Kathy Jones

If you’re referring to the Home Kitchen Operation law, that was signed by the governor in 2014. This year’s amendment was also signed a couple months ago. Maybe they were just referring to the fact that they haven’t signed an ordinance?

Sorry Amanda, I don’t know. Have you tried registering via the link above?

Is there a cost to applying for a sales tax identification number?

No, I think all of your production for that business needs to happen in a commercial kitchen.

I think that neither of those would be allowed. I’ve never made toffee before, but I always thought that it was made with a stovetop cook process, like most candy. There aren’t too many types of candy that I know of that use a baking cook process, but some do, so that’s why it’s listed as a possibility. I think you will need to use a commercial…[Read more]

Sorry, I’m only familiar with the cottage food laws, which pertain to items which are intended for consumption. Have you tried contacting the market organizer?

The regular cottage food law, which only allows sales at farmers markets, probably is allowed in Cook County. The law for home kitchen operations, which allows sales from home, probably isn’t. I don’t know for sure, and you will need to call their health dept.

Because of the licensing requirements that some venues have, they wouldn’t be able to serve your homemade cake and there wouldn’t be a way to get around it, aside from using a different venue. Sometimes venues will allow a homemade cake, but they’re doing so illegally. The language in the law literally states that food establishments cannot serve…[Read more]

Sorry! I just saw your earlier post in the Illinois forum so I’m deleting this one.

It sounds like your pretzels would fall under the “baked good” category in the law (please note that this site only gives a summary of the law; see the resources section for the law itself). You should be able to sell them as a cottage food operation. Sorry if it was confusing, but “Pretzels” is listed as a category in the “Snacks” section:…[Read more]

As long as they’re baked (not fried), you should be able to do this as a cottage food operation: http://forrager.com/law/illinois/