My CC pet peeve is reading "I'm not licensed, just a home baker." I feel all home bakers should be licensed and INSURED with a separate kitchen than is used for their family! If your county/State does not allow it (like mine) then lease an approved kitchen. And...it's not ok to not be licensed if you are "donating cakes" - people won't remember or care the cake was free if they get sick.
I happen to live in a state--OH-- with a Cottage Provider status for home bakers that allows for baking from a home kitchen as long as the items provided aren't perishable or require refrigeration.
I'm asked to donate cakes and cake certificates all the time and that's actually all I do--donate cakes, donate certificates for cakes, and make cakes for donations to charities and non-profits.
I carry a hefty (but relatively inexpensive) umbrella policy on my homeowner's insurance--just in case-- and I only provide shelf stable products.
Michigan's Cottage Provider bill was signed by the governor today.
It's up to each baker to understand the rules of their state and perhaps their county and city as well. In some states, it may be OK to bake at home, but in your county or city, zoning laws may make it illegal to run certain types of home businesses. It all has to be taken into account.
Rae
One of my pet peeves is when there is a person giving tons of advice, but they have very few pictures posted and have been here for years. How can a person tell if they can trust your advice?
I love mostly everything on CC
One of the reasons it might be why they don't have lots of photos is because (and correct me if I am wrong) you give away the rights to that photo when you post it here. In other words CC can do with it what they want.
At least it is like that on other sites. I have never taken the time to read the terms of agreement here. For all I know I signed over my first born or something like that.
But there are several on here who do not have lots of photos and I hang on their every word. Lots of photos does not mean anything IMO.
My CC pet peeve is reading "I'm not licensed, just a home baker." I feel all home bakers should be licensed and INSURED with a separate kitchen than is used for their family! If your county/State does not allow it (like mine) then lease an approved kitchen. And...it's not ok to not be licensed if you are "donating cakes" - people won't remember or care the cake was free if they get sick.
What do you mean by "home baker"? I would consider myself a home baker, I do only cakes for family and friends and never charge for anything. I don't think that I would need to be licensed and insured but perhaps we have a different definition of home baker.
I think we're getting hung up on semantics. If you bake from home just for family and friends and don't get paid for it, unlicensed, all that, then I would consider you to be a hobby baker. I would consider a home baker to be someone that IS licensed and insured and gets paid for their cakes, but just does it from home and not a "commercial/store front" kitchen.
I think we're getting hung up on semantics. If you bake from home just for family and friends and don't get paid for it, unlicensed, all that, then I would consider you to be a hobby baker. I would consider a home baker to be someone that IS licensed and insured and gets paid for their cakes, but just does it from home and not a "commercial/store front" kitchen.
Ah yes. That makes sense. Indeed, by that definition, I am a hobby baker then. Thanks for clearing that up for me.
My CC pet peeve is reading "I'm not licensed, just a home baker." I feel all home bakers should be licensed and INSURED with a separate kitchen than is used for their family! If your county/State does not allow it (like mine) then lease an approved kitchen. And...it's not ok to not be licensed if you are "donating cakes" - people won't remember or care the cake was free if they get sick.
What do you mean by "home baker"? I would consider myself a home baker, I do only cakes for family and friends and never charge for anything. I don't think that I would need to be licensed and insured but perhaps we have a different definition of home baker.
frankdiabetes, I do what you do, I have never sold a cake, they are for friends and family and are gifts. I call myself a hobby baker/decorator.
As far as the home baker thing, I think it is fair to let them know that in some states it is illegal to sell baked goods out of your home, same thing with the whole copyright topic. There are alot of people that just have no idea it isn't allowed.
I get it alot in my classes. "Oh I'm taking the classes cause I want to sell cakes." "Did you know you can't legally sell cakes out of your house here in Texas?" "It is?"
I think it, like everything else, should be done in a helpful manner. After that information is out there, it is up to the original poster to take it and do what they want with it. Do I think that 20 other people need to press the same issue in the same post? Nah, usually it over kill.
