Fans rally to rescue soured sweets maker in Oklahoma City
BUSINESS: WHEN HEALTH INSPECTOR REQUIRES LICENSE, OWNER TURNS TO WEB

Alicia Helsley’s homemade candies are apparently so addictive her fans have rallied to get her back in business.

Until last week, Helsley was crafting gourmet truffles, caramels and chocolates at her Oklahoma City home and selling them online under the business name Fat Daddy Sweets. But a Health Department inspector came to her door and told her that although the sweets looked delicious, she has to prepare them in a licensed kitchen.

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COURSES HELP ENTREPRENEURS

Oklahoma State University’s Food & Agricultural Products Center offers a daylong course to educate entrepreneurs about starting a food-based business. Topics include business planning, market identification, strategies and food processing regulations. Courses are held one Thursday monthly; registration is open for the next class on Nov. 12. For more information, visit www.fapc.okstate.edu and click on "Basic Training Workshop.”

ABOUT THE BUSINESS

For more information about Fat Daddy Sweets, go online to www.fatdaddysweets.com

Plus, she needed licensing and certification, which can cost about $500 or more.

Fat Daddy Sweets screeched to a halt. And Helsley did what a lot of people do these days: she Tweeted.

From her Twitter account, as well as her blog, Helsley detailed her saga, from the health inspector’s visit to the apparent source of the complaint: a Texas woman she’s never met, she said.

"If you want to keep FatDaddySweets around, I need your help,” she posted on the afternoon of Oct. 6.

In a matter of days, her fans had organized a Tweetup (which she’s calling a "sweet” up) for Friday to help her raise money for the licensing fees. And a restaurant owner preordered enough sweets to get her the cash she needs.

"The support has been amazing,” Helsley said.

She’s now registered to take a class and apply for the license she needs, which may have her crafting chocolates again by Christmas.

Helsley, a mother of two, started making goodies for friends during the holidays, using recipes and techniques she’d learned from her mother and grandmother.

She decided to sell the treats as a way to make extra income, and named the business after her husband, who has "become quite the fat daddy” after years of sampling her goodies, she said.

Helsley opened a store in December on Etsy.com, an online marketplace, and her candy sales took off.

Her dark chocolate truffles were featured in the July issue of Martha Stewart Weddings magazine.

Tressa Madden, director of consumer protection for the state Health Department, said the purpose of a licensed kitchen is to cook food, but at home, there could be children and pets and other distractions.

Licensed kitchens are inspected by the Health Department, and some restaurants allow small business owners to use their kitchen during slow hours or when the restaurant is closed, she said.

A food service operator certificate and labeling requirements also may be required for food-based business owners. Aspiring entrepreneurs should contact their city or county health department to find out what is required.

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