Catering - Starter

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.