Yes, The Wright Taste is going to try it again...

Hopefully, without killing ourselves. At the end of the farmers market season last year, I decided I'd had enough. The market had changed and our profit margin was abysmal. After returning our kitchen to its normal winter "fun" condition without all the evidence of a business kitchen, I was able to think with a clear head.

New rule No 1! (Thanks Bill Maher!) No more than one market on any given day. This means that we'll only do 3 markets a week at the most. We've picked our three most profitable - Delaware, Pataskala and Mount Vernon. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday - I can do this without spending 80 hours a week in the kitchen.

New rule No. 2! Stick to the basics. I let my home bakery license expire last fall and have no intention of renewing it. Most of the products we sold at the markets fell under Cottage Food guidelines (more on that later). Even our special orders almost always fell under cottage foods, so less stress.

New rule No. 3! Get back to the shelf-stable items. That means working my tail off writing in April so I can afford all the ingredients and supplies for our spices and mixes. Yes, Buffalo Dust, Fiesta Dip and more!

Not a rule. Well, maybe. If all goes according to plan, the first two cookbooks from Debbie & Harry's Kitchen will be ready by the start of the market season. One will include recipes to make the best use of the market season bounty. The other will feature, well, the recipes of The Wright Taste. In the past, I was reluctant to share those recipes but we had a lot of discussions this winter and decided it was definitely the way to go. There's a lot of products that we aren't going to make anymore and hopefully, I'll still hear "but why don't you make this anymore" from customers.

So, hello spring. Looking forward to summer and a successful market season for The Wright Taste.

If you're looking for a way to make some extra money in the summer, follow the links to learn about Ohio's Cottage Food and Licensed Home Bakery regulations. Good luck!

Cottage Foods in Ohio: Low-Cost Home Business
Licensed Home Bakeries in Ohio: Homemade Business that Works

See you this summer!

 

If you decide to open a cottage food business or licensed home bakery, the best investment you can make is a digital scale. Labeling requirements include an exact product weight.