Bill In Texas For Legal Home Bakeries! Calling All Texans!
Decorating By kelleym Updated 7 Feb 2011 , 11:14pm by kelleym
kolaches and tamales are not cakes!!!! I'm getting so frustrated with this guy from the health dept.
I'm still catching up on this thread, but I was right behind him and I wanted to kick him in the ass! What a moron!
He's back in the afternoon session and driving me crazy by banging on the podium so that you can't hear him talk about how all of us will be soon making custards and kolaches and tamales.
I know. I was literally right behind him. That's my head. 
I hope I am wrong but the way I understand it is when the bill becomes law you will still not be able to run a home bakery in your home if your zoning laws for your residence prohibit it. Am I correct? I hope not but I know a long time ago when I called the City of San Antonio they told me even if a bakery in my home or a separate structure on my lot was legal I still couldn't have one if my home was zoned residential only. I am wondering how this bill will change the zoning laws and if I would have to go to the zoning commission and ask for a change in zoning. UUUGH!
That was one of the points today. This law WILL NOT trump zoning or deed restriction laws within a residential area. So if your deed restrictions state no businesses within, then you cannot do your cakes from your home. If you live inside the city limits and the city ordinance states that the area you live in must be zoned for commercial use, and yours isn't, then same thing...no cake biz from your house...
Sorry.
Correct you are Angie! State law will ALWAYS trump local law.
Well said cakesdivine. I feel Bronwen could have stood up and made inflammatory remarks and due to her popularity and status her opinion could have carried more weight than just the reading of her name did. I feel she will explain her opinion when and if she chooses. No one is obligated to do so. In the mean time lets try and keep things positive. I am wondering myself if I was in her shoes and had worked as hard and long as she has if I might be more apt to oppose the bill myself. Who knows until you have walked in her cake shoes. Yes, I know a little home bakery shouldn't be a threat to a big time bakery that can afford all the equipment and employees to turn out an enormous amount of cake but we are seen as one. I wish we could concentrate as much energy on something else other than one person who really hasn't had a chance to defend herself due to her traveling. Francois, thank you for your post.
I am the first to admit that my gut reaction was to be greatly annoyed and to jump to conclusions. But Francois seemed to be very sincere in defending his wife. I think we should be welcoming to Bronwen explaining herself and yes, to apologize if there were things we did not understand.
I agree with Alamosweets that from now on we should try to be positive. While I was pretty agitated this afternoon, I've calmed down a bit and think we should all give her a chance.
I am the first to admit that my gut reaction was to be greatly annoyed and to jump to conclusions. But Francois seemed to be very sincere in defending his wife. I think we should be welcoming to Bronwen explaining herself and yes, to apologize if there were things we did not understand.
I agree with Alamosweets that from now on we should try to be positive. While I was pretty agitated this afternoon, I've calmed down a bit
and think we should all give her a chance.
Ours was too, but she was quickly forgotten once tamale-staph man took the stand. 
I still wish I had seen that guy. It sounds so funny. Is it anywhere on the web?
http://www.house.state.tx.us/committees/broadcasts.php?session=81&committeeCode=410
He was after the break. The part before the break is the health dept lady droning on and on about outbreaks and blah blah blah. She was a resource, so she wasn't supposed to have an actual stance on the bill from what I understand, but boy did she make it clear she was against this bill. 
well i'm off to make a cake using the milk that my kid drank out of, the icing that the steak my husband brought home dripped on, and rolling out fondant on a counter that my cat jumped on......i'll post a pic later.....
Don't forget the football team! I never make a cake without them. Who would lick my beaters clean? Okay that sounded dirty.
I think the health department lady and the guy from Montgomery county health really helped out cause to have this bill passed. Both said multiple times how when someone gets sick, these home bakeries go "underground". The committee then asked them multiple times that wouldn't this help you keep track of them? (Even though those people got sick from meat containing foods).
LMAO. Will you make me some kolaches for breakfast while you're at it?
stop talking about kolachies...you're making me hungry and I'm gonna have to wreck my weight watchers points..... you think I can start all over at midnight with new points????
It seems that the health department is opposed because they don't want to do their jobs....inspections.....
stop talking about kolachies...you're making me hungry and I'm gonna have to wreck my weight watchers points..... you think I can start all over at midnight with new points????
It seems that the health department is opposed because they don't want to do their jobs....inspections.....
Yeah, that's all it sounded like to me. LAZINESS! I think we should make them some norovirus tamales and staph kolaches for all their hard work. 
Amia wrote: Don't forget the football team! I never make a cake without them. Who would lick my beaters clean? Okay that sounded dirty.
I am laughing so hard I am crying! It does sound a little dirty
I'm re-watching the later session and just got to montgomery health guy I think I'm going to fast forward I don't think I can stand him. 
Besides he scares me because he is in my county lol 
I think it is so ridiculous that he thinks cake decorators/bakers will sell meat products and tamales just because customers will ask it. (Why would someone ask a cake baker for a tamales in the first place? ) By the way I live since I leave in montgomery I just have to say I haven't noticed lots of people with staph infections and illness from cakes around here. lol
I also would love to hear why Bronwen voted against the bill.
But more importantly, I want to know what our next step is in getting this bill passed? How do we force a commitee vote to get it into the House for voting?
Kelley, do we need to keep contacting the committee members or do we need to start lobbying the remaining 100+ Representatives?
