K8memphis

Way too cool, Devlin!!! Yes, she has a husband to keep her from starvation too. So we are poised fairly well here...if ... if ... and if.... But I love your story. Unfortunatley when I found the perfect place to buy with interestingly enough a finished garage apartment to transform in to a bakery it all got shot down by the authorities. It's impossible in my county without a commercial location. So...we'll see how this venture goes. So do you have your Alan Scott oven??? Weren't you looking for an oven a while back??? Or was that for a mixer?? Edited to say: I just clicked on your webpage--Oh that oven is to die for!!!!

OK, wait, my thing is celebration cakes, sculptures tier cakes etc. My partner's thing is gourmet wholesaling. Well to be honest, I'm cheating. My husband will keep me fed and housed, not fashionably clothed though--I mean I didn't think those boots cost too much but he did!!! But I digress, umm, so I don't need a wage per se. I get paid by the job. I (hope to) have the luxury of doing artsty fartsy stuff. I can operate on this low overhead and have plenty of time time time to create create create without wasting precious energy on business business business. So, what can I say, "Will work for boots"??? But seriously, umm, let's put it this way, the cake in my website that I copied from Kerry Vincent's creation would could sell for eight hundred to a thousand dollars, the white & gold one in the third 'book' down. The materials cost a nano fraction the expertise cost thirty years. So what price art? So twelve cakes like that a year will pay for the cost of that cake and my overhead and take me out to eat once. Or four lesser cakes a month. Miracle. Miracle. Miracle, et cetera... But again, nothing's in writing yet. I can make handsome on my work if I can get past the legalities and can spread my wings and fly fly fly. Now my business partner is a different story. I gotta work with her on her thing. All discussion and advice warmly welcomed.

Jeanne--Ok, first of all she's my partner in my current venture. However, nothing has been signed yet. It's two baking businesses in one slim skinny building. Yes, umm, it's a pay as you go mentality. Build out. I mean how right are the experts? I mean I know all I ever hear is do your homework get your market studies, write a business plan. Fred Smith got a "C" on his business plan for FedEx. Yeah, I ain't Fred Smith but...I'm used to pay as you go. I'd use a Quicken or whatever for day to day accounting, taxes etc. And more great detail stuff. Thanks Darcie Thanks, good information about the devil in the details But our overhead is so incredibly low I mean this is Baltic Avenue (like in Monopoly) We're gonna have to improve a bit but overhead will be so low it's a miracle location Myself, I never met a run-on sentence I didn't love. Teri Great stuff about the down & dirty side. Planning around a client is something that we will need to be careful about since we're sharing space. And that two edged sword of needing the exposure but no control. That's why I prefer celebration cake. I can usually retain a lot of control. Yeah, the waste in retail really turns your stomach huh. THANKS Y'ALL!!! THIS IS GREAT STUFF WOULD LOVE TO HEAR MORE!!!!

But for those of you who do any wholesaling, what information can you give me for her? The plan is to start out small, try to get agreements with coffee shops, resturants, gas stations, market sports food all packaged up like freshly made energy bars. She hasn't done any market studies yet which would be helpful. The overhead is very low where's she considering locating so...any words of advice besides 'just say no'.

How about royal icing, Chris? And sprinkle with sugar and edible glitter while it's wet.

Marlowe, you remembered!!! Oh, you didn't have to cross the street!! I have no remembrance of the washrooms. But I lived upstairs--way upstairs somewhere in a commune. That sandwich was awesome wasn't it, still noteworthy with crispy toasted wonderful bread. Ronnie made them with guacamole. I remember making apricot pizza with honeyed tofu, peanut butter cookies slathered with apple butter and big thick chewy oatmeal cookies slathered with applesauce or peanut butter. Oh man those were awesome 'natural' foodie days. Huge pots of applesauce. I did half the baking. Mary and I worked opposite each other, four ten hour days then four days off, four on four off. We lived on Humberside or Humberdink or something or that was my subway stop. We had a great Christmas, I made split pea soup and special S bread made with sassafras tea, soy flour and sunflower seeds. Ronnie's dog ate the turkey or was it ham? I stayed up all night to bake Mary's fruit cakes 'cause she was starting her four days on and time was getting away from her--wonderful fruit cakes made with beautiful dried fruits. She soaked the cakes in meade. I made baklava with rosewater to send home with some halvah from Kensington Market. Yes, it was called Etherea. I also baked for the House of Emmaus, the best carrot cake I ever made for the opening of their coffeehouse. Like 35 years ago. It was an unusually mild winter, '71, '72. What was Rochdale's I don't remember.

Yeah, I'm not on a bandwagon to change anything about tipping. I wish the back of the house got tipped out but oh well whatever. I'm not afraid to agree with others' opinions. On many levels it hits close to home with us. We tip good because when our daughter was in high school she had been stiffed before as a waitress. Shoot, when I had the tea-room I had these two women stiff me on the ticket. Very clever very mean they were. I want to call them names! Had a party of five stiff us on the tip. Oh the agony!!! We, my husband and I, don't really tip a lot though. So that's my point about tipping. I tip pleasantly 'cause I want to. Good karma type of thing. Another facet to tipping is the fact that the back of house makes exponentially less income for their exponentially greater investment in time and education. I don't know what you don't see, I just repeated myself is all.

