cookiesinheaven

Happy birthday, California Homemade Food Act.  

Jan. 1 marks one year since AB1616, signed into law in September 2012, was implemented, and it has created quite a stir in home kitchens throughout California. The law allows Californians to make and sell certain non-hazardous foods out of their kitchens. According to a story in the Independent, foods that don't include cream or meat — such as bread, fruits, baked goods, jarred goods and dry mixes — could now all bypass commercial production and be sold out of a home kitchen, according to the law.  

More than 2,000 cottage food permits have been issued throughout California, and of those, 860 were issued in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties. 

...After sampling what kitchenpreneurs are cooking up, items at your local grocery store will seem overtly massed produced, unappealing, unfortunately bland and uninspired. 

With all this talent and incredibly unique food items, what prevented these individuals from launching their own food business before this law went into effect? The answer is simple: money. The cost of working in a commercial kitchen ranges from $30 to $40 per hour plus a commitment to a number of hours per month to maintain the time slot. - Huntington Beach Independent

Chef Ricardo Zarate and his business partner, Stephane Bombet, are parting ways. The two took the concept for what was Zarate’s original tiny Peruvian stand in the Mercado la Paloma and opened a string of upscale restaurants within a couple of years -- starting with Picca Peru, then a refashioned Mo-Chica downtown, followed by Paiche in Marina Del Rey. The latest (and the first out-of-town location), Blue Tavern, opened in Santa Barbara just last month. "After five years we decided very, very amicably to part ways," Bombet said. "I have a different vision, I want to work with different chefs on different concepts. That’s been my goal. What we created didn’t allow that. - LATimes