Today begins a new category on my blog about all things “baking” (though I will throw in some candy making). This category titled “Piece of Cake” is to share what I have learned, tips and conversations about the business of baking. There is so much to learn, especially if you are not using a commercial kitchen and chose to work in the home environment. To start with, I did a lot of research on what is required for a home business and also received TONS of information from a friend of mine, Stephanie Hedlund who owns Clara Burke Kitchen. Many months, headaches, tears later, the State of Maine did grant me my license for baking cakes, pies and confections. To begin with, you must really love to bake. If you perceive baking as a chore, pick something else to do or hire me. The first thing to think about is what type of baking do you wish to specialize. I prefer to do celebration cakes, which mostly centers on birthdays, special events, showers and some small-scale weddings (the cake picture is a recent bridal shower cake I did). The reason I chose this type of baking is that my kitchen is only so big. Remember, when you go large, you need to be able to store it and most home refrigerators do not hold a multi-tiered cake very nicely. In addition, there are only so many freezers and refrigerators I would like to have in my kitchen. Once I figured out what type of business I wanted to focus on, then I could research what licenses and permits I would need to move forward.
Think about that and let me know what type of baking you like to do. Please join me again next week as I share some more on this journey.