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cooking food to sell from home or at an event/from a stand

post #1 of 18
6/22/09 at 8:33am
Thread Starter 
how does this work?

what licenses and precautions must i take

and how can i find out how this works in the state of florida???

ive been googling but am not typing in the correct search phrase
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post #2 of 18
6/22/09 at 8:43am
First you will need to check with your local health inspector. This is often a county job so check under the "County Government" section in the phone book. Probably what you will be told is that you will need to produce your product in an inspected kitchen. 99% of all home kitchens will not meet the qualifications so you will need to look for kitchen space you can lease. You may also be required to have a sanitation certificate (food handler's license) and possibly a business license. Another word about home kitchens. There are many people out there doing "home catering" and "home baking" businesses from their home. Bad idea, if you get caught you could be in for some hefty fines. If you make someone sick you will have no insurance to cover you if you get sued, and finally most home owner's insurance policies have a clause stating that if you run a business out of your home your policy is null and void, even if a claimable event was not a direct result of the home business (ie if a fire starts in your house due to a fireplace fire, your policy still won't cover it if they discover you are running a baking business out of your house). Most of these people who run these kinds of businesses, out of their houses never get caught, but for those that do, the monetary repercussions can be devastating and lifelong.
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post #3 of 18
6/22/09 at 9:37am
how does this work? If you want to do it properly you will need to lease a kitchen space( call your local churches they will do it for CHEAP), get your recipe/formula entered in a Genesis type system so there is a proper label declaration, nutrtional breakdown and allergen info. If you dont do this you are asking for a law suit. Im not sure where you are in Fl but every county has different laws and regs

what licenses and precautions must i take You might want to be incorporated to protect your personal assests incase something does happen, you will want to file a business liscence, contact your accoutant about paying taxes on the product you sell, contact the county health inspector and ServeSafe to get ceritifed.

and how can i find out how this works in the state of florida??? Every county is a little different, I would recommend opening up the blue Govt section of the Yellow or White Pages and start making calls.

ive been googling but am not typing in the correct search phrase Try looking on Ask.com.
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post #4 of 18
6/22/09 at 11:16am
Go on web window to Florida health dept and every county address and phone will come up. I am in Palm Beach County dont know where you are ,but here not legal in a home, or garage and must be inspected and approved and duly lic. premise. You must alspo have a Fed ID #. and state s.t. number.:lol:

P?S stands and cxarts are permitted but same laws and permits as above required plus vehicle reg. if mobile.
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post #5 of 18
6/22/09 at 5:14pm
out of curiousity if youre a personal chef cooking in someone elses home, how is that different from cooking in your own home? does that mean the clients home insurance is null and void or does your personal chef liability insurance cover you in any location? if thats the case why wouldnt it cover it their own home?
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post #6 of 18
6/22/09 at 9:02pm
As a PC, you are a "cook for hire", you do NOT provide food, you provide a "service".
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post #7 of 18
6/23/09 at 4:18am
theoretically couldnt one provide that service from their own home and deliver it? just a thought, not trying to argue about it, but i dont see the difference if someone cooks it in their own vs cooking in someone else's either way its a domestic kitchen.
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post #8 of 18
6/23/09 at 4:45am
To answer your question, no they cant. Once you put your food in a package, jar or bag for sale you are now a manufacturer and subject to an entirely different set of rules that are not just governed by the health dept but also the FDA and possibly the USDA depending upon what you are making. Your liscensing, insurance and inspections are now different and the equipment you are allowed to use is now in a different realm.
The reason that these places that sell premade meals is allowed to do what they do is they operate as a catering facility or as a grocery type outlet not as a manufacturing facility.
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post #9 of 18
6/23/09 at 5:56am
A PC does not sell food to the public, he or she is an employee of the household and they have a tax ID # and they send in your SS if you are working over any amount of time with them.:D
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post #10 of 18
6/24/09 at 8:12pm
Florida is one the most regulated states I have lived in. I have know many people who tried to set up road side food stand and have not seen much success , not to say there are not any. First you have to get a food service license. Next you will need a permit for you cart. Some counties have have laws where the cart must meet a certain criteria which means big bucks and other counties forbid road siding. then you must have a permit for your location. Forget about most of the good locations which means you will be set up on some secondary road someway.Next you will need a place to clean your pans etc that is approved for cleaning, double sinks, hot water above a certain temperture. For the life of me I can't remember. Next the will not let you sell products that are made at you home. The food must be wrapped and purchased from a vendor. If you serve hotdogs or other meat products you can't serve a meat based sauced such as chilli. ON and ON and ON . You best bet is to screw the regulations and open on saturday and sunday when the inspectors are off and play dumb if they caught you. And hire a hot looking babe in a bikini.
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post #11 of 18
6/25/09 at 6:32am

mobile vendor association

I think there is an association for mobile vendors MICA - not sure but looked into it years ago.

