Wow! What a great source of informatin. What licensing is required to go public with being a personal chef. I have been cooking out of my home for some people and was under the impression that it was ok to do it. How about certification? Will you offer it?
Germaine - if you become a PC, in most jurisdictions, there will not be a licensing requirement because you are going into peoples homes and cooking. HOWEVER, if you are preparing food in your home kitchen for consumption someplace else and the Health Dept finds out about it, you will really get your hands slapped the first time and God only knows what would happen the second time.
------------------ Jim Davis The Really Good Food Co. A Personal Chef Service
Thanks for your answer, but I don't think that the current belief is totally correct. Has anyone ever researched this or is this just information that just keeps going around without being verified?
Hello Germaine. We worked with the local city council to develop a business model that satisfied local municipal requirements for this industry. According to the Health Department and Zoning Commission it is illegal for you to be preparing food in your residential kitchen and delivering it to your client. Commercial cooking in a residential kitchen is a great big NO-NO, so we suggest you do not do it. If you go back and read the last 2+ years of archived information on this forum you will see that we have repeated that caution over and over again. If you are going to run a business, we strongly suggest you comply with the local Municipal regulations in your city. Thanks for your question. Candy Wallace
Hello Germaine, Yes, we PCs have indeed researched this and it is true that cooking in your home (unless it is an approved "commercial" kitchen) then transporting it to another location and charging money for it, is illegal. Of course, if you cook at home and it's "not for profit" or you are not charging for your services then I suppose no harm done. However, if you want to make a living out of it, charge money for it, claim your income/pay taxes & run a legal business then don't cook in your own kitchen! Good luck to you.
------------------ Vunay Sawyer Tastefully Yours, Personal Chef Service vunaycooks@aol.com
