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If you’ll be running a solo operation, you’ll need to register as a sole trader — take a look at the government’s guide to setting up as a sole trader to find out how. If you’ll have employees straight off the bat, you’ll have to incorporate as a limited company instead, which you can do on the government website. If you’ve found a gap in the market, it’s important to do one last bit of research before you jump in. You need to decide whether the niche is big enough to give you a steady stream of clients. For example, if there are no corporate caterers in your area, that may be because there aren’t enough companies hosting conferences and meetings to sustain a business.
You may also need to update your homeowner’s insurance since you’re running your business out of your home. It’s not all about how many events you can do—it’s about how many you want to do. Flexibility is part of the appeal of this business model, so it’s up to you to decide what you want your business to look like. Precise cuts that leave flat surfaces make it easier to wrap your cheese in the most effective manner.
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Without this type of packaging, chemical contaminants or germs could transfer onto the food. Well-fitting lids or closures will also minimise any hygiene or spillage risks. By putting your rating on display in your premises or online, you can show your customers how good your hygiene standards are. We have more information on how to manage food hygiene in your business, including storing and transporting food, training and personal hygiene. Registration of your food business is free and can’t be refused.
If you can source linens, flatware, and plates as part of your service, you can both charge a higher rate and provide a useful service to your clients. But you may need to rent a storage unit nearby to keep these things out of your home or rental kitchen space. When pricing your menu, consider your food costs, labor costs, and additional overhead to make sure you can cover all of your expenses and still have some profit left over from each event.
Catering and home-based food establishments
However, as your operation grows, you’re going to need to invest in bigger and better kit to keep up with demand. You and all your staff will also need Level 2 food safety qualifications to sell food from home in the UK. The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and the Nationwide Caterers Association run day-long food safety courses that cost around £100 per person. It’s illegal to prepare food commercially without this qualification, so make sure you and all your staff earn their stripes before you open for business.
Who knows – with some hard work, and a pinch of luck, it might not be long until you’re opening your first brick and mortar food business or eatery! If this is something you aspire to, you might want to take a look at our guide to opening a restaurant to help you make some plans. As your business grows, you might struggle to meet demand with consumer-grade appliances.
Which food is most profitable?
Two or three people may be enough to keep a buffet well-stocked, but if you plan to do seated meals, you’ll need more staff to prevent slow service and cold food. As a catering business owner, you have access to wholesale food suppliers that can supply you with bulk ingredients at better prices. They may also be able to help you source specific ingredients, which is valuable if you’re in a specialty market. If you’re only offering buffet-style catering, you may want to avoid dishes that rely on exquisite presentation or need refrigeration. Food that you plan to deliver from your home kitchen to the venue must maintain quality through the transport and setup process. With no brick-and-mortar, “customer-facing” space needed, starting a catering business from home can be more affordable, and a great way to either supplement your full-time income or replace it entirely.
If your ideal customers are younger and tech-savvy, social media is probably a better place to focus your efforts. To avoid reinventing the wheel for every event, you can opt to offer a set number of dishes that customers can pick from. You may also want to establish “tiers” in your menu, with each tier having a different per-person cost.
This gives your customers flexibility in choosing their dishes while still working with their budgets. Catering services are generally split into two categories—on-site and off-site. With on-site catering, the food is cooked and completed at the event location, like a wedding venue or hotel. With off-site catering, food is cooked somewhere else and then brought to the event location. This is often the case with catered business lunches and private parties. You also will need a business license and a tax identification number.
This means that everyone who works with food needs to be trained in safe food handling procedures. You must know how to safely prepare, cook, and hold food so that your clients do not get food borne illness. You cannot operate a catering business from your family kitchen.
Please see Small Business Nutritional Labeling Exemption for more details. I want to make a non-refrigerated or shelf stable salsa, BBQ sauce and/or other canned foods. Permits are issued for two-year terms; fees, which vary based on the gross annual volume of sales, range from $250 to $750. You will need to have at least one on-duty employee who is a certified food manager, and you may also need employees to obtain food handler cards. The second most profitable food and beverage business out there is an ice cream shop. The number one most profitable food and beverage business is a bubble tea shop.
Because of this, it will also pay to have a strong Internet connection or a good data plan. If you plan on catering large events, you’ll also do well to hire one or more capable cooks who can help you get your menu together in a timely fashion. At a commercial kitchen, you’ll have ready access to grills, ovens, deep fryers, slicers, mixers, refrigerators and freezers, and any other appliances and equipment that you may need. Contact your local Alcoholic Beverage Commission office to request an application for a professional liquor license.
As most home-based caterers are just starting out, you probably don't want to have a menu that is full of the most expensive ingredients. Catering clients will expect the markup because they know of all the operational costs a catering business has. By the same token, if you’ve never been to a wedding before, it’s probably not a good idea to go into the wedding catering business.
Otherwise, hire a professional web designer to give your site the kind of polish it needs to attract potential clients. Deciding what environment you’d be most comfortable in will also help you narrow down your menu, branding elements, and other aspects of your business. Unless you plan on hiring an accountant, you’ll want to shop around for some good bookkeeping software to document the details of your transactions.
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Local authority officers will make arrangements to visit your home once registered to conduct a food hygiene inspection. This inspection is to assess whether your food preparation areas and food safety procedures are suitable. Cottage laws dictate what foods the sellers can offer, where they can sell those foods, and what the earnings threshold is that they must remain under to avoid triggering commercial food manufacturing laws. Once you've determined the above, you should gather needed equipment and supplies. Most states that allow home-based catering have specific rules about food handling.
Any food prepared for catering must be prepared in a separate kitchen. Some caterers avoid the cost of constructing a second kitchen by renting or leasing kitchen space from a restaurant or other facility with a full kitchen. One of the simplest swaps you can make is switching out your single-use paper towels for a reusable option. Kellogg’s kitchen is a plastic-wrap- and aluminum-foil-free space. “Aluminum foil is most often used for tenting, or in the oven to prevent things from getting burned or too brown on top,” says Kellogg. It’s estimated that globally one third of all food produced goes to waste.
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