- December 16, 2025
Concerned about safety, the city is debating legalizing ‘cottage food’ bakeries in Palm Coast.
Husband and wife Rick de Yampert and Cheryl Sheppard, of the K-section, want to go into business in Palm Coast. But currently, their plan for an at-home baking company falls in a gray area of city law that was made even grayer when state legislation changed last year.
Prompted by a letter the couple wrote last month, however, the city is considering a change. The Palm Coast City Council heard a presentation by city staff Feb. 14 outlining the possibility of legalizing home-based “cottage food” businesses, in order to align with state law that was amended in July.
“We are ready, willing and able to go into business,” the couple wrote. “We only need the city of Palm Coast to allow us this opportunity.”
After being laid off in 2008, Sheppard enrolled in the culinary program at Daytona State College, where she graduated with honors in 2010. She then worked at Vince Carter’s restaurant, in Daytona Beach, for 14 months, until layoffs occurred there, as well, last spring.
“Given the recession and the tough job market these days, we decided to ‘hire’ ourselves,” the couple wrote. “(The state’s) legislation is like a godsend to us. It will, in effect, allow us to use our home as our own business incubator. It will allow us to launch and grow our baking business with a relatively modest capital investment, and to build our reputation and brand name until our business is established and it makes sense to expand into a storefront.”
Sheppard plans to be the prospective company’s pastry chef and baker, while de Yampert would act as business manager.
Accompanying the changes to Florida law, certain guidelines must be met for the distribution of homemade foods. Sales can’t exceed $15,000 per year. No sales are allowable by Internet, mail order or wholesale. Foods must be labeled for content, including allergen information. Only products stored on premise may be sold.
Sheppard and de Yampert plan to vend at festivals, farmers markets, public events and via delivery. They also don’t plan to incorporate signage at their home or on their vehicles.
According to city regulations, however, home occupational licenses still strictly prohibit food preparation, said Sara Lockhart, senior planner for the city.
The city also requires that all vendors at city-sanctioned events have a business tax receipt, which excludes any home-based food preparer.
At the Feb. 14 workshop, potential impacts of allowing the sale of homemade goods — impacts such as economic development, food safety and code enforcement — were debated.
While Councilmen Bill Lewis and Bill McGuire stated that they had no interest in pursuing the issue any further, Councilmen Jason DeLorenzo and Frank Meeker, as well as Mayor Netts, were interested in continuing the conversation.
“You’ll never convince me you can make serious bucks making brownies in your kitchen,” McGuire said.
“I think we’d be insane to (permit this or even attempt to regulate it),” Lewis added.
On that note, City Manager Jim Landon stressed that if the city were to relax the rules on the cottage food industry, it would be impossible for staff to regulate every home-based food business.
It’s a concern echoed by Costa Magoulas, dean of Daytona State College’s baking and pastry culinary program.
“What are the (sanitation) standards and how are we protected?” he said. “I’m a firm believer there needs to be some sort of health inspection. (Without one), you’re looking for trouble.”
“I’m concerned about public health,” Netts said. “It is not our role — nor will it ever be our role — that we will get into the enforcement of public health.”
Magoulas also cited potential traffic complications and the possibility of fire hazards, as well as potential changes to home insurance rates and resentment from already-established local businesses. City officials stressed the same concerns.
But regarding whether “serious bucks” could be made from home-baking, Magoulas was a little more optimistic.
It all depends what a company is baking, he said. Wedding cakes, for example would bring in a lot more cash than brownies. It depends on their products and price points.
“If they’ve gone through our school, they’ve learned about cost control,” he said. “Can you make a living doing that? Yeah — if they do everything right.”
Graduates of Daytona State’s culinary program are required to earn their ServSafe certification, a commercial sanitation degree required for management in every restaurant in Florida. Before becoming dean at Daytona State, Magoulas served 30 years at Smith & Sons cafeteria and then 15 years in the Volusia County School District, where he taught ServSafe to all managers.
He calls himself a “fanatic” about cleaning. When it comes to food preparation, he sees it as the most important aspect of the process, and the biggest question mark in Palm Coast’s cottage food debate.
“I’m not trying to be negative,” he said, “it’s just there are a whole lot of areas that need to addressed. … If (the city) requires everyone to have to be fully up to code, different story. … “(But) it’s going to be touchy for everyone, I’m sure.”
City Council will revisit this issue at its Feb. 21 regular meeting.
“We hear a lot of discussion these days about how government can help stimulate the economy,” Sheppard and de Yampert wrote to the city. “This simple proposed amendment will do that, while having no adverse impact upon our city.”
—Andrew O’Brien contributed to this report.