BTW - you all did a FANTASTIC job today!!!
well i'm off to make a cake using the milk that my kid drank out of, the icing that the steak my husband brought home dripped on, and rolling out fondant on a counter that my cat jumped on......i'll post a pic later.....
Don't forget the football team! I never make a cake without them. Who would lick my beaters clean? Okay that sounded dirty.
Ya'll crack me up! Don't forget to leave your baby in diapers on the countertop, too!
Yeah, I'd love to hear why Bronwen opposed this bill, right from the horse's mouth.
Until then, my purse strings are pulled tight when it comes to her classes here in Houston or anywhere else. That's how I express my opinion.
She and Frankie will need to do some damage control, because I know damn good and well from sitting in her classes that 75% of her students are home bakers, not industry professionals.
This will be interesting. Enough about that.
-----------------------------
Kelley, you did AWESOME, girl! Mad props to all of you who stood up in person or via written testimony, all who made phone calls, sent faxes and emails, alerted friends and family, and rallied support! I'm raising my glass - cheers to all!
I think it is so ridiculous that he thinks cake decorators/bakers will sell meat products and tamales just because customers will ask it. lol
Yea, because most cake shops will make you a chicken sandwich if you go and ask for it. 
So I read on some posts that the bill does not include custards....is that right? Does that include things like mousses and cheese cakes? I would figure it ould br ok since some people use these as cake fillings.
I know this probably sounds kind of stupid, but it reminds me of when American Idol started giving out recording contracts to people who simply won a contest. The established recording "artists" (and I use that term loosely with a lot of them) were miffed that they had to work, sing at the crummy bars, scrimp, sleep in their cars, essentially pay their dues before they became famous and got that first recording contract, yet here is FOX handing these kids a career on a silver platter.
What you have to keep in mind though is that talent is talent, and if you have it it will appeal to people no matter what your story is. If you want to go the American Idol route all you have to do is look at who has actually been successful AFTER the show, and the numbers are underwhelming. Consumers are able to pick out the talent and let the rest fade into obscurity (Hello, Taylor Hicks...). Comparing Bronwen (who I love, don't get me wrong - I almost peed my pants when I saw here there!) to me, for example, is like comparing U2 to Kelly Clarkson. Sure, Kelly is talented and can sell some records, but U2 is freakin' U2! Of course, the AI comparison breaks down when you consider that AI doesn't have a chance in hell at producing an artist anywhere near the magnitude of U2, while a home kitchen business HAS produced awesome talent and household names like Paula Dean and Mrs. Baird.
A few more things since I'm lucid now 
:
1) I (and at least one of the committee members!) think that Montgomery Co health dept guy was completely full of shiz. He was obviously lying about the staph infection/tamale situation. I wanted to throw my pen at his sweaty head.
2) The lady from the Texas health department was so biased it was ridiculous! I am still a huge fan of Rep. Gonzalez for pinning her down and making her admit that having home bakers registered would actually make it easier for the health department to do their job! ZING!
3) There was only one point I wished someone would have made in regard to the norovirus. If someone infected walks into a bakery and touches a counter/chair/wall/whatever, then an employee touches that same area and goes into the back and touches food, guess what? That's right. Someone will get sick. Does the health department then demand to test every customer/lookie loo/UPS guy/whoever who has been in that bakery? Hell no, they don't! I kept mentally screaming, "MOOT POINT!! MOOT POINT!!"
4) What was the point of Chef Culinary School (sorry, I can't remember his name) bringing in a bunch of pastries only to 1) admit that he didn't make them and 2) tell the hungry panel, "I wouldn't eat those because they've been sitting out." Worst. Visual. Aid. Ever.
Kelley, with where we are now in this process. What or who, I should say, do we need to be contacting at this point? The committee members (would they see this as too much) or our state reps again in preparation for the next step (which I pray will come)?
Shanna
The tamales and kolaches thing got me thinking. Does anyone know how those mobile taco and tamale trucks are regulated? We have them all over San Antonio and some of them are very scary looking. There's one that sits down the highway from our house and is open every single morning. It's filthy on the outside and looks like it's just been pulled from the salvage yard. Always makes me think the inside must be just as bad. We have a couple that come through our neighborhood at lunch time for the construction workers and I always wonder how they can get approved. Some are very nice and clean - but others...ick!
Please drop the Bronwen topic. It's making this thread into something it's not supposed to be.
Kelly,
I think that is a GREAT suggestion. I was disappointed that it went there. We are so proud of you and the great job you are doing! Thanks for all of your time and energy.
Being there, it was hard to sit still and not jump up when the Montgomery County guy was speaking and say - you know, we're not idiots. Probably everybody over here has at least a high school education and I don't think it takes specially schooling or a college degree to figure out how not to make your family sick from the way you store things in your fridge or leave out overnight. Hello - some of it isn't rocket science. What some of you didn't pick up on was the Representative that continued to question him, the one sitting to Rep Gonzalez left, the guy on the end - is a doctor! hello - that's why he wasn't impressed with the Montgomery County guys answers and he kept pushing him for specifics! I was there and I plan to go back and watch the archived video tonight. It seemed pretty clear, the committee members were friendly to our side, and that's okay. I am praying for a good outcome. I swear, I can't wait for the senate hearing. My FIL was with me and when we got back to his house and as my hubby and I were leaving, my FIL said he looked forward to going with me to the Senate hearing. It was awesome spending that day with him and being able to talk to him about something that is important to me. In 25 years, it's probably one of the few times we've shared and the first time we've done anything together! I love him to death!
Okay Kelley, next step lady bug - I'm right behind you!
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