We tip at least 20%. When the kids got old enough to get stiffed a time or two on their wait jobs you start to understand the value of a nice tip. Also when we get comp-ed for something we either tip on the whole ticket anyway or give the price of the item comp-ed to the server. The overriding irony however is that not only do servers make beaucoups more than degreed people in general they make more than the degreed chefs in the back of the house who are putting it out hot & heavy so they can get the good tips. And it takes years and years for the little chef-boys and chef-girls to move up the pay scale again grossly disproportionate to the agility with which a server can improve their incomes. We have a little chef-boy in the family.

Pierre Herme???

Does anyone remember a place (I doubt it's still there) called Etherea on Bloor Street in Toronto??? It was in a high rise on the first floor, a health food restaurant. I used to work there. And I do not remember the name of it, but I used to get fresh made pierogis at a little place near Kensington Market--mmmm good. I loved everything in Toronto.

You can tie string around things like walls while they dry too. Alana, you used a drimmel, too cool! How very Duff of you - hahaha (CharmCity Cakes.com--every watch him on Foodtv?? They got picked up for a second season y'know. His place is 5000 sq feet--be still my heart--but I thought we were talking about gingerbread, weren't we??? )

More than you really wanted to know--and all at no extra charge Did you not start out unlicensed and baking from your home? A coupla suggestions for you. Charge more, my Betty homebaker quarter sheets start at fifty bucks. Watch out for the copyright police. Well no, watch out for their lawyers, they bite. Rabidly. And they are on the lookout for a few good examples. And are you planning on having a lunch counter or something? As was mentioned already, most successful bakeries are side lines to a restaurant of some kind. I had an idea to add my line of decorated cakes to an upscale artisan bread bakery here in a chi-chi part of town. Similar to your current set up. I'm always on the prowl for a kitchen to rent, a deal to broker. I never went forward with that particular bright idea because I would have wanted to be assured of their solvency. It was just too awkward to pitch my plan and then say oh by the way I wanna go over your books. Unfortunately they went out of business... I'd like to recommend that you do your own webpage. I taught myself how to do it. I know many frustrated merchants, who are at the mercy of their web people. Never-ending not fun. It's like putting your wisk into the hand of your accountant or something. It's such a powerful tool--it can drive your business, you need to harness it yourself. I think you have a printer now, but I did my own menus and flyers when I had the tea-room. I used the printer at the library when/if I had to. I designed my own business cards with vistaprint using my own cake picture. Here's a coupla other things I've learned from experience. This is cafeteria style, take it or leave it. In most areas, wedding shows do not generate return on the money invested. Wedding shows are populated by brides looking for freebies. It's a social event and merchants are burning time and money. Market to caterers, venues including churches, florists and dress shops etc. Samples are fine and gifts are fine but it is steadfastly counterproductive to give away your product no matter how worthy, wealthy or wonderful these phantom potential clients may be. You are looking for people who will support you and your work. The line will wrap around and around the block for people who got the gimmes. A pure bakery is a penny business. A bakery gets it's pay day this month of December if it gets one at all. I know that was a friend who got the truffles and I just want to give you a clear unwaivering heads up, don't do that. It's fodder for burn out. It's burn out tender. Go buy 'em a nice cake plate for a wedding gift instead. That will in turn cause them to order cakes from you. I mean you would give your daughter or sister or Mother a gift like that. You could discount for a friend if you absolutley have to. Ten percent max. Friends are there to help support your business, do not discount. Voice of experience take it for what it's worth. I would not be one of my own clients unless I was celebrating a big event. When friends have celebrations they have budgets, it's cha-ching time. If you are in this to feel good you will not make it. It's expected that wedding cakes be pretty and that baked goods taste good. Can you make these wares provide a decent living for yourself is the sixty-four thousand dollar question. Ok, here's my rhetorical questions, do you know what you need to do to turn a profit in terms of product moved and how to do move it? Do you know your break even point? Do you know your limits? Do you have a back-up plan??? Umm some ideas for getting cakes which if priced right will carry your business--design a 12 month 'menu' for the way companies celebrate birthdays. Determine delivery fees, who your contact person is--they will be glad to have someone make it easy for them to provide this for them monthly. No discounts they are paying for service and superior quality. Umm, have a white sale in January for 2007 wedding cakes. Crunch out the numbers, but take x amount down to reserve the date & give a 10% discount. Create a buzz. Advertise this on the radio by bartering with the station to give away a free 7" cake daily for the birthday person of the day if you can afford it. Create a need for your product and expertise. Something that tastes good isn't good enough. Make gifts--"this item is for the person who has everything". Tell people what they will want to do with your product. Watch QVC. Just some straight talk for yahs.