When I started this thread a few days ago, I intended for it to be a light-hearted forum for venting about things that annoy us on Cake Central. ( I love this site; I appreciate all that the owners and moderators do to keep it running; and I truly value all the caking information I have gotten here.)
In one online dictionary, a pet peeve is defined as "a frequent subject of complaint". That's all I was looking for. I wasn't attempting to establish laws for posting; I wasn't trying to tell anyone else what to do; I wasn't looking to start arguments or debates; and I wasn't looking to insult or offend anyone.
To those of you who responded in the spirit of the original post, thanks.
ooooo. the perfect picture from one of my favorite bloggers!
http://organizeddoodles.blogspot.com/2009/03/pet-peeves.html
FYI - be sure to click on the picture to see it full size.
then play the FIND EGGY GAME.
somewhere in the drawing, ala Hirschfield and how he hid his daughter's name, Nina, in his caricature's, Rick likes to hide Eggy.
He looks like a little egg with arms and legs.
sic 'em!
I get it alot in my classes. "Oh I'm taking the classes cause I want to sell cakes." "Did you know you can't legally sell cakes out of your house here in Texas?" "It is?"
TexasSugar, my Wilton instructor got this out of the way in the first 5 minutes of the first class 
. She tells everyone who takes her classes that there is no home baking allowed in Colorado. She even has an anecdote about a former student who had an illegal business and was found out and shut down by the health department via her website.
I love CC and everyone here has been so helpful and patient. I am a hobby baker, by previous definitions. I do not post often but when I have there have been plenty of helpful responses. (I quickly went back and posted a thank you to someone I PM'd who responded back and forth but I forgot to thank them once the cake was completed oops 
)
I have been able to search and find many answers, tons of tutorials and great people to share the love of cake decorating. I love the sarcasm sometimes used.. I must have sarcasm decoder as I think I hear you saying the phrases sometimes and it is hysterical. Pet Peeves, don't have any really.. just hope I have not made anyone's list for inadvertent posts or comments I have made.
Have a wonderful day and thank you for all you contribute to the rest of us as we attempt to improve our skills.
Ohhh....Now these are my 4 pet peeves:
1. When someone says, "I made IndyDebi's buttercream and it was a disaster. I followed the recipe exactly, except I used butter instead of Crisco and left out the Dream Whip. It totally melted off the cake! What went wrong?!?!?!?!"
This IS one of my biggest pet peeves 
on cc. AND re posting pictures of cakes that have already been posted.
That's funny Doug...thanks for sharing
What annoys me the most are the posts that ask, "are you a scratch baker or a mix baker?" . Always starts an argument.
The other thing that drives me crazy is when people PM you and ask you how you did something and never bother to acknowledge your response. I have written lengthy tutorials/recipes in response to some PMs and never heard a word from the person again.
@Kassie11. I'm sending you a "how did you do..." PM and when you send me a response, I won't reply. LOL, I'm just kidding. That seems really rude.
ooooo. the perfect picture from one of my favorite bloggers!
http://organizeddoodles.blogspot.com/2009/03/pet-peeves.html
FYI - be sure to click on the picture to see it full size.
then play the FIND EGGY GAME.
somewhere in the drawing, ala Hirschfield and how he hid his daughter's name, Nina, in his caricature's, Rick likes to hide Eggy.
He looks like a little egg with arms and legs.
sic 'em!
I found Eggy!!!
Mine is that people post their pics with NO description whatsoever. Especially when it is something new or innovative, and they are happy to answer questions in the comments, but why not just state it in the description? If you KNOW someone is going to ask about something, and you don't mind telling....then TELL us!
Yeah, yeah yeah - me too!
My pet peeve is when Indydebi types "return" instead of "enter" twice in the same post. It makes me feel old because I know what she means. LMBO
For anyone else who gets this, watch this funny and VERY short video...
This had me cracking up I have tears running down my face!
My CC pet peeve is reading "I'm not licensed, just a home baker." I feel all home bakers should be licensed and INSURED with a separate kitchen than is used for their family! If your county/State does not allow it (like mine) then lease an approved kitchen. And...it's not ok to not be licensed if you are "donating cakes" - people won't remember or care the cake was free if they get sick.)
