To think my kitchen is too old to start a baking business

[TooManyObstacles]

DH, and my family and friends keep telling me to start an online baking busines. I think they're being very unrealistic. It isn't that easy, my kitchen is years old! I think baking as a hobby, for family is VERY different to selling it to the public.

The things we have:

A good amount of cupboard space,

Ingredients stored correctly, labelled and dated (I have a label pinter, so it is easy to update and label goods, list ingredients, etc).

A separate sink for hand-washing, would wear food handing gloves, apron etc.

A dishwasher.

Ability to create a website and business plan, and calculate profit etc.

Consistent go to receipes, and able to take good photos with props etc.

A firm idea of what I would want to sell, and how I want it to look, packaging I would use etc.

The things we don't have:

No room for a separate fridge freezer, so business things would need to be stored in a separate section of our American fridge freezer. We have a family of 4.

Our oven is old, and imo needs replaced.

Our kitchen cupboards are old, peeling, and doors would need replaced, or at the very least new coverings, and handles.

The bench is clean, but old and faded, faint scratches.

The flooring tiles are old, and there are grout grooved areas, so not a smooth floor that is perfectly flat. I clean this every day, but this particular kind of flooring doesn't seem suitable, imo.

I think unless we get a new kitchen installed (which finances will not allow), or move house this cannot happen.

The more they go on about it, the more upset it is making me. We don't have the facilities.

Have you looked into food hygiene regulations about this kind of thing? Like the sharing the fridge issue that you are talking about? Cupboards etc being old doesn’t seem a big deal to me but are you thinking if you were being inspected?

I guess one issue is cross contaminants, but again I’d imagine if you comply with regulations about making it clear you’re working in an environment that may contain traces of xyz.

I'd think it would be good to contact your local council and tell them what you are considering and ask if an environmental health inspector or whichever person inspects food premises could look at your kitchen and tell you if it is OK for commercial use.
You don't want to start a buisiness then have an inspection that makes you close.

Thank you for replying. I would want an inspection, and I doubt they would pass it based on the flooring, cupboards alone. I would list that allergens/nuts may be present etc. I would also use the top shelves of our fridge for storage of ingredients which will be sealed. I wouldn't use these for home use.

You’d need a consistent and reliable oven, and hygiene certification would pick up any areas where cross contamination would be an issue, but as long as the kitchen is clean and in good repair, can be sanitised properly, and you can store equipment separately, the fact that it’s old won’t rule it out. You need a very firm business plan though and a good head for figures. There can be very little money in baking businesses, with high costs and relatively low margins, and they’re ten a penny where I live - every other SAHM seems to have one as a “hustle.”

Thank you, I would be too embarrassed to have somebody come out. I feel it is unrealistic, I have seen other kitchens of people in this business, and they have brand new large spacious kitchens. We have the kind cut off with a peninsula, and separate dining area. The cupboards were installed in 2007! 🤣

Do you actually want to start a baking business? There's a difference between being a hobby baker and doing it commercially, to provide an income, whatever kitchen you have.

It seems to be a very odd thing for them to keep going on about. Just tell them you're not going to start a baking business and can they talk about something else.

Plus it's quite hard to bake at the scale required to make a profit and the amount you'd have to charge to cover all your costs and make even NMW for your time makes the items more expensive than many people want to pay, especially if you're going to sell online.

If this is an online only business, why on earth would it matter if kitchen surfaces are faded, peeling or scratched, or if the floor isn't perfectly flat? Are you planning to invite customers in? If not, I would have thought that the most important things are hygiene, safety and oven functionality.

Thank you for your honesty. Dh is saying we can get a new oven, I don't want to waste the money, when the whole kitchen needs done. Yes, exactly there is so much competition. I would be making brownies, brookies, rocky road, cookies, and cookie pies, with flavour options and create your own etc, possible some small cakes, treatboxes. I'm not interested in cupcakes etc, and prefer a more rustic look, if that makes sense.

I just think the whole thing is a none starter. I've baked from the age of 8, and it is a huge passion. When ever I buy baked goods I am disappointed, they cost a fortune, and I can do better. I get irritated by the poor quality of them. I constantly think why haven't they done this, or that, and get major OCD!

