I am by no means what I consider to be a professional and there are still things I am learning, but I have so many people wanting to "order" from me and I can't have a home bakery here in OK. I pretty much do cakes for family and friends for this reason.

There is a large house the military is fixing up to be used as an event center (my husband is an electrician and has been working on it) and the woman in charge, who has in the past worked in catering, wants me to do cakes for them. There are also no bakeries here that do 3d cakes, which I have a lot of people ask about.

I'm just not sure where to start - I don't want to open a bakery at this point, but just have a space where I can legally bake cake to sell (I know I have other licensing things I have to do other than just the kitchen). I am still in the thinking stages at this point, but the house the events will take place in will be done in a few months, and I won't be able to sell her cake if I'm not prepared.

I just don't know where to look or who to call to find a kitchen! Any thoughts? I have looked in the paper, and will continue to. There are a couple of unused buildings here in my town (small) & I will check those out. Just not sure where else I should check. I want to do all my research and do everything properly, of course, this is just one of the first steps! lol

Check with local churches - many of them have commercial kitchens that you can rent. Also, donut shops or catering kitchens can often be rented. Where in Oklahoma are you located? Best of luck to you!

I am renting the kitchen out of the community building in my town. It has its pros and cons. I like it because its dirt cheap ($7 hr) and when I'm there no one else is there. The only draw back is that others can rent it too so I may not always get in when I need to. But its a start!

I'm in Choctaw, a small town, but close to OKC. It would be nice to get someplace close to home, but sell all over! I'm not sure about church kitchens - I don't think they are licensed - I know my church's isn't - I'll have to look into how that would work.

My first thought was doesn't the event center have a kitchen you could use? I've been wanting to do this for some time. The community center is a great idea. I never thought of that. One thing I'm unclear on is how you store your items. My understanding is that you can not take the cakes home or your supplies home because then it's no longer a certified kitchen so don't you need somewhere that will let you store your mixer and supplies?

Just curious what the rules are.

That's another thing I'm wanting to find out/understand. The lady with the event center said I was welcome to use their kitchen (though this is just a kitchen in a large house, wasn't really made to be an event center) - but I can't really leave my stuff there! And I could only use it for their cakes, not other ones.

The only thing that I HAVE to leave there are my ingredients. I have a large tote that I keep them in and they are locked away in a room. They keep a record of who uses the kitchen so if I were to come in and my stuff was gone they would be able to tell who took it. I do take my mixer and my decorating stuff with me every time, but I keep everything else there. I would talk with the health department and see what the rules are for your area.

Thanks cookielady that helps to at least know what to ask. I was wondering what all had to be left. Good to know!