Vanessa, I know you can do it! I even trimmed this dough well after I baked it and I baked it off real dry for a project--I used it for the portable phonograph cake in my avatar--It's a gingerbread lid covered in fondant and gingerbread surrounding the speaker cloth on the front. Nice stuff to work with. Hope you can get some photos.

Ok, I'm still on page two but I want you to know I'm upset that I didn't know about this thread till yesterday. And I just made some spanakopita and have brownies in the oven so I'm on topic sorta...it's food, what? I just have to get out more. Out of the pastry forum I mean. But actually this is so much more than just a New Jersey issue--should be in p&b. But at least you came & told us you were over here...finally... after TWO MONTHS sniff I sucked all the air out of the room several times so far on these pricing issues though. Hope y'all tighten that up & fast. Ok, back to page two... Jill, you write like an angel!

If you are doing decorative and you will ice the outside, I mean where the outside walls of the house are covered and the gingerbread doesn't show through then using honey is better than using molasses. Honey binds the gingerbread cookie and resists sagging. Molasses yields easier to the air conditions. But of course the honey cookie is not as dark as the molasses ones. You could paint it too. Just a gingerbread thought for you. We will get pictures won't we?

Oh man, I'm nearly drooling. You had me at "infused with rose, lavender, current and blueberry." Geez. I'm not a poacher of fruit but your crock pot approach is intriguing. I would definitely do that with fruit. The little green marbley pear with a blush of ripeness is just begging to be popped into your mouth and eaten--oh it's so cute and looks so good, the filling flavors sound perfect. Umm, the coloring on it is captivating. Snobinette, a little chocolate cup, I've never heard that word before. I know I met her though because she snubbed me once, twice... And the colors overall play off each other so well--the rich deep mahogany tones all intermingled so pleasingly then that jazzy little green pear sparkling like a happy emerald relaxing on a creamy chaise. Really stunning inviting presentation exhuding warmth and after all that there is "a dusting of gold flake," a quiet splurge caught in a random act of goldness. Way cool!

Hey, Dude, I will check that out in the NewJersey Forum and nice to see you. Here lately, I used this recipe from this excellent website. Franky's is the bomb. That recipe did not spread and I overbaked it on purpose and it was still very good eating. I used to use Nettie's recipe from Good Housekeeping but I can't find it.

You are making one batch to test this right? I do not recommend multiplying this out and letting it rip until you try it once.

Stuart, my friend, yes I have concerns. I want to get this straight, you are dancing around the use of corn syrup like Superman* would dance around a lead container that might contain kryptonite but you are fine with putting bacon in peanut brittle. Do I have that correct?? *all similarities to Superman end there--unless you're wearing your red cape today. It really does sound intriguing though--no need to worry about the corn syrup!!! I feel like I would want to add some salt though for some reason. Maybe the baking soda adds the saltiness. And yes I keep corn syrup in my cupboard. It's every bit as scary and close to 'decline of civilization as we know it' as our highly refined sugar and nitrate laden bacon is. But don't let tooth deacy or a slow painful death deter you. Make it anyway & let us know how it goes. Maybe Santa will bring you one of these. ~Many thinks to, Curlz, for posting that link in another thread.~

She certainly does! And it could go as a little chat or a Merry Christmas Eskimo type kiss too. What a wonderful village. Oh y'all had a great time I'll bet ho ho ho

I love Hershey's chocolate frosting--the recipe on the can still works. The day after my daughter got married, we all ate the rest of the leftover icing off spoons like candy--people from 10 years old to 60--worked for us. I do add about a tablespoon of brewed coffee, a dit dot of orange flavor can really set it off too. And sometimes I make it the old fashioned way where you sift the cocoa and powdered sugar together first. Marcel Desaulniers, the Death by Chocolate guy, said on tv that he uses Bakers chocolate...like I do.

You are so very kind. Thank you and yes I made them.

Oooh, I love that!!! But I see a stray doughnut hole floating in one of the photos--busted!!! But seriously that is very cool. I love demo's. This one works my cyber olfactory senses especially--yeasty air, warm oil, pungent dough, crispy browned surface, warm sweetness in the air <sniiiiffff>, smells sooo good. Umm, how do you pronounce Sufganiyot and Sufganiya??? Thanks for posting. I especially love the white or lemon color stripes around each sufganiyot's middle. The oil had just thought to reach out and toast that little stripe when it was foiled and the stripe bellied pastry was snatched out of the oil to be stuffed and smothered with sweet juju surviving handily. I bet they taste amazing. Thanks, Pam!

How about a chocolate cup & saucer?! maybe

Hmm, they look like raisins and I've never used them before and they are ten dollars a pound as opposed to say for example dried cranberries which are five dollars a pound. So I hate to screw them up. I think I want to grind them and mix them well with the apples so I may not do the plumping. Decisons decisions. And in fact any diddling with the strudel thing makes me testy because I'd hate to mess one up experimenting. But I mean how could you blow cherries and apples after all. So all that to say, I've never seen Just Cherries.