Entries tagged with “Business” from Sketchy's Kitchen
A few weeks ago I was talking about starting a business. Well, after much research, standing in line, and talking on the phone, I discovered that we would never pass the health inspection. We have 4 cats, and three of them have access to the kitchen. There is a open clause that says "No domesticated animals may remain in the food preparation area."
Well, we have an open house layout, so we would need to put up new walls and doors to block off the kitchen, but I like the openness in the kitchen, and I could not close it off. So - no business. We would need to convert part of the garage, or build an addition to the back of the garage. I would love that, but you'd be talking six or seven thousand for appliances, couple hundred fro plumbing, electrical, and AC/Heating. then you have the Sheetrock, floors, waterproofing, storage, cabinets, countertops, and if we expand - new siding, small trusses, and shingles. At least ten to twenty thousand to convert the garage/expand.
I'd so love to expand a little, but I don't think that will happen.
So -- things I have learned:
No cats
If you have cats, they can never get in the room
If they can get in the room, they must be shaved
If you want to sell at the farmers market, you don't need a business license, but you need a health inspection
you cannot pass an inspection if cat hair can float into the kitchen
Some people mentioned getting space at a community center, but almost everything I am cooking involves multiple days and long rest periods. My sourdoughs require two days, and the barm is a living creature that would need to live in the kitchen full time. Marshmallows need to sit for at least 4 hours, but 12+ is better.
So, no matter how clean you keep the kitchen, if they might find cat hair, they can take away your license and hit you with a misdemeanor. When I do eventually start this business, I want it to be legit. I know it's a yearly inspection, and they might skip your house, but I would want my customer to know that I care about how their food is being prepared. So -- for now, there is no business. If you want to eat my marshmallows, cookies, cakes, or breads, you need to come to my house, work with me, or move in next to me.
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thanks to those who left comments before the upgrade. I'm sorry I lost your posts.
Well, we have an open house layout, so we would need to put up new walls and doors to block off the kitchen, but I like the openness in the kitchen, and I could not close it off. So - no business. We would need to convert part of the garage, or build an addition to the back of the garage. I would love that, but you'd be talking six or seven thousand for appliances, couple hundred fro plumbing, electrical, and AC/Heating. then you have the Sheetrock, floors, waterproofing, storage, cabinets, countertops, and if we expand - new siding, small trusses, and shingles. At least ten to twenty thousand to convert the garage/expand.
I'd so love to expand a little, but I don't think that will happen.
So -- things I have learned:
No cats
If you have cats, they can never get in the room
If they can get in the room, they must be shaved
If you want to sell at the farmers market, you don't need a business license, but you need a health inspection
you cannot pass an inspection if cat hair can float into the kitchen
Some people mentioned getting space at a community center, but almost everything I am cooking involves multiple days and long rest periods. My sourdoughs require two days, and the barm is a living creature that would need to live in the kitchen full time. Marshmallows need to sit for at least 4 hours, but 12+ is better.
So, no matter how clean you keep the kitchen, if they might find cat hair, they can take away your license and hit you with a misdemeanor. When I do eventually start this business, I want it to be legit. I know it's a yearly inspection, and they might skip your house, but I would want my customer to know that I care about how their food is being prepared. So -- for now, there is no business. If you want to eat my marshmallows, cookies, cakes, or breads, you need to come to my house, work with me, or move in next to me.
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thanks to those who left comments before the upgrade. I'm sorry I lost your posts.
My blog has always been a hobby. I guess getting notice that you will be unemployed in two months will trigger odd things in you. I've decided to start the task of getting Sketchy's Kitchen official. I don't know if I'll ever make enough money to do it as my job, but a business license would allow me to sell things by demand on the web and to local business and families. It's for two reasons. One, I love to cook, and I end up giving away half of everything I make. Two - I need something to fixate on so I don't stress about looking for another job.
For those interested, I am an Oracle DBA, Remedy ARS programmer, Cold Fusion and PHP coder, and I have a lot of experience with project management, SPC/Metric Reporting, and change management.
OK -- back to baking, cooking, and trying to start a business! On Friday afternoon we went down to the county govt. facility and started the process to turn me into a home based internet/retail bakery. There are TONS of forms. I'm still finding ones I need to fill out. After getting the run around, we had the Federal Tax ID, and we went upstairs to the zoning office. they asked me i we had an food safety inspection yet. I told them no, and they sent me downstairs and across the street. When I showed up across the street, they told me there was no such office here.
Well, we gave up at that point. I had things to do for the dinner we were having at Piet's place the next night. I had cakes to bake, pastries to cook, bread to bake. Yep, I buried myself in flour and sugar. I kept myself very busy, and slightly intoxicated. I think I managed to not get a shot of the bread. It was a sourdough boule with crushed cocoa nibs, and a touch of cayenne pepper. The Chocolate flavor is very minimal, the nibs have an almost nutty taste to them.
I made the cake on Saturday. The cake looked great at our house. I loaded it into a cake transport thingie, and we drove across town for dinner. As we were driving I told Jen that she was not a good cake driver. Fast accelerations, sharp breaking, fast turns. As we were driving, the cake began to lose it's height. It reminded me of a cake my mother made when I was a kid. It looked great at first, but as the day went on it started to look a little sad. Well, Jen said she thought the cake looked better, she liked the stripes. I explained that the cake was not supposed to be zebra striped. Between the stops and the starts, you could watch the top of the cake slide around the cake holder. I was so depressed about this.
By the time we arrived at the house I no longer had a cake. It was The Thing. a glob of icing and three discs of cake. I tried to make it look presentable, but there was no hope for that anymore. We took half the cake home, the next day I went to cut a slice for dinner - total disaster. It was like a train wreck. Three layers, all exposed. I took them, added some heavy cream and turned them into a ... paste.. in the food processor. Cake and icing, ground into a mush and spooned into ramekins. They taste pretty good with the caramel whipped cream. Bus as far as cakes go: spectacular defeat with the assistance of Jen's driving.
OK -- back to starting a business. I spoke with Veronica - she's already done this! She found the phonenumber to the State Agriculture department. I called them and stated that I am trying to start a home bakery. They put some documentation in the mail. Once I fill that out, I call them back and they will see if I need an inspection (I have to pay for the inspection if they show up or not). At first, Jen and I were worried that I couldn't get a license because of our cats, but we are pretty sure we can. We are not catering, so the rules are a little more lax in that regard.
Once I figure out all the forms that are needed to get setup in VA, I will post about them. The process is a little taxing,especially if you are in a bad mood. But keep at it.
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