Can you cater in a private (non-commercial) kitchen?
Our owners want to hire a cook/caterer to make lunch for the office every day. This cook would use their huge kitchen located a few blocks away in their house. They would cook for roughly 15-30 people on a daily basis. Any liability issues with this being a private kitchen versus a restaurant/commercial kitchen?
Thanks for your feedback!
November 4th, 2011 at 7:00 pm
No, as long as they follow the standards for handling food, then it is fine. Small caterers always use either their own home kitchen or if they are catering in someone’s home, they use that person’s kitchen.
Our company always hires small catering firms and we have never had any problems.
November 4th, 2011 at 7:00 pm
No. Off the books, it’s all ok, but if there’s any sort of money transaction, there’s probably going to be a problem with the health department. Health code vary by state and region, but you’re probably going to need proper sanitation stations, a proper 3 compartment sink for washing dishes, thermometers and all that to make sure things are staying the right temperature. To be sure, contact the local health department and talk to them about it to make sure they don’t come and forcefully shut the operation down.
November 4th, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Liability issues? MOST DEFINITELY!! If anyone does happen to get sick or die from food prepared in that private kitchen, guess who’s responsible? Laws vary in different jurisdictions, but it’s always best to operate legally. Find out the sanitation/equipment/licensing requirements in your area before risking loss of hearth and home. Rest assured, with 15-30 people being served everyday, ONE of them is going to find issue with something, sometime, and people are sue-happy.
November 4th, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Depends where you are. Laws are going to be different in different places. I worked for a caterer who started the business from her home but had to move to a commercial kitchen when someone reported her for operating a catering business from a home kitchen. All you can do is check your local laws.
November 4th, 2011 at 7:00 pm
Health Certificates!
Food handling on ANY scale can cause cross contamination easily. Make sure they are certified to handle food commercially.
November 4th, 2011 at 7:00 pm
There are health department guidelines that must be followed, and the kitchen must be inspected before a certificate is issued. In addition, the kitchen must be available for future non-scheduled follow-up inspections. In other words, it must be open for surprise inspections at any time.