Home-cooking businesses gain traction in San Francisco North Bay as local regulations relax - North Bay Business Journal

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Home-cooking businesses gain traction in San Francisco North Bay as local regulations relax - North Bay Business Journal

Home-cooking businesses gain traction in San Francisco North Bay as local regulations relax - North Bay Business Journal

Posted: 09 Jun 2021 10:03 AM PDT

Home cooks making money off what they bake, fry or otherwise produce may soon find most North Bay counties a more willing partner in their businesses.

While COVID put it on the backburner, a door opened by a 2019 state law allows counties to write rules to govern the inspections and training requirements needed to grant permits for home cooks.

Of all the North Bay counties, Solano is the furthest along in embracing the state's law on microenterprise home kitchen operations, or MEHKOs (pronounced MAY-co). The county is going forward with allowing entrepreneurs to begin the process of getting permitted. The law allows for new businesses and those operating illegally to come into compliance.

"I still have the original paperwork I started in 2014. I thought it was too much trouble and decided to do what I do and pray things worked out, and that is what happened," said Veronica Bearce, who operates Veronica's Veggies out of her Benicia home.

Now she plans to be MEHKO certified.

What's happening in the North Bay?

MEHKO law builds on the much more limiting California Homemade Food Act that became law in 2013. The initial cottage food bill allowed home chefs to can foods like preserves or create anything that did not require refrigeration.

Rules for MEHKOs have lifted the lid on what a home chef is legally allowed to whip up and sell. This means milk, eggs, vegetables, meat and fish are all potential ingredients.

While some may think home chefs will compete with brick and mortar establishments, the limitations placed on these small operations does not appear to be a threat to restaurants.

"It hasn't been a conflict, and our members are not complaining about it," Amy Cleary, spokeswoman for Golden Gate Restaurant Association, said of the MEHKO law. The San Francisco-based group has members with restaurants in the North Bay.

The California Restaurant Association has not taken a position on the state law.

Restrictions placed in the bill are intended to keep the business small, so trash, traffic and other potential issues associated with a commercial enterprise in a residential area don't crop up.

Also, annual gross sales cannot exceed $50,000. On top of that, the home cook can only make 30 meals a day or 60 a week.

Solano: Yes

Being the furthest along, Solano County is already training home cook business owners on the new rules. Solano Small Business Development Center conducted a workshop in May attended by more than 50 people, with varying backgrounds and connections to food. Another webinar is set for June 8.

"I've also designated two SBDC advisers who will work with anyone wanting to start a MEHKO business. We're assisting them with the application with the county, food safety classes, setting up their operations, developing menus and food costing and marketing," Tim Murrill, Solano Small Business Development Center executive director, said. "For many this will be their first time running a business and we can help them every step of the way."

He said the benefit for existing businesses includes:

  • Being in compliance and avoiding being shut down and fined if the county finds out they're operating from their home without a MEHKO certification.
  • Providing reassurance to potential customers that they are a MEHKO certified business because it means they have been through all of the safety and licensing protocols.
  • Receiving support of the SBDC to help them succeed.

Solano SBDC is also covering the $175 cost for 20 people to obtain a ServSafe food manager certification. According to ServSafe, the classes teach "sufficient food safety knowledge to protect the public from foodborne illness."

Sonoma: Maybe in late summer

While Solano has taken the lead, other jurisdictions, with the exception of Napa County, are starting to set up home chef programs.

MEHKO regulations are slated to be on the Sept. 14 Sonoma County Board of Supervisors' agenda. Because staff is still gathering information it's too soon to know if an actual ordinance would be voted on that Tuesday or if the topic might be a discussion item only.

The full board expressed support for MEHKOs at a strategic planning session pre-pandemic. Supervisor Lynda Hopkins continues to spearhead the local effort.

"It can be a critical economic development tool for our community. It can empower the creation of more small businesses in our county," Hopkins told the Business Journal. "I have heard such positive responses from constituents; for them to be able to bring in additional revenue in a county with such a high cost of living.

