Larkspur woman opens first permitted residential kitchen

Whipping up batches of cookies and cupcakes is more than a hobby for Larkspur resident Melissa Bain. Her apartment kitchen was recently dubbed the first permitted residential kitchen in Marin, thanks to a new state law that took effect Jan. 1.Within the past two weeks, Bain has set up shop in her kitchen with the intent to bake treats for the wholesale and retail markets. Selling her goods would've been illegal prior to the passage of Assembly Bill 1616, which allows Californians to make and sell certain foods from their kitchens.Bill supporters say it will allow people who don't have access to a commercial kitchen or can't afford one to sell their home-baked goods.Supporters such as Whole Foods of Northern California, the California State Grange and the California Food and Justice Coalition say it'll promote the movement to buy local.
Opponents claim the new law presents enforcement and public health challenges. The Health Officers Association of California, the California Retail Food Safety Coalition and the Southern California-based Jackie's Jams were among the opponents.North Texas high schools prepare for kitchen showdown this week.Bain, 39, said she had learned about the new law in December after deciding that her work as a database programmer wasn't enough to keep her busy. She made some confections for her friends and asked them whether she should go into business."I got so much positive feedback from it," Bain said.After procuring a business license for "Blissful Treats," taking an online food handlers' course and having her kitchen looked at by a county health inspector, Bain is ready to make her favorite salted caramel chocolate cupcakes for widespread consumption.
She said she was surprised to learn she's the first one in the county to get one of the permits."I truly thought other people would be jumping on the bandwagon," Bain said.She said the process has been fairly straightforward, but involved filling out a large packet of paperwork for the county's environmental health services department. This included determining how much each product costs to make and what to sell it for.Under the law, residential kitchens can make baked goods without cream, custard or meat fillings.Candy, dried pasta, honey, popcorn, granola and waffle cones are some of the items listed as fair game.Bain is focusing on cupcake flavors like white chocolate coconut and carrot cake. Some of her favorite cookie flavors include ginger molasses, rose water cardamom, chocolate peanut butter and oatmeal raisin.