I'm so nervous...and I'm only renting space in a commercial kitchen!! Those of you who own your own bakery....I bow down to you. I can't imagine what a bundle of nerves I'd be if I were opening my OWN bakery.

Whew....wish me luck!

I have to bring all of my recipes, my equipment, and my "menu" to meet the inspector at the kitchen. He also has to check out my car to see what I'll be transporting them in.

Anybody have any last minute suggestions? Like...bringing him a brib errrr...cake???

I don't have any suggestions, but I do want to wish you the best of luck! Needless to say, let us know how it goes.

sorry, I don't have any suggestions too. but I wish you luck

Thank you so much...I appreciate the kind words.

Maybe it would be hospitable to offer a sample... but they'll probably say, "thanks anyway ma'am, I'm here on business" ha ha... I'm sure it will be fine, because the kitchen you are renting must also pass & they wouldn't be in business if they didn't... so "the hard part" is over. I'm sure s/he just has to make sure you're not using any toxic ingredients & that there are no dog hairs in your vehicle (vacuum & sanitize!) Good luck!! =)

I definitely will!! The back of my car has a plastic floor so it's super easy to wipe down!!

Very cool congrats Good Luck.

Mike

my guy won't even take as much as a cupcake.

it's never as bad as you think it will be, he came in last week for a surprise inspection, it's kinda nerve racking...i think he has to say somthing....his biggest gripe was my crocks were under the mop sink...in the back room...dunno why that was so bad....LOL

We have rules around here about offering an inspector food. As in don't even think about doing it! We are told not even to offer a drink of water. nothing. at. all.

I was going to mention that - about offering food or drink. It can be construed the wrong way.

I agree, dont offer anything! They might think you are hiding something.

Do they require any kind of packaging labeling? You may want to have that ready incase as well.

Good luck!! If the kitchen is already legal, you shouldn't have any problems!

Got it. And besides...I'm already making a cake for a friend and that doesn't really fit into my schedule.

Yeah, with the kitchen already ok'd I think I'll be ok....I'm still nervous, though.

I just can't wait to be "legal"!

SugarMama...don't worry. I can totally relate to your nervousness. At least I did not have to wait too long. I had my inspection today (well yesterday if you go by the time now which is 1234am)...and i'm happy to say that I passed. Mine happened rather suddenly. I only had 3 1/2 hours to worry. He called me at 9:30am and said he would be able to fit me in at 1pm. Holy Crap...was I a mess. But I really didn't have much time to worry. I spent most of it touching things up. When he got there he spent about 15 min walking around...put a thermometer in the freezer to check my temp, looked in the bathrooms, checked the hot water, and wanted to know where our test strips were. Those were the main things he looked for. To be honest it took longer for him to fill out the paperwork than it did for him to inspect. So....breath and relax. You will be fine!!!! And Congratulations on your new business.

Well, I passed.

He told me that I need to be using the eggs with the little red stamps on them (which means they're ultra pasteurized), wooden dowels are not food safe and I cannot use them, and that I can only use pastry brushes made entirely of plastic or silicone. NO standard brushes, with wooden handles, and "hair" brushes. Interesting....

I think I'm going to look for a thread on those UHT pasteurized eggs to see what people have to say about them. He warned me that they might make my cakes taste or bake differently!?! I've definitely got to do some experimenting there.

So, I feel great!! And congrats to you, Serenatea.

I hate hair brushes too, because they fall apart on the cake...but how do you use a brush to dust your cakes? You cannot use that with silicone! I would love to hear the answer to that one.

I never used the ultra pasterized eggs. I am not even sure where you buy them!

And aren't wilton and ck product dowels food safe?

I am glad you passed though! Good luck with your bakery and get some sleep tonight because you will never get sleep again! hahha!

I was wondering how it went....

gee my guy didn't say anything about my pastry brush...

CoNgRaTuLaTiOnS!!!

happy baking!

He made me bring all of my equipment and I had the thin wooden Wilton dowels with me. I also had a few of the plastic ones.

He told me the wooden ones were not food safe. I asked him why and he told me that wood can harbor and spread bacteria quicker than several other surfaces. He went on to say that the moisture from the wooden dowels can cause the cake to spoil (if not using pasteurized eggs) much quicker.

He also said that if I use pasteurized eggs in my cake, it could literally sit out on the counter for days and not be in danger of many foodborne illnesses.

He also said that if you are a home baker (in a different state, obviously - as AZ doesn't allow home bakeries) that you shouldn't store cake mixes or flour, etc....in cabinets because of the wood in them. Wood can harbor spores than can jump up to FOUR INCHES. All of those ingredients must be kept on open air, stainless steel shelves.



Yay for legal caking....let's get ready to rumble!

wooden dowel rods aren't food safe? Has anyone called the food network and let them know?

Did you have just regular dowel rods (from the hardware store) or did you have the ones that are made specifically to be put in cakes?

I just had the thin ones from the cake decorating section at Michael's. They are Wilton and they are maybe a 1/4" in diameter.

I was shocked, too - and I told him where I got them and that people use them all the time.

His exact words were, "Well, if they live in Arizona, they'd better hope I'm not the one who inspects them."

Ooops, wrong smiley. But you get my drift. Yikes!

He said the SIDES of the cabinets are made from wood, too...so technically you'd have to provide an air-tight seal of shelf paper around every little cubby hole in your cabinets. BUT this is only for AZ - it could be really different in other places.

Yeah, I want to look into getting the tea straws. They seem like a cheap and cheerful choice for stacking.

He told me that they sell the pastuerized eggs at Walmart. I HATE Walmart, but I tried SuperTarget last night but no special eggs. Bummer.

Yeah, he said they were expensive...I don't know how expensive that is yet.

He just said I should use them if I don't plan on serving my cake within four hours of taking it out of the oven or freezing it right away (and then serving in four hours after it thaws out.) I don't think it's mandatory, though.

I think I'll only use them for outdoor stuff - because it's over 110 degrees today and I can see that making a difference if a cake needed to sit outside.

Either way, I'm just glad I've got a green light.

Im so glad that you passed and can now do all those cakes without looking over your shoulder. But GOLLY!! the pastry brushes, they're sold by restaurant supplies, chefs use wooden chopping boards, and your baking your eggs in a cake, not like your making cheesecake. He sounds like a real stickler, but thankfully you'll only have to see him twice a year!!

I'm sorry, I think he's full of himself. You must eat a cake FOUR HOURS after it comes out of the oven if you use regular pasteurized eggs instead of the super duper double insulated expensive pasteurized eggs?

Sounds screwy to me.

Congrats on getting legal! I guess the inspectors in Glendale are tougher than the ones they send to Mesa. We don't use dowels but we used to and none of our inspectors ever said a word.

Best of luck!