Great British Bake Off sparks Rochdale’s home baking surge

Cupcakes: Rochdale Council has seen a ‘rise’ in the number of applications for home cake making businesses in the area

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Rochdale Council has seen a ‘rise’ in the number of applications for home cake making businesses in the area.

The council believes the surge is due to the huge popularity of current television series ‘The Great British Bake Off’.

Councillor Jacqui Beswick, Cabinet Member for Place and Regulation, said: “Our Food Safety Team is getting a lot of enquiries from people who are starting cake businesses from home and we want to highlight how we can help. In the first six months of the year we had 11 enquiries for home baking businesses. This is quite a surge when you discover that there were a total of 18 over the previous eight years!”

“It’s great that people are setting up new businesses locally and we want to highlight that the Food Safety Team can provide a wide range of advice whilst ensuring that the safety of food is maintained.”

For anyone inspired by the latest series of ‘The Great British Bake Off’, the council has issued guidance on how to do this safely and within the law. Full guidance can be found on the Council website but here are their top tips:

• All food businesses must register with the Public Protection Service. This can be done over the phone on 0845 121 2971 or via the council’s website. 
• Although training is not a legal requirement for home caterers, courses can be done online for as little as £10 and demonstrates to customers that you are committed to food safety. 
• Kitchens should be pet free, smoke free and small children free whilst baking. 
• Domestic tasks, like the laundry, should not be done at the same time. 
• Surfaces and equipment should be in good condition and kept clean, with antibacterial sanitiser being used on the surfaces. 
• Good personal hygiene is essential, hair should be covered or tied back, protective clothing should be worn and bakers should refrain from using perfumes and wearing nail polish and jewellery. 
• Blue plasters should be used to cover wounds. 
• If you have experienced food poisoning type symptoms like vomiting and diarrhoea, you must not bake until at least 48 hours after the symptoms have ended. 
• High risk ingredients, such as cream and eggs, must be refrigerated to below eight degrees Celsius, as should high risk end products, such as cheesecake or fresh cream cakes.