you have a separate kitchen entirely for your commercial use than you use for home cooking, and if it is right in your home, then 40% of your home must still be home use. Then you need a health inspector to come and make sure you’re up to par food safe wise (proper counter tops/shelves, and proper sanitizing system (e,.g here that would be a 3 part sink- for washing, rinsing and sanitizing).
Those happen to be the requirements here.
For your city/location they will vary so you need to call your city department that gives out business licences.
Good luck!
Check out www.cakecentral.com (free membership, gathering place for professional and amateur cake decorators- you could post in the forums re business, what area you live and what is required in that area)
I’m doing exactly the same as you. You will need a Food Hygiene Check carried out by inspectors, but it’s nothing to get worried about, they just want to make sure your kitchen isn’t crawling with rats! You will also need to take a Food Hygiene course where you will earn a certificate that you need. Email me, we could talk lots about this!
References :
Call your city hall and find out what is required to set up a food related home-based business. Every state/county/province etc will have different rules.
If you are selling your pies or cookies at a farmer’s market, there are some leniencies apparently, depending on where you live.
If you are making /decorating cakes that you are selling, that IS commercial in a sense, even if from home. The rules just change sometimes depending on where you live for home-based vs. commercial location. So check them out. You never said where you live, so nobody who posts here will give you specific rules to your area. You need to check that out yourself at your city department, as I’ve probably already mentioned lol.
I know there are plenty of people who don’t follow the rules and have ‘successful’ home based cake decorating businesses. Personally I would never do that because I just believe in doing things by the book. But each to their own.
The reason I call myself amateur cake decorator is because I lost my commercial kitchen I was using. Where I live (in Western Canada) it is required that you have a separate kitchen entirely for your commercial use than you use for home cooking, and if it is right in your home, then 40% of your home must still be home use. Then you need a health inspector to come and make sure you’re up to par food safe wise (proper counter tops/shelves, and proper sanitizing system (e,.g here that would be a 3 part sink- for washing, rinsing and sanitizing).
Those happen to be the requirements here.
For your city/location they will vary so you need to call your city department that gives out business licences.
Good luck!
Check out http://www.cakecentral.com (free membership, gathering place for professional and amateur cake decorators- you could post in the forums re business, what area you live and what is required in that area)
References :
Professional chef training/home baker/amateur cake decorator.
If you do this for friends and coworkers and their friends, no, but if you plan on doing some advertising like flyers and all, it will be all the better to have what you need to do it commercially. You also have to find out if doing business out of your home is in compliance with the county you live in.
References :
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