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Cupcake culprit gives thoughts of Maxwell


MamaJunebug

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http://m.bnd.com/?cu=spreed%3A%2F12976746%2F25585777

 

Unbroken link to a newspaper website.

 

Cliff's Notes version: A young girl likes to bake cupcakes, takes some for free to the elderly in the local nursing home, the newspaper features her, the health department shuts her down.

 

Of course my second thought was, "what if the Maxwells took some home-baked bread to The Elderly and got shut down by the County authorities where they are?"

 

What a crafty guy, that Steve. Take music for free, but no baked goods, and absolutely no publicity. Well, a starker can dream! :shifty:

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I didn't see where she was giving them away. She was selling them to the tune of about $80/week. I suspect she (or her parents) wanted the free publicity of a newspaper story, but not the onus of actually obeying the laws for food-service businesses.

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On the face of it, I'm sure the initial response from a lot of folks would be "aww, big bad government is crushing this young girl's dreams." But considering the state of some kitchens I've seen, especially those people run little cottage businesses out of, I'm pretty damned glad this type of thing is regulated. (On Etsy, for example, I won't buy from any shop that doesn't clearly spell out its licensing, etc. ) Certified commercial kitchens that can be rented out are a pretty big thing now and fairly easy to come by. As long as this kid is SELLING, which it appears she is, it's a good idea for her to learn how to run her business properly.

Even though I only give away what I bake, I always disinfect everything with commercial, certified food-safe cleaning products before I start. Why take chances?

I'd still love it if the Maxwells got busted. They ARE kind of making people pay for their baked goods, even if it's only in the time they spend as a captive audience.

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$80 a week at 11 years old ain't bad. The little bit of a picture they show seems like the cup cakes are very pretty.

But, yeah, if she's selling them she should get whatever licensing she's supposed to get.

It did make me think of the Maxwells, but not their visits to the elderly. Rather, how they bake things on Christmas and then call a police squad car to come get them so they can donate them to the police. I realize they are donating them, so they don't need a license, but, honestly, if I was an officer I'd be wary of any baked good by any citizen. I'd probably resent having to go pick 'em up too.

Maybe I'm just cynical, and people in Kansas are more trusting than I am.

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My town had a big upset about this sort of thing when it was announced that yes, from now on they would apply state law to the selling of baked goods and other prepared foods at the Farmer's Market - make it at a health-inspected kitchen, or you can't sell it. (And yes, there are some time-share rentable kitchens in town people do use, if you can't have an inspectable kitchen of your own at home.)

Most of the outcry was people saying essentially "but these are kindly grandmas and good Christian loving MOMs, they'd never hurt anyone" etc etc. But in reality, microbes don't care how much love you put into the cookies. And once money changes hands, there is liability.

There were similar complaints and protests about various laws about toy materials that went into effect a few years ago, I remember quite a few bloggers very upset that they would go out of business because they can't afford to use the rated materials or whatever else. Interesting part though was that a lot of other similar home-business Mom types came out against those complainers, basically telling them that yeah, it's doable if you're willing to up your game just a bit and be more organized about your "factory" room and supply sourcing.

A lot of the back and forth pointed out quite a few horrifying (from a safety POV) examples of supposed baby toys being sold on Etsy.

Bottom line is, just because someone is a "nice person" or "made it with love" doesn't mean that the product can't have defects.

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The Maxwells work out! Check it out!

"We enjoy our time together: whether it’s sharing at conferences, working on projects, or yes, gasping for breath as we exercise. Team Maxwell!

Serving Jesus,

Sarah"

Sarah, if you only ever hang out with Team Maxwell you'll never find out what other pursuits can also make you gasp for breath.

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$80 a week at 11 years old ain't bad. The little bit of a picture they show seems like the cup cakes are very pretty.

But, yeah, if she's selling them she should get whatever licensing she's supposed to get.

It did make me think of the Maxwells, but not their visits to the elderly. Rather, how they bake things on Christmas and then call a police squad car to come get them so they can donate them to the police. I realize they are donating them, so they don't need a license, but, honestly, if I was an officer I'd be wary of any baked good by any citizen. I'd probably resent having to go pick 'em up too.

Maybe I'm just cynical, and people in Kansas are more trusting than I am.

I'm in Kansas. I eat food cooked by most relatives, and most coworkers (very small company). I have a friend or two and a former coworker I am / was more leery of. If I'm sending a gift of food to people who are not close friends or relatives, I purchase something and have it delivered (candy, cookie/cupcake, fruit boquet). I don't have them come pick of a gift I"m making.

That said, one day I went to my door to be greeted by a very friendly a woman I'd never met, who was wearing a chador. She introduced herself, told me she was living in the house at the other end of the cul de sac, mentioned the end of Ramadan, gave me a plate of cookies. I introduced myself, chatted a bit, and when she was gone, tossed the cookies without opening them, even as I told my husband that if it turned out she did live in the neighborhood, I'd take her something over Christmas.

My reasons were that I didn't know this woman at all... and while I knew the house she pointed to had been for sale for a very long time, I knew it was still for sale and didn't think it had been rented. I had not seen vehicles or light on in the house before her visit (Nor after--though I know there is another house on our cul de sac that is rarely lit up and people do live there) and, I thought it odd that this woman had one plate of cookies on her self described "get to know the neighbors and tell them a little about my religion" cookie distribution and no bag with more. I was suspicious that she wanted to share her religion with the only people on the cul de sac with a very Jewish sounding last name (just say ever since I've been married, I've been asked and "accused" of being Jewish by a lot of people--which I found and find now to be disconcerting)

Never saw her again. Never saw a car in the drive way. The house finally sold 6-8months later to people who don't wear chadors.

I have no idea what was going on, if there was anything wrong with the cookies (probably not). But it really was the weirdest thing.

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So true. Germs don't care how nice you are.

My church wanted a presence at our local farmer's market, and asked me if I'd be willing to supply my home-baked bread--but I found out I'd have to bake it all at the church kitchen (which is licensed and inspected by the city health department). The church kitchen is no better equipped than mine is (and I'd be stuck at the church for many hours), so I had to decline.

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We have a very large food festival at our church every year where we simultaneously introduce the joys of Greek cuisine and part people from their money. We are inspected both before and during the festival by the Board of Health and there are multiple licenses that have to be obtained yearly for us to sell to the public.

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Just because I have a little extra time today, i'm going to comment on the direction that this topic has taken.

My first thought, on hearing about the girl's run-in with the regulators, was not, "Oh, poor thing."

In fact, it was, "There's a turn of events for you. 'Publicity leads to less business, not more.'"

But yes, absolutely, my second thought was, "hee hee hee: The elderly! It should happen to the Maxwells!"

That is all. Enjoying the conversation, actually. As you were! ;)

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