Since COVID changed just about every facet of our everyday, more people than ever have found solace in the kitchen, with amateur bakers, butchers, sushi chefs and wok enthusiasts all cooking up a storm from home.
Naturally, some entrepreneurial minded folk have started to sell their wares, keen for recognition beyond the wife, kids and dog for their home cooked creations. If you’re thinking about starting up a catering business, from catering equipment to the right certifications, here is a list of everything you will need to get started in the catering industry.
NAIL DOWN YOUR IDEA
There’s a lot of competition out there. As such, your proposition needs to be unique, one-of-a-kind and something which other companies don’t other. So, consider your dishes and how they might fill a hungry hole in the catering businesses. Family recipes passed down from generation to generation, or a street food cuisine which catering businesses in your area don’t cover, are just a couple of concepts to think about. Don’t simply offer some half-rate hotdogs or burgers which anyone could put together at home. Instead, do something unique and celebratory.
CERTIFICATION
Food may seem like a fun genre to head in to, but this isn’t always the case. To be a professional caterer, you need to have some accreditation to prove that you have learned about the guidelines and follow them from a health and safety aspect.
You need to be able to cook in the genre of food you are planning on serving, and if there are any dietary requirements, for example, cooking for halaal clientele, you would need a certificate to prove that you have been credited to do so. In order to gain consumer’s trust and for your business to grow exponentially, you need to hire professionals such as food safety auditors to get you the necessary certifications that are needed for your food business.
HERE TO HELP CAMPAIGN
There are a ton of practical requirements you’ll need to meet if you’re starting a food business from home, from registering as a food business and as self employed, to getting permission from your mortgage provider or landlord, and even asking the local council to assess whether you’re meeting all health, safety and hygiene requirements.
To make things easier, as part of their Here to Help Campaign, the Government are offering support and guidance to food business adapting during COVID, including advice on all of the practical requirements and much more.
Head to the Government’s website for more information on guidance for starting a food business from home.
EQUIPMENT FOR OUTDOORS
You need to know what you would like to serve and how it all needs to be prepared for your clients. Are you venturing into events catering or selling individual items of food? Suppose you are planning on being a street vendor. In that case, you will need to get a portable gas stove, grill, trolley, utensils, iceboxes, storage containers, cleaning materials, a portable PayPoint, take away utensils and packaging. Food for thought, indeed.
EQUIPMENT FOR INDOOR CATERING
Indoor catering requires a lot more equipment because it usually allows you to cater for more dishes and more variety. If you plan on catering for events, you will need portable equipment like bain-marines, cutlery and crockery, cooler boxes, pots and pans, serving dishes, and suitable stoves and ovens installed.
Catering at a restaurant or a cafe will require deep fryers if you serve fast food, and special display fridges to keep your food clean and free of insects and flies while showing it off to clients. You may need a small cold room or just additional refrigeration if you want to cook anything for freezing and resale, and then last but least, you will need to have a payment system in place to receive payments.
If you would like to have the kind of business where you start small and move onto more significant events like weddings and conferences, then you need to focus on having the right equipment, even if it is only some of it.
For affordable equipment, you can look at second-hand sites to see if anyone is getting rid of some stock and then try and save money by purchasing that first. Your menus can also be minimalist until you have gotten all the items you need to state the catering business with your own money. The best way is always to try and do it without unnecessary expenses, so do your research before starting.