AForgive me for what I'm about to write, I can't contain it, so please don't take offense. I was on FB last night and I ran into yet another new cake business in my area. I was looking for another oven at my favorite not-so-local resale shop, so I stumbled on this new Bakery and decided to check it out. She sells her cakes for $25, with a free dozen cupcakes if you order asap. Her cakes were on plain thin cardboard sheet cake rectangles, pictures taken on her dryer, by her hair dye, nail polish, chemical bottles on the same counter... All of her cakes were TMNT, Spongebob, Hello Kitty...

I know she can't be making much money.I know she will price herself out of work. I know her buttercream wasn't even slightly smooth. I know she is not technically in a beginners league. I know I wouldn't want the customer base she is getting. But it still drives me bonkers!

I'm not giving her a hard time because she is new, we all had to start somewhere. I'm still new compared to many of the other decorators here. It's just so disheartening after everything I've gone through to get licensed, remodeling my home, etc. I can't help but feel terribly frustrated and she's not the only one in my area that's cut through the red tape (so to speak). I almost did it myself before I knew better, well went about things backwards anyway. There are people in my area that post other people's work as examples of cakes (with watermarks)!

I know there are people that do this all over, maybe some just don't know any better. I saw websites that listed 'easy home based business' for stay at home mothers' cake decorating was one of them, 'Do you like making cakes? Sell them from your home!' Again, I'm not disrespecting home based business owners! I bake from home, so please don't be offended. Just venting, which has turned into me babbling incoherently :)

AI wonder if we live in the same area, we have a few of those on our local craigs list. The pictures just make me cringe. Although it's slightly better than the baker who uses photos from other bakeries, and didn't even bother to try and remove the watermark.

AThere's a girl here that does that too! She posted these Turkey Cakes from The Cake Blog/Half Baked and attached a price, I couldn't believe it!

I'm in Central IL

I agree completely and can understand why you needed to vent!  I am fairly new to cake decorating to (which I don't sell mine, I just do it for fun and family) but what does TMNT mean?
 

ATMNT=teenage mutant ninja turtles

I just went on CL and looked. I just can't believe how many people will buy food from an uninspected kitchen without any qualms....Of course I can't look at the post and tell who has a license and who doesn't but I am guessing most don't.

It's getting ridiculous here too. But we have CFL, so now everyone and their dog (ok, maybe not their dog) can have a cake business legally without any red tape or hoops to jump through at all. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The market is over saturated. Every week I see a new cake business popping up on FB. There's just too many, and NO, there's not enough business for everyone! 

So to get a CFL they don't have to get a business license or have a health certified kitchen??

Some states without CFL's are like that also. If you are selling only "non-potentially hazardous" food items, you don't have to be inspected or licensed.

How can any food item be "non potentially hazardous"? If I have boxes of rat poison stored in the cabinet next to my box of baking soda, that is not hazardous??? Are they serious? Then why would any baker have to have a certified kitchen?!?!? It seems like it would be tougher for a home baker since they are less likely to have taken food handling safety courses....and more likely to have cats and rats and bats...Oh My! (not discriminating against cat owners but dog didnt rhyme)

Yes, it depends on your state and they're particular laws, but our CFL (Florida) does not require the kitchen to be inspected or the baker to be licensed unless they are selling potentially hazardous food, as determined by the FDACS. 

AI agree that we have to start somewhere. But if they're not there yet, don't sell it! And I hate when people compliment an ugly cake! There is a cake business who has cake pictures on her FB page and her website taken from other people's website. She even photoshopped the name on the cake to a different name and watermarked it with her own logo! I let the owners (at least 3 different bakeshop) of the pictures know. The thief insist it was her own but eventually took the stolen pictures off her FB and website.

AThe term "potentially hazardous" refers to bacterial growth at room temperature, if you final product must be refrigerated it usually can't be sold by a cottage food business.

The CFL in California does not require an inspection if you are selling directly to customers, but luckily it does require applying for a license (usually in the $100-200 range) and submitting product labels to the county health dept.

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IL has a pretty restrictive cottage food law, if you see a potential violation I would definitely contact your county health dept, that's what they are there for.

learn something new every day....I wonder what VA requires. I will have to look that up. I had to pick the only city in the state that does NOT allow home baking to buy a house in....

The laws vary WIDELY from state to state, so you have to comply with where you are located. It doesn't seem fair that some states are very restrictive and others are not, but that's how it works. I try to not focus on all the "illegal" people around me and concentrate more on producing a better product. It gets me in a really foul mood if I think about it too much, so I'm just trying to make myself better! I don't google/fb search other businesses for that reason! 

I'm with sixinarow I don't want those customers and really neither do you. She is doing you a favor because they are gonna order from her. That clientele will never buy your cakes. Really they won't, because they think her cake on her dryer is fine. YUCK Plus I hate those kinds of cakes anyhow..lol I want wedding cake business and I guarantee they wouldn't call her with their wedding cake on her dryer.

Here in Tx we only have to have a food handlers permit. I however wish it was stricter and we could get our kitchen inspected. We can't however, I even called. So there can be frustration the other way too.

ACF laws in MD don't allow you to sell person to person. Only at a farmers market. Unless you are on an actual farm. Then you can sell from any venue. So it does vary significantly state to state.

Yep, in KY we have to a completely separate kitchen, with grease trap. I am right by Ohio, which lets everyone sell cake, and there are tons of people selling on Craigslist. My prices are at least 3 times higher than most. So is my skill, for the most part. I kills me when I see talented people sell for nothing.

My city was discussing allowing home bakers...they were wanting to impose the separate kitchen rule too. Not sure if they are still in talks. If they do allow it my roomie is getting the boot and her room is becoming a kitchen! lol. That would be so convenient

services then search cake

AThere are several people in my town selling cakes and other foods illegally. Just yesterday, a friend of mine on FB said she was going to sell a few loaves of bread to someone. She *just* learned how to make bread like a month ago. Now she's in business?? Or the culinary school graduate selling cakes (not spectacularly done) for $1/serving. Oh, there is another one that takes the cake (pun intended) ... Oreos. She decorated a couple cakes with Oreo cookies and misspelled words on her very poorly executed cakes. I would show you, but that's just mean & nasty.

AThankfully, cakers haven't started using Craigslist much for selling food in my area. Facebook is stupid with new cake pages though.

AHow do I find new cake pages?

I just want to remind anyone who has anything mean or nasty to say about someone's cake, you can come sit by me ;-) 

AJust google it. Type in cake (your city) Facebook.

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Yes, your right! When I first started I would check out others around me-mainly because I thought that's how I would learn about pricing, luckily I found this site! So I try to just focus on being better at what I do. And I know I don't want that type of clientele anyway! I just stumbled onto to her page in one of the 'yard sale' type groups via FB.

Thank you all for your input on my mini pitty party lol it just gets frustrating because they do 'spring up' all the time, but I suppose they won't be in 'business' for that long, going about it that way. Jason, she's actually in a different State, which borders mine it's about 15-20min away but yes they still have restrictions and I doubt she follows them or knows much about cross-contamination let alone ServSafe/Proper Food Handeling. I never thought to contact the Health Department. It seems a bit petty, but perhaps it's due to ignorance?! I worked in the food industry for years so (from large restaraunts to small in all different aspects) most of it seems like second nature to me.