If you’re a chef or cook and are ready to start your operation, or you have cooking skills and want to turn them into a business, becoming a caterer can be a great option. You can start a catering business on a small budget and it’s much less demanding than starting a restaurant. It’s also a great opportunity to give the food business a try and see if you’re cut out for it. If you want to start a successful catering business, here are some of the things you’ll have to do.
Get Registered
As with any type of food business, you’ll need to get registered and meet certain hygiene requirements before getting started. You should start getting informed about these right away and learn about food safety.
There are tons of rules that you have to follow to ensure that food is stored and prepared correctly. Once you’re registered, you can expect inspectors to come to check your facility. A bad rating will reflect badly on your brand or could force you to shut down. So, learn all the rules of proper food management before you start anything.
Look at Commercial Kitchen Rentals
If you want to keep costs to a minimum but still have a professional space to work in, consider renting kitchen space. The beauty with this is that you can rent it only when you have events and will have all their equipment at your disposal.
Start Researching the Market
The catering market is very competitive and unless you have a unique selling proposition, you may have trouble standing out. This is why you need to look at what other people are doing in your area and try to come up with something different.
Who will be your main target market? Do you want to serve small parties, weddings, or corporate clients? Decide what type of food you’re going to serve.
You might choose to serve traditional British fare, but you could stand apart by offering exotic food or catering to certain subsets. You could offer catering for people with religious food restrictions, for instance, or offer vegan food. Look at the market and see where the demand is.
Start Looking for a Van
You’ll need a van if you want to start a catering business. You should get a fairly recent model with plenty of cargo space and make sure that it will have enough space for food and equipment. You may also have to fit it with a refrigeration unit and add some shelves for better organisation.
In addition, look into van insurance. If you want to keep your costs to a minimum, compare van insurance quotes on Quotezone. You’ll be able to get your policy through their site or by phone.
This is all you need to know to start a catering business. If this is something you could see yourself doing, continue your research and learn how you can set yourself apart in this industry.
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