Catering - Starter

Celtic Wolf

OK I don't want to discourage you but I will.

Let's start with the Health Department Regulation. Most if not all state, county and city HD's have requirements that must be meet. Cool thing is you take the toughest of those and meet those. The rest fall in line. However, they cover food safety, food prep, storage, sanitation and disposal.

Then there is insurance. Catering insurance is NOT your standard liability insurance and it is NOT covered by your homeowners policy. The cost for this can range up to $2,000 per year. On top of that you will need liability insurance and insurance on your equipment.

Now you will also need a business license. You can do this buy incorporating or with a DBA (Doing business as).

You need to have ample supplies of serving utensils, dishes, glasses, silverware, pots and pans.

Bottom line: I have invested $15,000-$20,000 dollars to setup a part-time catering business. Annually it cost me about $5,000 to just to maintain it's existence. We won't go into the cost of maintaining the commercial kitchen or the cost of advertising your product.

For me to cater a single day event it takes days of preparation and planning. It is tiring work with very demanding clients. They expect perfection and frankly they should get it.

With three or four cooks under your belt I think you need to wait a awhile.. Make sure cooking for the masses is really what you want to do. Make sure that you can produce a product your clients will brag about. Cook for your friends and family for a while. You have time to decide if you really want to spend a lot of money and time on Catering.

If you have any specific questions contact me off the forum.

RRP

that was a priceless response which I have copied and filed away. Being from you who I respect just "says it all".

Starter

Thanks! Sounds like you know what you are talking about.
I appreciate it!

fishlessman

if only fishing were that simple and inexpensive.

Cpt'n Cook

We stopped by a little restaurant called Zimmy's that we go to occasionally. It looks like a pizza joint but the food was really good. Very small place, wobbly tables and Ron Paul stickers and quotes about the Constitution and libertarianism all over the walls inside and out.

Anyway we stopped in yesterday for bacon burgers and fries on the way to Wally World to pick up our cholesterol meds. All the political signs and pictures were gone. We find from the new owner that ol' Zimmy has sold the place and had planned on opening a new and larger restaurant but found out the state wouldn't let him because he owed it so much for unpaid meal taxes.

We got a big laugh out of that but will miss his funky little restaurant. Will write in Ron Paul come election time.

Rascal

That's sad to hear of... in what Mass town was it located?

SuzyQue

Here is a link to a recent story in the NY Times about thinking twice before getting into the food business. It includes one success story and one failure. Interestingly, the success story is a Texas style low and slow BBQ business near or in Chicago; however, those guys really did their homework.

Food for thought:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/27/dining/27fail.html?scp=2&sq=opening a restaurant&st=cse

If you have trouble opening it, let me know and I can just copy and paste it for you.

Starter

Thanks for all the info. that you-all are sending! Very educational and enlightening for having just joined this forum...any forum for that matter! Does anyone have any success stories to tell involving their eggs???? Thanks, Starter

Celtic Wolf

Yep I successfully run a part-time catering business. Actually the state see my business as "chef for hire".

Plus a do a decent job competing. Not as good as Bobby-Q or Dizzy Pig but I do a decent job.