Our scheduled day and shift plan
East Hills will be participating in Cake Booth at the Alameda County Fair, where we sell drinks and cake to raise money for the county as well as earn tips for our own club (and a small portion of the earnings). We are scheduled to staff the booth on Sunday, July 12th from 11:30am to 9pm.
We do have some families signed up to work our shift, but if you’d like to join, please email Kris at info@EastHills4H.org. We’re splitting the day into two shifts, but we have some flexibility in start/end times. Working in the Cake Booth means you get free admission to the fair and free parking so you can do a shift and then go and see 4-H exhibits and the animals and ride some rides.
What does working in the Cake Booth entail?
There are essentially four jobs involved in working the Cake Booth:
- The front area where you take orders and make change for people (only older members or adults can work the cash register). People will usually ask for a drink of some kind (we do coffee, water, milk, lemonade, and iced teas) and pick out a piece of cake. The order taker will then tell the runners to get whatever drink is needed and gives the customer their piece of cake, while the member on the register tallies up the cost, takes the money, and makes change.
- Runner: these are usually younger members who make the drinks (dispensing coffee, iced teas, lemonade), and go and retrieve anything else that might be needed (like cookies).
- Cake decorator: yep, this is a real job at the Cake Booth! The cakes are made offsite and are stored in the fridges in the back of the Cake Booth. We have huge tubs of various frostings, along with the cake stands and spatulas needed to ice the cakes. Some of them have sprinkles or nuts on top, but most just need to be iced and then put on the storage shelf until they are needed.
- Maintaining the table outside the Booth: there are 3-4 tables right outside of the Cake Booth in the main room that periodically need to be wiped down. You also check supplies on the table with creamer, sugar, napkins, stir sticks, and whatever else.
- Dishwasher: we use paper plates and cups for giving out cake and drinks, but the cake decorators do generate dirty cake cutters, spatulas, and miscellaneous tools that require occasional washing. There are two large sinks: one is for the soapy water and rinsing, and the other one is for a sanitation rinse (food safety rules). Washed and sanitized dishes are put in the drainer to dry, and eventually put away.
Training Videos, Manuals, and More!
It is HIGHLY recommended that you watch the following training video; it is done by a veteran Cake Booth administator and will allow you to jump right into making coffee/iced tea/lemonade, start decorating cakes, and setting up the register and the table outside. Otherwise, people have to ask a veteran member how to do things, which really slows everything down. The other links are a rules and manual document and a map to the Cake Booth once you arrive at the Fair.
Training Video (opens in new tab)
Dress Code and other rules for working the Cake Booth (also copied below from the Google Drive to keep it all in one place).
Alameda County 4-H Cake Booth Rules and Operations
RULES APPLY TO MEMBERS AND ADULTS
1. It is recommended that members be at least 7 years old to help in the Cake Booth, and any primary members (7-8) should have a parent partner to assist
2, All members and adults must have a clean appearance.
3. No sleeveless shirts or tank tops
4. Long pants and CLOSED TOE SHOES are required for safety. No sandals, flip-flops, or open toed shoes allowed. It is a safety risk and should not be worn in the Cake Booth.
5. Hair MUST be restrained by hats or hair nets.
6. 4-H members are encouraged to wear the 4-H uniform (white shirt/blouse & pants, 4-H scarf/tie), including the hat. Wearing a club T-shirt is OK, as are jeans in place of white pants. Shorts and short skirts are NOT acceptable.
7. No texting/cell phone use while working in the Cake Booth.
8. If working with livestock prior to shift, please have a clean change of pants/shoes for working.
9. One leader/adult will be expected to assist with money counting at the beginning and END of each club shift. For a full day shift, there will also be a mid-day count.
10. The first shift of each day will need to help frost cakes and open the booth (shift begins at 11:30, fair opens at 12:00 noon)
11. The last shift will need to clean up the booth and restock supplies before leaving (the booth closes at 10:00 pm, so cake cutting should stop at 9:30 pm, at which time cleaning should begin in earnest so that there is not too much left to clean after 10:00)