when I googled MICA Mobile Caterers I got this

Convenience Caterers & Food Manufacturers Association – Home

but didn't look any further.
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post #12 of 18
6/26/09 at 4:02pm
If you are interested in Road Food, there is a forum for the professionals and this is the link to it.

Restaurant Professionals Forum

I can't take credit for finding this or am I a member. ChefBillyB gave me this one.. However, it may give you the answers regarding a cart.
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post #13 of 18
6/28/09 at 3:50am
[QUOTE=Next you will need a place to clean your pans etc that is approved for cleaning, double sinks, hot water above a certain temperture. For the life of me I can't remember. [/QUOTE]

In Florida the third sink for pot washing needs to be 171F. Or you can use chemical sanitation.
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post #14 of 18
7/24/09 at 4:34pm
There have been a number of questions about food prep from the home kitchen and I will attempt to clear up some of the mystery. There are approximately 17 states that have some type of cottage law that allow for home based baking or home-food process for low risk foods (e.g. baked goods, jams, jellies, preserves and certain types of pickles and dry mixes and spices.) You will need to check with your state/local health department, although often the state Department of Agriculture is the regulating body overseeing this form of food production. There are strick guidelines, but in some of the 17 states it is not impossible to operate a home-based bakery. Some restrictions involve selling only at farmer's markets while others allow you to sell to the general public. There is no state (to my knowledge) that will allow you to "cook" food from you home and sell to the public. There are specific exemptions for non-profit agencies e.g. churches, community organizations when participating in fundraisers. The rule of thumb...check with the health dept. or dept. of agriculture to learn the rules and regs in your community.
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post #15 of 18
7/29/09 at 6:26am
Health Department rules and regulations are sometimes arbitrary (at best).
State to state, county to county, inspector to inspector...
I, personally, having been burned a number of times, would not trust anything that I read on the internet, even if it was from the CDC's website.
I would contact your local health department in your area and ask point blank.

Get it in writing, because they will change their minds...
...mummblegrumbledirtybastards.....
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post #16 of 18
7/29/09 at 6:46am

Florida Home-Based Baking

Hello Left4bread,


You cannot bake from home in Florida. You will need to locate an incubator/licensed commercial kitchen. Once you have located a kitchen, contact the Florida Department of Agriculture and they will handle the inspection or provide the process/paperwork you will need to complete.

There are two incubators in Florida that I am familiar with:

Jackie’s Commercial Kitchen Rental
Groveland, FL,
Phone: 407-421-8066
jackiecaters@aol.com


Kitchen of Dreamz
6152 126th Ave, Largo FL 33773
727-953-9879
813-767-6050
cindykod@tampabay.rr.com
http://www.kitchenofdreamz.com

I don't know if these are close to you. You may also contact church kitchens or daycare center facilities in your area. I had a contact for Florida's Dept of Ag, but with staff changes I don't know who it is now. I will try to locate the information and post in this forum.

Hope this helps.

Denay
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post #17 of 18
7/31/09 at 1:38am
Hi yourself, DDenay!
Sorry for being obtuse in my last post.
I didn't mean to sound disparaging... well, ok, I did.
Anyhow, you have some good advice, seem well informed, and have a couple of links that look helpful.
Sorry for being jaded.

Still, I AM jaded and would go straight to the horse to see what they say. And if you can figure out who is spooning the peanut butter into the horse' s mouth to make the horse move it's lips and spout ...

I realize that your posts are helpful and mine are just me venting, so...
I'll shut up now.

Heck, I don't even live anywhere near Florida :lol:
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post #18 of 18
1/19/10 at 6:09am
Thread Starter 
just wanted to say thanks


ill let u know how it goes!
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