You're a peeve that's already been mentioned! And I'm amongst those you peeve, mostly because it's not said to be helpful, but to be mean and judgmental (at least that's how I read it).
My two big pet peeves are 1. when people post replies pretty much stating what the 5 people before them have said-because then I'm scrolling down reading the same thing being said different ways. It gets boring.
My 2nd and biggest pet peeve is when the more experienced CCers tear apart a newbie and treat them poorly-I remember seeing a post that was so bad I didn't come back to CC for about 8 months. I come here for cakes-the drama should be left off CC. I've noticed this with SOME (not all) pro cakers-they feel entitled to scoff at any newbie that needs a BC recipe or asks something...god forbid the ask it like a newbie. I was once a beginner and I didn't know terms, how to ask things, etc...we've all been there so we should all treat each other with respect-I believe if you aren't going to be helpful and nice-don't reply! Just move right along
This is harsh I know, but people who have cake disasters that could have been prevented by the simple knowledge of how to properly stack a cake using either the dowel method or SPS. I read all of these Cake Disasters and I think to myself, wow that could have been prevented if you actually knew how to properly stack a cake.
Of course they are unfortunate accidents, but the really silly ones that say my cake fell and I have no idea what happened, well did you use proper supports? Uh what are supports? 
if you see the Winnie the poohbear cake i Think is in my photos- that was done early on in my cake decorating hobby and in another view of it- the back view shows the cake sinking due to the fact i had forgotten to put support under winnies "behind" lol. ah well though it didn't fall apart and was very appreciated by my niece at her 4th bday party
Okay so I just want to say this:
1) I want to THANK people like IndyDebi, mamawrobin, TexasSugar, Khalstead, leah_s, Melvira, carmijok, catlharper and many others who graciously answer the same questions over and over and over again. When I first joined, I did not know what Indydebi's buttercream was but mamawrobin explained it again, and again and yet again. And each time I learned something. Thank you!
2) To all the cc members who do take the time to post suggestions on design, execution etc. I marvel when I see someone post a picture of what I think is a highly complicated cake design and ask for advice "for a cake due in a week". I usually think, um, no way is that going to happen. Then I see the finished cake and it is almost always beautiful!
3) The cake disaster posts I always read because while I am relatively new, someday that same situation may happen to me. One recent post told of a wedding cake where the bottom tier collapsed on transport. I still cannot believe how well she handled salvaging that cake and how beautiful it looked.
So I just wanted to say that while sometimes a post may really annoy you, your answers, advice, insight, is always educational to someone new like me.
3) The cake disaster posts I always read because while I am relatively new, someday that same situation may happen to me. One recent post told of a wedding cake where the bottom tier collapsed on transport. I still cannot believe how well she handled salvaging that cake and how beautiful it looked.
So I just wanted to say that while sometimes a post may really annoy you, your answers, advice, insight, is always educational to someone new like me.
You don't hvae to be new to learn from these! I had this very thing happen to me a couple of years ago. The ONLY way I knew how to salvage it was because other people shared their disaster stories and I was able to benefit from the many replies of "next time try this ....."
You don't have to be new to learn from these! I had this very thing happen to me a couple of years ago. The ONLY way I knew how to salvage it was because other people shared their disaster stories and I was able to benefit from the many replies of "next time try this ....."
ok time to help pass on said learn widsom (grins) what happened debi? i like to hear about how problems get resolved too to help fix what May come my way too (knock on wood heh)
if you see the Winnie the poohbear cake i Think is in my photos- that was done early on in my cake decorating hobby and in another view of it- the back view shows the cake sinking due to the fact i had forgotten to put support under winnies "behind" lol. ah well though it didn't fall apart and was very appreciated by my niece at her 4th bday party
First time cakers and I mean FIRST time are excused, but if something falls or sags try to find out why and fix the problem for next time. If you are going to sell your cakes however you have a business and researching how to properly stack a cake should be a top priority.
