Hey everyone I'm from BC and am in the process of deciding whether to open my own cake business or just go work for someone else!! I'm not sure of where to even begin!! Is it legal to even run a bakery out of your house? Anyone with any resources they could help me with or a direction they could point me in would be of great help!!

TIA,

Mrs.D

Hello Mrs.D What part of BC are you from?
Yes it is possible to have a home based business! I'm sure there will be lots of help for you here. Good Luck in your decision!

I'm interested in hearing other responses as I'm from BC too. I have sold some cakes but won't be doing anymore until I can figure out how to get legal. Right now I'm taking courses, practising recipes and honing my skills. I'm from the lower mainland. How about you?

I'm in Ontario, here the rules change region to region. I called the town for bi-law advice and zoning for our house. And I called the Health Dept for their rules and regs. Both were very helpful and took the "guess work" out of what I can and cannot do.
HTH

I'm in Calgary and have a separate licensed commercial kitchen at home. It can be done but you have to be persistent and ask a lot of questions.

You really need to speak to two places: 1. Local health department, and 2. local business licensing people. Both have a say in the process. I had to get permission to run a commercial kitchen from home in a residential neighbourhood (Home Occupation Permit), then planning and approval for the actual kitchen, and finally a health inspection. It wasn't an easy or cheap process.

I'm in Ontario and have heard that a new law was imposed this past year and now you are no longer allowed to have home bakeries, with it comes along pretty hefty fines if you are "found out" so to speak. I tried looking it up but to no avail. Although I was not planning on starting an actual business, the thought had crossed my mind. i think perhaps it has to do with more of a municipal thing - zoning bylaws and such-.
don't take my word, since I have not physically called any local gov't agencies on this.

Since you have Canadians on this thread, have any of you found a comparison to the Viva paper towel that all these American cakers use on here?? I tried the PC Green ones since they didn't appear to have any markings on it...sneaky buggers did though.

TIA

Kibosh: as far as I knew, we are allowed to have a home-based cake business in Ontario, so if you find any information that states otherwise, please let me know as soon as possilbe because my friend is doing this and I was planning to start a business in a couple years too; so as you can see this would be a huge deal for me. My e-mail address is [email protected] Thanks!

Every city has their own by-laws in BC so you'll have to check where you are. I know Delta does not allow you to run a cake business out of your home but I've heard Vancouver & Burnaby do (double check that info if that's where you are!) There are many regulations including separate kitchen with only outside access etc. You have to check on the rules for your municipality.
I live right near the border in south surrey so can pop down to buy Viva pt's but rarely do anymore - I just use computer paper (Sharon Z uses that as her last step in her video. I just skip the Viva step & move right on to that. Way cheaper!)
Happy to see so many BC bakers on here!!

Sugar Fairy you need to check with your municipality and your local health dept. I'm in Markham and though it is legal for me to have a home business I cannot have a legal bakery in my home unless I have a seperate kitchen that meets the health code.

Hey again,
I'm in the Fraser Valley, great to see fellow BC'ers!! Anyway, sounds like it would way less hssle to just go work for a bakery!! We're in the process of possibly moving so, I guess there's no point to researching anything here.
But, thanks for the info on where to start!

Tubbs ~ Was just wondering if you'd share what your ballpark cost was to set yours up?

BTW, I only work with fondant so no idea about the paper towel thing!!

Thanks,
Mrs.D

I don't know about the other provinces, but you cannot run a home-based food manufacturing business from your home in most cities in Ontario....especially larger cities. Perhaps the rural communities have rules that are more flexible?

In order to do so, you must comply with lots of strict regulations set out by the municipality (i.e. zoning) and the local heath department.


They will require that you have many things in place before you begin:

-that your home/studio be legally zoned for an at-home food business
-a kitchen that is completely separate from your family's kitchen
-a separate bathroom facility
-triple sinks for sanitation (hot soapy water/rinse/bleach water)
-a fridge/freezer that is solely for the use of your products, not home goods
-that you be certified in proper food-handling techniques/temps/laws
-a separate entrance into said kitchen
-extra fire-safety precautions/insurance

If you want further info about the rules, check out the www.cakescanada.com forum and/or check out the Canadian Cake Decorators Guild online at www.canadiancakedecorators.com
(Not sure if they still do, but they used to offer seminars about the legalities/accounting basics of starting your own cake biz from home)

Im in the Fraser Valley and have a shop you can have a separate kitchen from your reg home kitchen for info of what you need you will have to contact Fraser Health dept you can rent a food safe kitchen also but I would check in your area each city is different Im in Chilliwack. PM me if you need more info.

Anyone know if you're allowed in the Township of Langley? I'm waiting to hear back. Just wondering if anyone had already found out.

Still waiting to hear back from the Township of Langley.

Sharon, love your website and your cakes! Being that you're in Chilliwack, where do you buy your supplies from?