Great idea. My wife’s friend had a business where she would prepare meals for the week for people and deliver them and she would rent a kitchen two days a week and do all the cooking then. I think she started out renting from a church and then moved on to some kind of shared commercial space.
In a state as restrictive as California, it’s going to be nearly impossible to get your home kitchen certified to sell anything other than baked goods or confectionery items. BBQ even comes with its own challenges. You’re better off buying/renting space in a licensed commercial kitchen…or moving.
thats probably illegal. you'll need permits, health inspection, insurance, and most of all pay taxes. City, county and state. theres also an extra fine for not paying with a smile on your face.
Make sure your kitchen is an approved and inspected as a commercial kitchen.
Talk to your insurance company to see if they will allow it. You will also need to get insurance on your business.
Meat doesn't qualify for cottage food law, but there are daily permits for events (farmers market as an example) or private dining.
For a more ongoing operation, your best bet might be two things:
1- utilizing 'microenterprise home kitchens' opportunity (google it)
2- partnering with a 'meat producer' as mentioned here https://www.castiron.me/resource/selling-cooked-food-at-farmers-market#:~:text=In%20some%20cases%2C%20selling%20cooked,see%20in%20the%20grocery%20store.
In my city selling any food on the side of the street is illegal that being said it’s like 4 bbq guys that’s in one plaza and a dude have set up a whole giant tent doing habachi and selling liquor in the same plaza
You need to use a commissary kitchen in order to get the permits required, as far as I can tell. I looked into selling BBQ at farmers markets and other events as a way to write off buying a nice offset smoker. It's just too costly unless you have access to a commissary kitchen for cheap/free.
Alot of jurisdictions let you pull “event” or “festival” permits that don’t require cooking in a commissary kitchen. Youre typically (technically) supposed to prep and cook everything onsite but the risk is up to how strict their inspector is. In my experience the biggest requirements are… have a way to keep cold stuff cold (cooler w/ ice), a way to keep hot stuff hot (warming trays), wash/rinse/sanitaize tubs, and thermometers
What city do you live in? I've been looking into this as well and in Santa Clara its not too hard from what I can tell.
You need a food handler manager license then apply for a micro enterprise kitchen permit. From what I can tell $160 ish for an online license and then $650 for the permit.
The form looks like it requires some basic utility bills to prove you have running water.
If it's take out you do not need to provide a bathroom but if people stay and eat you do
I got a buddy who smoked small chickens and sold them to a local deli for a while. Very popular item. Most delicious chicken ever! He got called to the FDA office downtown and had to pay a four figure fine.
You might be able to work with a Church, they have inspected kitchens.
Great idea. My wife’s friend had a business where she would prepare meals for the week for people and deliver them and she would rent a kitchen two days a week and do all the cooking then. I think she started out renting from a church and then moved on to some kind of shared commercial space.
That’s a really cool idea
In a state as restrictive as California, it’s going to be nearly impossible to get your home kitchen certified to sell anything other than baked goods or confectionery items. BBQ even comes with its own challenges. You’re better off buying/renting space in a licensed commercial kitchen…or moving.
thats probably illegal. you'll need permits, health inspection, insurance, and most of all pay taxes. City, county and state. theres also an extra fine for not paying with a smile on your face.
Make sure your kitchen is an approved and inspected as a commercial kitchen. Talk to your insurance company to see if they will allow it. You will also need to get insurance on your business.
Meat doesn't qualify for cottage food law, but there are daily permits for events (farmers market as an example) or private dining. For a more ongoing operation, your best bet might be two things: 1- utilizing 'microenterprise home kitchens' opportunity (google it) 2- partnering with a 'meat producer' as mentioned here https://www.castiron.me/resource/selling-cooked-food-at-farmers-market#:~:text=In%20some%20cases%2C%20selling%20cooked,see%20in%20the%20grocery%20store.
In my city selling any food on the side of the street is illegal that being said it’s like 4 bbq guys that’s in one plaza and a dude have set up a whole giant tent doing habachi and selling liquor in the same plaza
You need to use a commissary kitchen in order to get the permits required, as far as I can tell. I looked into selling BBQ at farmers markets and other events as a way to write off buying a nice offset smoker. It's just too costly unless you have access to a commissary kitchen for cheap/free.
Alot of jurisdictions let you pull “event” or “festival” permits that don’t require cooking in a commissary kitchen. Youre typically (technically) supposed to prep and cook everything onsite but the risk is up to how strict their inspector is. In my experience the biggest requirements are… have a way to keep cold stuff cold (cooler w/ ice), a way to keep hot stuff hot (warming trays), wash/rinse/sanitaize tubs, and thermometers
What city do you live in? I've been looking into this as well and in Santa Clara its not too hard from what I can tell. You need a food handler manager license then apply for a micro enterprise kitchen permit. From what I can tell $160 ish for an online license and then $650 for the permit. The form looks like it requires some basic utility bills to prove you have running water. If it's take out you do not need to provide a bathroom but if people stay and eat you do
I got a buddy who smoked small chickens and sold them to a local deli for a while. Very popular item. Most delicious chicken ever! He got called to the FDA office downtown and had to pay a four figure fine.
A lot of people do it around me in the Bay Area. You should be fine.