I equate it to those people on Food Network Challenge, they come with an overly ambitious design, never practice to see if it can be done in 8 hours, and then end up having to scrap half of the cake design because they run out of time.
Research! It doesnt matter how you do it, ask on CC, look up a tutorial, buy a SS DVD, but research what you are doing before you start selling your cakes.
<End Rant>
And its not a peeve but it breaks my heart that people who have taken all of the impowered, charge more for your cakes, threads and then they go out there and charge someone $4 a serving for something that is not of their skill level to do.
Then they post their photos saying that their customer wants a full refund and they dont know why. Hardly ever is it mentioned in those famous What to Charge threads that they should factor in their skill level into their price.
You don't have to be new to learn from these! I had this very thing happen to me a couple of years ago. The ONLY way I knew how to salvage it was because other people shared their disaster stories and I was able to benefit from the many replies of "next time try this ....."
ok time to help pass on said learn widsom (grins) what happened debi? i like to hear about how problems get resolved too to help fix what May come my way too (knock on wood heh)
Let me say up front, it's ok to laugh, but I never would have thought of removing the damaged bottom tier and setting up a 3 tier cake instead of a 4 tier. Too simple, I know, but I swear to high heaven I wouldn't have thought of it. The bottom tier was ok to cut and serve, and we did that tier in the kitchen....it just wasn't pretty enough to display. Bride and family were fine with it. I deducted $200 and they gave my staff a $200 tip for service above and beyond.
On several occasions I've answered structural questions like "what is SPS?" or "Do I need to use supports?", and then I notice that they joined in 2005!
Come on! Have they never happened across a thread in the past five years concerning this, or what happens when you don't use a support system?
Even if they haven't logged on within the past five years, you'd think they'd search a little first. I almost regret helping. Next time, I'm going to ask what have they learned since '05. (maybe.) 
[quote="Jayde"]
<End Rant>
And its not a peeve but it breaks my heart that people who have taken all of the impowered, charge more for your cakes, threads and then they go out there and charge someone $4 a serving for something that is not of their skill level to do.
Then they post their photos saying that their customer wants a full refund and they dont know why. Hardly ever is it mentioned in those famous What to Charge threads that they should factor in their skill level into their price.
Whenever I see these thread I ALWAYS chime in and say that the skill level and quality of work is VERY important and should be factored in when figuring the price. I agree it seems that this is never mentioned and honestly I've seen some cakes that I would have been highly po'd if I'd paid $4.00 a serving for, and I can certainly understand these customers demanding a refund on some these cakes.
[quote="mamawrobin"][quote="Jayde"]
Whenever I see these thread I ALWAYS chime in and say that the skill level and quality of work is VERY important and should be factored in when figuring the price. I agree it seems that this is never mentioned and honestly I've seen some cakes that I would have been highly po'd if I'd paid $4.00 a serving for, and I can certainly understand these customers demanding a refund on some these cakes.
I remember that thread that you started a little bit ago about this very same subject. I love to read posts, but rarely comment sometimes. I love the site, really I do, but sometimes when things get hot I disappear for awhile into lurker mode. I hate the scratch v mix fights and the are you legal? ones too.
Some people just like to argue for the sake of arguing and there is no way I am going to argue with someone who is already convinced themselves AND usually someone else that they are right and I am wrong. Not worth my time.
One of my biggest peeves (and this is mostly because this site is extremely helpful) is when someone posts a good description of their problem, like:
I can't get the icing on my cake smooth! It's full of air bubbles, I've tried smoothing it with Viva, as well as with the Melvira method, and I still can't get it smooth! I'm using IndyDebi's recipe, with a minor change (heavy whipping cream instead of milk). It's just a practice cake, so it's fine for now.
What can I do to avoid this problem in the future?
And someone replies with:
Have you tried the Viva or Melvira method?
GAH! Just read!
I just want to also point out that I've only had air bubble problems with that recipe once...and I think it was because I didn't beat the crap out of it. Ever since then, I try to let the mixer go for 5-10 minutes more after it's mixed, depending on my mood.
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