OMG, you say, what now?

Well one more. About the cheesecake issue. Tamyra wants me to just bake them at home and sell them to the restaurant, even though I told her from the very beginning that I would want to use her licensed kitchen, that I am not comfortable working commercially from home, that I have nothing to lose if I get sued I'd have to go bankrupt, etc. She said something like, "well, we don't have to tell anybody it's from a home kitchen or have your name on it. I had an arrangement like that with another woman before." I had also told her if we put them on her menu I want my name on the menu! So tonight I sent her this email.

How about I donate the cheesecake for the April 2nd event?

Either I can donate the cheesecake and please ask in return can I attend the dinner with the cheesecake as my donation. That gives not as much value as the $50 suggested donation, but saves on the expense of the dinner AND gives Gail and Gretchen one more friendly face in the house.

OR I donate outright and it is counted as an "in kind" donation toward Gretchen's campaign?

The reason I am suggesting is because right now I am comfortable with the idea of baking at home and donating to a not-for-profit organization as I do it all the time for Michael's orchestra. Then it gives me a couple more weeks to think about the event that is a little further down the line and resolving my feelings about the licensed kitchen issues or thinking of a solution. One reason I want a solution to the problem is because if my cheesecakes are being sold commercially somewhere I WANT them on a menu with my name - Hope's Homemades (which I need to get registered) because if I do hope to successfully market someday I want brand recognition right away. Therefore I don't want to do it "under the table" so to speak.

Hope

I can't believe a restaurant owner would risk doing that. She has received perfect inspections every time the Health department has inspected her and the results are in the paper. But she has never been to my house. For all she knows I could let my cat walk on the counter while I bake, never wash my hands, and sneeze in the batter. I don't do any of that, but it is true that I don't even OWN a dishwasher and I hardly ever mop my floors!