"This sort of opportunity can be a positive way for people to earn money during an economically stressful time, especially for some of our most vulnerable residents who have more barriers to accessing traditional employment," she added.

The Heart of Willamette Cooking School – Eugene Weekly - Eugene Weekly

Posted: 10 Jun 2021 12:00 AM PDT

There are the old stories of rural communities where everyone trusts each other and no one bothers to lock their car doors — except during zucchini season because that prolific vegetable is sprouting everywhere and unloading the excess on an unsuspecting "friend" is an easy way to ease the surplus. What can you do? The Heart of Willamette Cooking School is here to help you be creative with the zucchini and more with online classes starting this week. In the first class, you can learn to make zucchini garlic scape fritters and zucchini chocolate chip brownies. Later classes this summer include a beginners class on strawberry rhubarb pie and Tunisian cooking as well as a class on basic knife skills. On June 22 there will be a class affiliated with Lane County Farmers Market — "Eat With the Seasons" — that is sponsored by Equiano Coffee of Eugene. So keep your fruits and vegetables and be creative with HOW Cooking School.   

Public cooking classes with Heart of Willamette Cooking School start June 10 and run through July 11. Information and registration can be found at HowCookingSchool.com. Zucchini can soon be found anywhere. All classes are $35, sliding scale. 

What to Cook Right Now - The New York Times

Posted: 07 Jun 2021 07:30 AM PDT

Good morning. It's funny, what professional food people get up to, cooking at home. I love the celery toasts the chef and writer Gabrielle Hamilton adds to her snack trays, and the tinned fish that leads our restaurant critic, Pete Wells, to declare himself "at least 35 percent sardine." And I'm a big fan of the potato chip omelet (above) that the chef Ferran Adrià makes for his family, a quicker take on a Spanish tortilla that you can make with supplies picked up at the corner store.

Try that tonight! It's easy and fast and then you'll have time to set yourself up for dirty horchatas in the morning. (Or at least some cold-brew coffee.)

This week I want to make Millie Peartree's take on a classic macaroni salad. Pile some of that into a deli container and take it to a park bench for lunch? That's living. Flourishing, even! (Millie has a fine potato salad with sweet relish, as well. I'd like that with some hot dogs grilled crisp over an open fire.)

I'd also like to try my hand at Naz Deravian's mahi ba somagh, a Persian recipe for roasted fish sprinkled with sumac and drizzled with orange and lime juice, and at her dami-yeh gojeh nokhod farangi, tomato-egg rice.

Not to mention: Sarah DiGregorio's smoky white bean and beef sloppy joes, just terrific on potato rolls, and a lot lighter than the classic belly bombs; these no-bake chocolate mousse bars; a beer-can chicken and this easy rhubarb trifle. I want to cook a lot of things.

You do, too, I hope. There are thousands more recipes to choose from waiting for you on New York Times Cooking. Go take a look and see what jumps out at you, what you find. You can save the recipes you want to make. And rate the ones you've made. You can also leave notes on them if you discover something about a recipe you want to remember or share with your fellow subscribers.

Yes, subscribers. I've mentioned this before, I think. By subscribing, you support the work of the dozens of people who work to make the site and apps possible. You allow that work to continue. I hope if you haven't already, that you will subscribe to New York Times Cooking today.

And of course you can reach out to us directly if something goes sideways along the way, either with your cooking or our technology. We're at cookingcare@nytimes.com. Someone will get back to you. (I'm at foodeditor@nytimes.com if you'd like to send a dart or deliver a flower. I read every letter sent.)

Now, it's a long day's drive from a discussion of sous vide cooking or the validity of ramps, but I loved "Len Bias, a Bouquet of Flowers and Ms. Brooks," a golden shovel poem from Michael Collier in The Times, built on a borrowed line in Gwendolyn Brooks's "The Last Quatrain of a Ballad for Emmett Till."

