How to Start a Catering Business

When starting a catering business one of the most important decisions that you will have to make is what kitchen space you will use to prepare the food.

Some small players are able to use their home kitchens but this option is not really viable for a business of any decent size and complying with health regulations can be difficult.

Renting business premises with a commercial kitchen is really expenses and if you are only catering to a small number of events each week it is not really viable. So what other options are there?

There are many catering jobs that are held in locations where you will have access to food preparation facilities on-site. Unfortunately these kinds of catering jobs are not so common as many banquet halls already have their own in-house catering teams. Of course you could lease your own event location, hire it out for events and provide the in-house catering but this option involves a serious commitment and a risk level that is higher than many new business owners can bear.

So you really do have to have access to your own off-site kitchen premises which means that you will also require suitable transportation to move food and people from your site to an event (some health authorities even require you to have refrigerated transportation).

The most economical option for new catering businesses is to share commercial kitchen facilities with others. Depending on where you are there may be commercial kitchens where you can schedule a certain number of hours every month. Sharing a kitchen is not ideal but it is definitely the most cost effective method for new entrants to the market.

You could also approach a local restaurant and see if you could negotiate the use of their kitchen facilities during their off hours. If you can get most of your work down earlier in the day before the restaurant opens then this method can work really well.

To prepare food hygienically and in volumes large enough to cater to sizable events, having access to good kitchen facilities is essential. Look into as many different solutions as you can as you put together the business plan for your catering business. Deciding on what kitchen space you will use for food preparation will be one of the first major decisions that you will make.