Supplying your own home made cake for a cake smash session....any certificates needed?

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Gwen Jones

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Hi i have done a few cake smash sessions but only for friends or people i know. I would like to offer it as as a package, provided with a home made cake.
I was just wondering if any fellow cake smash photographers, who supply there own home made cakes. Know if it is required by law that you need a certificat or smthing along the lines as if you were making the cakes for people to by and eat....i know its not the same but i know there a big chance that the subject will eat some of the cake and i would just like to cover my own back. Manny Thanks in advance =)
 
can't see you need a special certificate to be honest perhaps get the parent to sign a waiver to just protect yourself and obv check if they have any dietary requirements before etc
That's what I have done when I have done cake smashes anyways lol

Oh and I usually buy mine from asda like the over large cupcakes
 
For making and selling any foodstuffs your kitchen will have to be inspected and certified and you will need a food hygiene certificate, this from my wife who used to run a cafe and also has friends who make chocolates and other food snacks for sale at craft markets.
 
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I wonder if she means a food hygiene certificate/qualification.

Edit: Rob beat me to it.
 
Just stick a "This product may contain nuts." sticker on the bottom and that's you sorted. Probably.

:D
 
As has already been said you really would need a food hygiene certificate as well as inspection...

Though this also raises a second question, I wonder if even just supplying a cake in a professional capacity even if brought in would require you to at the very least hold a basic food hygiene certificate....

Your best bet is likely going to be contacting your local eviromental health department
 
I would buy a large cheap cake from asda or similar, the expense and time of making your own just for it to be destroyed isn't in my opinion worth it.

The answer to your question though.

Yes you would need to register with your local authority as a food business if this is a regular thing. Let's call regular as at least once a month if not more. You would get an initial inspection and then probably never again. You won't need a food hygiene training certificate to bake a cake, free training can be got from the FSA website (look under safer foods better business training). This free training is more than sufficient for cake baking.

Now the above info is technically and legally correct. However if you just made a cake nobody would ever know and you would get away with it. ;)

The allergy thing is more important and more likely to get you into hot water. Cakes contain gluten, eggs, often milk. I won't say nuts as that goes without saying - oops!
 
The easiest solution is not do cake smash as its a bit old had and a bit cliched not to mention can look a little awkward when it's s sticky chocolate cake...

However the next easiest thing to negate a lot of the potential pit falls is that the client has to provide the cake thus cutting out your responsibility to make sure that there are not allergen issues etc, just have to make sure they buy or bring something of the right size and consistency
 
I can think of a couple of people that a nice dense fruit cake with some good sharp royal icing would benefit...

Not so sure that food preparers and handlers still need the food handling certificate. http://www.food.gov.uk/business-industry/caterers/training seems to suggest that they don't (although some employers prefer employees to have one.)
 
Steve Smith said:
But not if it was made as a photographic prop rather than to be consumed.


Steve.
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Local authorities don't tend to look to favourable on companies trying to semantic there way out of regulations
 
MWHCVT said:
Local authorities don't tend to look to favourable on companies trying to semantic there way out of regulations
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I'm pretty sure you'll find those regulations only apply if you are selling food for human consumption.
I don't think smashing a cake to bits with whatever applies.
 
ecoleman said:
I'm pretty sure you'll find those regulations only apply if you are selling food for human consumption.
I don't think smashing a cake to bits with whatever applies.
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It might when, as the OP suggests, "but i know there a big chance that the subject will eat some of the cake".
 
I still can't see t being an issue. Does a business need a certificate I case an employee brings in a cake to share with other staff? Of course not.

If a business puts on a spread during a staff event do they need a certificate? Of course not.

The OP is not selling cake to be consumed, he wants to smash it.

What happened to common sense?
 
If the business putting on the spread isn't a catering company and they've made said food in house then they will need a basic food preparation certificate.
 
ecoleman said:
I'm pretty sure you'll find those regulations only apply if you are selling food for human consumption.
I don't think smashing a cake to bits with whatever applies.
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I'd still want a definitive answer from my local authority, it will take the OP a little bit of time to check with the local authority, but if they are in business doing so is mearly a part of minimising risk, surely it better to make sure than to just assume, as is often said in court ignorance of the law is no defence

ecoleman said:
I still can't see t being an issue. Does a business need a certificate I case an employee brings in a cake to share with other staff? Of course not.

If a business puts on a spread during a staff event do they need a certificate? Of course not.

The OP is not selling cake to be consumed, he wants to smash it.

What happened to common sense?
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Example one...no because said member of staff is not selling the cake as part of a product...

Example two if a company puts on food for the staff it more than likely that they will use an outside caterer that company would have responsibility for food hygiene if they did not they yes they would be required to be fully certificated if they are going to do it legally and above board

The OP is selling a product that as part of it contains a food stuff that is likely to at least in part be consumed

Common sense left the building when no win no fee lawyers and health and safety became the normal consideration in doing business
 
OldCarlos said:
(y)

I think even someone selling freshly picked veg is supposed to be registered with their local authority as a `food` supplier. :rolleyes:
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But supplying food is their main business. A photographer is not a foot supplier.

Common sense left the building when no win no fee lawyers and health and safety became the normal consideration in doing business
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And it's a known fact that health and safety is just used as an "excuse" most of the time, the same as the data protection act.

It's time people started challenging these so called regulations or at least the people that hide behind them.
 
MWHCVT said:
Common sense left the building when no win no fee lawyers and health and safety became the normal consideration in doing business
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Much better just to work the slaves to death.. .. ;)

(I think I know what you mean, but it's not what you wrote..)


ecoleman said:
It's time people started challenging these so called regulations or at least the people that hide behind them.
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The regulations aren't the problem (I read them, do you?) - the problem is sloping shoulders and a a general move towards no one accepting responsibility for anything. And a healthy dose of pride in ignorance. The regulations are for the most part well written, but generally poorly understood and implemented.


If you are selling food you're a food business, even if the food is part of another service you're providing. The food and food safety regulations apply (nothing to do with health and safety, different regs enforced by different people) will apply. Since last December you also have to be aware of ingredients/contaminants that some people may have allergies or intolerances to and you have to be able to communicate this. Although the cake may be regarded as a prop for the shoot, it is reasonably foreseeable that someone may consume some of the cake during the shoot - so it would be prudent to treat it as a food stuff. If you make the decision that it is only a prop and you are going to pt in place suitable controls (telling the participants not to eat the cake) it would be sensible to make sure you write this down as evidence that you made a decision (and didn't just ignore it and hope the issue would go away). Writing down your decision limits your fault to having potentially made a poor decision, but that is always a stronger position than having no evidence you made a decision at all.

The easy thing to do? - buy the cake. I doubt you could make a plain white fondant/royal iced fruit/sponge cake for as cheap as you could buy one. There is a big difference in the food regulations between baking a cake and just taking the wrapper off a bought one.
 
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Alastair said:
The easy thing to do? - buy the cake. I doubt you could make a plain white fondant/royal iced fruit/sponge cake for as cheap as you could buy one. There is a big difference in the food regulations between baking a cake and just taking the wrapper off a bought one.
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that - theres no benefit to providing a homemade cake in a cake smash so why would the client pay more for it ? (and if they arent paying more you are losing profit) just buy a cheap cake from asda or lidl or wherever.

Also as mad said 'cake smash' is a naff tacky cliche anyway - its time it went the way of "bride in a wine glass"
 
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