Cooking with Styles: Grilling Fish - CBS News 8

Posted: 09 Jun 2021 04:30 PM PDT

I can't say this enough, don't overcook your fish, you can always cook it more, but you can't uncook it.

Grilling Fish

Of all the protein you can cook on a grill, I think fish is the most difficult. This is a technique I was taught at several restaurants when I work as a line cook. The fish that grills the best is a firm or dense type of fish like tuna, swordfish, or the many different types of bass. Salmon also is wonderful on the grill but takes a little more attention because the flesh is more delicate and has a high oil content.

First off, don't overcook the fish. 

Start with a clean grill, you don't have to wash it clean. Just make sure the grates are wire brushed and free of any debris. It's easiest to do his when the grill is hot, I try to hit it right after I pull something off the grill before it gets baked on. But if you don't do that, not to worry just let your grill heat up. 

Once you've wire brushed the grates take a wet cloth, be sure its cotton and wipe the grill down to remove any dust or carbon. Let the grill re-heat to high heat. Just before you place the fish on the grill, use another cloth to rub cooking oil over the grill and be generous with the oil on the cloth. 

Season the fish with whatever you like and lightly coat with cooking oil and then place fish on the grill. I say place the fish because if you slap it down the flesh will get pushed down below the grates and make it harder for you to get your spatula underneath. 

After 2-3 minutes gently work the spatula under the fish, lift and make a half-turn, place the fish back on the grill on the same side. This gives you the hash marks you see in the restaurants. In another 2-3 minutes your fish should be ready for the flip, again be gentle so as not to push the fish through the grill grates. If you can reduce the heat to medium-high or move the fish to a cooler part of the grill.  

I can't say this enough, don't overcook your fish, you can always cook it more, but you can't uncook it. Fish is expensive, so you don't want to waste money if you're going to the effort to select fish for a meal. Remove the fish and try to serve immediately, the fish will keep cooking from the internal heat and start to lose moisture. I have included a recipe for maitre'd butter, or a simple lemon will brighten the flavor.

Maitre'd Butter

1 stick of butter soften

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon lemon juice

pinch Kosher salt

Fresh ground pepper, a couple or 3 twists

Viewpoint: Should cooking go electric? - Food Management

Posted: 09 Jun 2021 07:17 AM PDT

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors or management of Food Management.

The pandemic left a lot of us with time to reflect, among other things. Not just reflecting on how bad things were; there were plenty of people telling us that 24/7, but rather on our own lives, careers and futures. I spent a lot of time thinking about our industry. I thought about where we came from, where we are going, and what the next generation of chefs will inherit.

Related: One On One With: At Chatham University, Parkhurst Dining's Chef Chris Galarza focuses on teaching groundbreaking sustainability at the agriculture-focused campus

For many, working in a professional kitchen is a rite of passage, whether it be a part-time summer job or a full-time career. In most cases, we share the common experience of the sweltering heat emanating from the kitchen as we walk into a hellscape that only the truly dedicated can call home. The ovens roaring at full blast, spewing their heat into the kitchen every time they are opened. The steam coming off every pot, kettle and steamer. Not to mention that all-too-familiar ring of fire that seemingly never gets extinguished. These are the realities of the kitchen, but the truth is, there has never been a real examination into the design and efficacy of the kitchen space for the better part of a century.

induction_cooking.png

So, what is induction cooking? It's a manner of cooking that generates heat through electro-magnetic waves.

Related: Viewpoint: New multi-campus study reveals two untapped strategies for reducing food waste

In my time pondering, I realized that this pandemic has given us a once-in-a-century opportunity to create sustained change that might actually take hold. This pandemic has given me hope that we may never go back to how things were before but instead, forge ahead to a 'new normal' designed with our staff and planet in mind.

The status-quo of the industry leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to a healthy/comfortable environment and quality of life. I understand being wholeheartedly, unequivocally, head-over-heels in love with the craft of cooking and the lifestyle that can surround it. The truth is, working under traditional conditions can have disastrous consequences to one's health, personal relationships and the local/global environment as a whole. 