I think I just need to focus on something else at this point. My family are rubbing salt into the wound.

I was worried the large grouted gaps in the tiles, and the old cupboard handles and benches would affect hygiene rating?

If the floor is the main issue why not get some smooth vinyl for your kitchen? I don't think there is much profit in baking. Probably a bit more profit in birthday cakes and cup cakes but you say you are not so keen to do those. Wedding cup cakes in different flavours are a bit more lucrative.

I think dh just sees my passion for it. I would love to start it yes, but I feel the kitchen is a major obstacle.

Thank you for all of your replies. I'm going to focus on something else. I doubt I would make any money anyway! A small profit would be fine, but as pp's point out it is so difficult. I could do cupcakes without issue, but there are millions of them out there, and they don't interest me.

All food businesses need to register with their local authority prior to opening - that's the first step, and will lead to your first EHO inspection. You're quite right that scratched surfaces may be considered a hygiene issue, as they could harbour dirt and pathogens - but actually, your EHO is a great source of advice and guidance.There's a free course available that will help you understand what a food hygiene inspection entails - it's quite full on, as it's aimed at stand alone food businesses, but it'll give you an idea of the areas to concentrate on, and where your set up might need some work.https://www.thesaferfoodgroup.com/FHRS.php

What about teaching classes? You could do it online maybe? I don't know how that would work, but if you have such a passion for it, you might enjoy sharing that passion with others?

I wouldn’t bother with the online/postal stuff, it is so oversaturated

You can get around time gritting by installing pvc sheets over the top. You can lay link over existing flooring. In sure that you can squeeze in a separate large fridge or fridge freezer somewhere in your house. Or get an outside keter store and put a larger fridge and freezer in it?

It's actually not hard to comply with food hygiene even in a domestic setting, you just need to speak to the civil first and ask them what you actually need to do. Go for it if that's what you want?!

• larder fridge

If you love baking and you start a business it stops being an enjoyable activity and becomes your job, your decisions about flavours and ingredients become driven by cost not experiment and fun, your home also becomes your ‘office’ so you don’t have boundaries.
You might find that one way to shut down the helpful suggestions from family would be to work out exactly what you would have to charge for each thing, tell them this and explain that as a small business you would have to make commercial decisions. Do they want to start paying?

Could you used a local kitchen facility for hire. We have a social club nearby and I know someone who rents their kitchen and it already has the certification, correct storage fridges etc.

This is not going to be feasible. Commercial bakeries make money because they produce in bulk. They have massive mixers and commercial ovens.

You could bake and decorate cakes as a side hustle - but there isn’t money in it. You won’t be able to buy in bulk and store your ingredients. You don’t even have a separate fridge.

A friend of mine looked into starting a cake baking business. She baked cakes for people at her work and even did her sisters wedding cake (which was actually amazing - it had buttercream rosettes in an ombré effect on multiple tiers). The cost of the ingredients was massive. We didn’t store anything but cake in the fridge in the lead up to the wedding.

She required permission from the council if she wished to register as a business and she ascertained that the kitchen would never be up to code for her to do anything as a business endeavour.

The only reason no one got sick from the wedding cake was because she baked it in the days leading up to the wedding and decorated it right before dropping it off to the venue.

She was so stressed with the baking she ended up losing her job. She was fired.

Age of kitchen is irrelevant. Only cleanliness and hygiene is important

https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/setting-up-your-food-business-premises Has some information about what the premises need to have.

That's a really good idea that. There's probably loads of smaller commercial standard kitchens in that sort of environment that don't get much use where they might let you use it for a fee that's sufficient to cover the electricity and water, and an amount on top.

It's going to add to costs, but it's nowhere near what it would cost to refurbish/replace a home kitchen that's not even that old.

As a chef with level 3 food hygiene the peeling cupboards oven temperatures fridges temperatures use by dates so much to consider it's such a ball ache.
Cooking for customers is very different to cooking for family.
I love it after 40 yrs but I do it in commercial sites.
Stainless steel tables specified chemicals to clean.
It wouldn't be your home anymore.
Personally I wouldn't bother unless you can share premises with someone.

Peeling and scratched kitchen surfaces are unlikely to pass inspection, no matter how clean they are kept. Commercial kitchens uses stainless steel surfaces for a reason.