I just started taking the Wilton Courses. Plan to finish all 3 and then take the master course. I live in a suburb of Chicago. I'm hoping to start a home business. Does anyone know the regulations for IL?? I'd love to talk to some that is already doing this in my area!! Would even love to work with someone!
Hi there!
I was just getting ready to post that I'm almost done jumping through hoops and legal when I saw your post. I live in Belvidere, which is just east of Rockford. Boone county Health dept. follows that state codes, so this stuff should be the same for you as well.
1) You can not get your home kitchen (where you prepare food for your family) certified.
2) You CAN build a separate kitchen elsewhere in your home to be certified. (ie garage, basement, etc). You must have ALL separate utensils and equipment for the certified kitchen.
3) At least here, they wanted to require me to have a 3-compartment sink, a mop sink, and a hand washing sink in the kitchen. Any plumbing or electrical work that needs to be done to build the kitchen must be done by a certified plumber or electrician.
4) You will most likely be required to take a food safety course and exam to get a permit from the health department. (I just took my exam Monday! WOOT!)
5) All the stuff you need to do for a normal home-business, like an assumed name ad, business permit, tax id #, etc.
Call your local health dept. and ask to speak to the person who inspects restaurant kitchens. They are the ones you need to make happy to get a certified kitchen or permit, so they can save you some time and/or money if they are involved from the beginning.
I decided that for now, I just can't afford to build a kitchen in my basement, so I am going to be renting time from a local sandwich shop to bake there. I did still have to take the food safety exam, and of course all of the 'business' stuff.
Hope that helps! PM me if you have any other questions! I'm happy to help where I can. 
Happy Baking,
Beth
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