In order for us to move forward to creating a culinary utopia, we first need to accept that the days of cooking on gas needs to be in the past. We need to forge a new path forward and think about the electrification and decarbonization of the residential and commercial kitchen. We need to embrace technology that the rest of the gastronomic world have already come to terms with. What I'm proposing isn't actually new. It's only a new concept for Americans and our "if it ain't broken don't fix it" mentality.

Chef_Chris_Galarza_UPDATE.jpgPhoto: Formerly executive chef at Chatham University's Eden Hall campus, Chris Galarza is founder and culinary sustainability consultant for Forward Dining Solutions.

So, what is induction cooking? It's a manner of cooking that generates heat through electro-magnetic waves. The electromagnetic current generated oscillates the magnetic elements in the pan to create friction on a molecular level. This in turn creates heat and essentially makes the pan, itself, the heating element. To simplify this, imagine your microwave at home. The microwave sends "micro-waves" into the food and excites the water molecules within that food creating a friction that conducts heat from within the inside out.

Burning natural gas produces harmful biproducts such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and other pollutants. The average outdoor concentration of carbon monoxide is 0.03 – 2.5 ppm (parts per million). The Federal government instituted a maximum standard of 9 ppm. Despite this the average kitchen reaches level well exceeding 200ppm. That's an unacceptable level for our staff and even the people at home. The average home cook doesn't turn on their in-home ventilation system because of the noise that it emits thus filling their homes with these harmful pollutants. Given these facts and the nature of the pandemic and how it attacked the lungs of those who contracted the virus it's on us to make sure we create environments that provide clean air.

Induction cooking and electric kitchens in general are far more efficient, and because of this cook far more quickly than gas. The absolute best, biggest and most expensive gas range is only 50% efficient. Which means that if you have a 60,000 BTU (British Thermal Units) range you will at best only be using 30,000 BTU to actually heat your food. This means that it takes 2.0 KW of energy to create 1 KBTU of heat energy. For every $1 in gas, you spend you're throwing away 50 cents or worse. The unused burned off gas is contributing to your building working as hard as it is to maintain a comfortable temperature which is running up your AC cost and putting out more harmful pollutants into the atmosphere.

Forward-Dining-Solutions .jpg

Now that we know the efficiency of a gas range, let's examine an induction range. An induction range is on average 90% efficient which means that it takes 1.1KW of energy to create 1 KBTU of heat energy and because there are no thermal sources of heat, there's no excess heat escaping the kitchen and thus leaving the environment relatively cool and easy to work in.

What does that mean within a day-to-day operation? With a top-of-the-line gas range we can cook an average of 38.6 pounds of food per hour. With the average induction range we can cook an average of 70.9 pounds of food per hour. This means with the same kitchen footprint you are now increasing your through-put well beyond what you thought possible.

Switching to electric can decrease cleaning time too. Since the induction unit doesn't have any heat source there are no opportunities to develop burnt or stuck on food onto the cooking surface. To clean the induction range you simply need to wipe the surface down with hot soapy water… that's it.

chris-galarza-forward-dining-solutions.jpg

Compare that to a traditional gas range where you need to take the burners apart and scrub them; clean and replace the foil in the drip trays, clean any stuck-on debris on the range and put it all back together. All while being mindful that if you do not put the burner back correctly (and light the pilot light) it will leak gas into the kitchen. Electric cooking is far easier to maintain and clean which leaves staff free to produce food rather than spend a portion of their shift scrubbing down the kitchen.

There are many other benefits to going electric. The buildings that the kitchen inhabits run more efficiently, the staff are comfortable, better guest interactions, overall reduction in overhead, ease of maintenance. 

As the generation that currently holds the torch, it's up to us to ensure that our industry can sustain itself, our staff and most importantly the planet. If we don't seize this opportunity and make a change, then who will?


from What to Cook https://ift.tt/2TfddKO
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