Discussion Forums
for the
Personal Chef Industry

Greetings to all,
Are contracts used in this field and if so, what is included? How many chef's use them? Also, for what it's worth, I called our local Health Dept. (Toledo, OH) and was told that I "DO NOT" need to obtain a permit..."providing that I do not transport cooked foods from one location to another, all cooking is performed in the clients home or on their premisses."

Hey, I'm in Dayton and they told me I didn't need a permit either. I almost didn't believe the guy! I was gonna call back some other time and hopefully talk to a different person and maybe they'd say that I DID need one after all. But I guess I don't have to now.
I'm not a PC yet, but I am a member and I haven't seen anything about anyone using contracts. I think it would make the customer nervous, to be honest. What I HAVE seen is people (including Candy) using service agreements, which isn't legally binding. This is just so the client and PC agree that, yes, I'll be cooking in YOUR house, I will be doing the shopping, I expect the money in advance, etc. That way if the client starts griping, "I didn't know such-and-such", you can say, "Well, it was in the service agreement that YOU signed, duuuh!" hehehe
Hope that helps!!
Alecia

Hi,

Although you may not need a permit to do this (it sounds like they were talking more about a permit for operating a commercial kitchen or catering operation) you may still be required to have a food-handler's certificate. Many states require this and you may want to specifically ask about it as a food-handler's certificate. Also, it doesn't hurt to be able to tell your client you have the training and certification for handling foods correctly - just a peace of mind thing for them. Also, your CGL insurer may require it.

As for the agreement, there are those that use it and those that don't. I think if push came to shove the service agreement could be admissable in a lawsuit but considering it's a service industry one should be able to make good on any problems and prevent it from going that far.

Gord

Did you call your local health depts.? I live in Columbus Oh and wondered who I would contact to find out permit info. I have not joined the apca as of yet, but am planning on it very soon. Just trying to get all my ducks in a row!

Aw, jeez, quit calling the health department!

If they smell money to be made with a new class of permit and regulation, they WILL oblige, I'm sure...lol!

Whether your locality requires it or not, you should have a food handler's certification and that usually is done through the health department, sometimes in cooperation with a local college. Not only is the certification good for your pc business, for both your and your client's protection, but it also makes you more employable in the food industry in general.

They tend to offer the course periodically, so you may want to not wait until you're ready to start your business to look into it.

Because what we do, we do in the client's home, the health department has no jurisdiction in most states. But this does mean that it all happens in the client's home. Cooking or prepping the food in your own home is a no-no in most states -- unless you have a certified kitchen.

What you generally do need, is a business license -- and that will come from your state government -- usually a bureau of taxation and licensing.

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Meredith
Whisk For Hire
Kensington, MD

Oh, and contracts. Well, I think most of us have something, either a service agreement or contract, that spells out what we will provide, as well as the client's obligation -- in terms of payment, when, condition of kitchen, etc. Legally binding? I don't know that it would be worth my time and effort to go to court over it. It's a lot of good faith. But, it really helps to have expectations down in writing, so that if you have to confront the customer about something, they can't pull the "I don't remember you saying that..."

Of course I hedge my bets -- when you sign up for a six session agreement (which gets you a lower rate) you pay the regular rate for 5 months and get the discount off on your sixth session. That way, if they bag out before then, I don't have to worry about getting ripped off.

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Meredith
Whisk For Hire
Kensington, MD