Baking A Difference with Kathy Cherie
Whether it’s putting a smile on an ill child’s face, delivering a stunning floral wedding cake, or contacting state legislators to change the law, Kathy Cherie is always baking a difference in her community.
Kathy lives in Elk Grove Village, IL and has operated her cottage food business, Cake Du Jour, for nearly 40 years. Her business is somewhat under-the-table, except that her health department has known about it for decades.
Kathy would love to help the next generation of bakers in Illinois do what she could not: run a home bakery legally. Her county (Cook) still doesn’t allow home kitchen operations, so she continues to advocate for a statewide law.
Although she loves baking for all occasions, she especially loves donating “dream cakes” through the charity Icing Smiles, where she gets to support families with a critically ill child. She has made over 20 dream cakes so far.
In addition to her charitable and legal efforts, Kathy talks about making photorealistic sugar flowers (her specialty), gives pricing advice for custom cakes, and shares tips on how cake decorators can improve their skills.
What You’ll Learn- Why Kathy’s business is technically illegal and how she deals with that
- Illinois’ limited cottage food law and Kathy’s efforts to improve it
- About the charity Icing Smiles and why it’s had a profound impact on Kathy’s life
- The process for creating an Icing Smiles cake and how to get involved
- Why it’s important to participate in baking competitions
- How Kathy learned to make photorealistic and botanically-correct sugar flowers
- How long it takes to make sugar flowers and how to price them
- What to think about when pricing out a custom decorated cake
- What liability insurance Kathy recommends
- How to improve your skills as a cake decorator
- How to educate your customers
Illinois Home Kitchen Operation Law
Chloe Stirling on the Rachael Ray Show
Robert Haynes Sugar Flower Studio
International Cake Exploration Societé
National Gingerbread House Competition
FLIP Food Liability Insurance Program
Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/13
