I just need to unload my "fear"........I received a t/c this evening from a lady who had ordered a cake for the end of the month. She called me to cancel because her father-in-law works for the dept of health and if I didn't have a license she was to cancel the order.
Now, I'm scared........I of course told her not to worry about it that it was okay..........
I don't have a legal kitchen......I do it from home
Any support/suggestions?

I would be nervous too if I were in your shoes. You can't claim to just do this for family since this girl wasn't family (I'm assuming)...not that I condone lying anyway.

I don't really have any advice. I guess you'll just have to sit tight and hope nothing comes of it. Maybe since you were nice to her, she'll suggest her dad let you slip by. I think I would limit my orders for a little while, though, just to stay below the radar.

Good luck; keep us posted.

I don't know how it is done where you are, but in Virginia, home bakeries are inspected by the Department of Agriculture, Office of Food Safety, not the Health Department. My county wouldn't even issue me a business license because it is not required in my county for a home bakery. I had a lady inquire about purchasing my cakes and such to sell in her specialty shop and that prompted me to have my kitchen and water inspected. It only costs me $40/year for them to do an inspection. You may want to look into that, it might be worth the peace of mind.

We have similar "domestic bakery" laws in Pennsylvania. I have a food safety handling certificate, a license from the department of agriculture, and a certificate saying that my home kitchen has passed inspection and that my well water is safe. It also costs about $50 a year for the inspection, but it's well worth the piece of mind that I won't get into BIG trouble for selling cakes and cookies. Of course, the license is also $20 a year and I have to be re-certified in a food safety course every three years at a cost of $45. In all, not too bad. But if I were you, I'd lay low for a bit. Or at the very least, just sell to people that you can trust not to rat you out!

where i live, you have to first get zoned, then you have to get a liscence, which you have to have a separate kitchen, with a whole list of things you must have.
how scary!! maybe nothing will come of this, i hope they will forget all about it, but i would do some research about where you live and what it takes to become legal....then if you hear anything from this, you could say, at least that your working on it.
who knows, maybe this will open up some new doors...maybe you could talk to your church, or a church about using there kitchen, it should be a commercial kitchen and be fine. when you get legal, you could do a whole lot more business.

have to admit, i am scared for you, but will pray all works out for the best!!
melody

imo I dont think you should worry too much because if he wanted to do something about it he would have had her to keep the order and pick up and pay for the cake so he would have the proof needed...however I would stop selling cakes for a while and clean things up so it doesnt look as if you are running a business

I know in Ohio, there is something called "cottage foods".
That means you CAN sell items from home without a license, as long as you label your product "Cottage Food", and as long as the cake does not contain potentially hazardous ingredients (like cream or eggs, things that require refridgeration).
I would investigate in your state. Contact the dept of agriculture and find out. I think many states are similar in this area.
If they report you, just say you misunderstood the law, then go get your bakery license to play it safe from now on.
What state are you in?

I agree with the others...I would lay low for a while with my fingers crossed.

Hope everything turns out fine for you.

Actually in Ohio the Cottage Foods can include cake even though it has eggs because it does not have to be refrigerated. The law states you can operate without a licence or inspection if you only see non refrigerated goods like cheesecakes. I made sure by speaking to the Dept of Agriculture and the Sec of State.

Don't worry about it.
If anyone calls, you "just started your business and she was the first client", and you are glad they called because you "need information on becoming legal, could they please forward it to you"..