Starting a home cooking business
If you have the skill and imagination to cook, you can offer yourself as a home cook, which can be a winning idea in a market that is increasing the possibilities of having any service or product without having to leave home. The budget to start with is low and competition is still scarce, so it becomes one of the best ideas to undertake.
A business like this requires a lot of passion and commitment to be realized, the rest we will tell you here. Stay to discover how you can become a home cook and make money with your profitable idea.
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First steps in the home-based business as a cook
Once you have consolidated the type of service you are going to focus on and have registered your business with the corresponding entity in your city, it is time to take the next step. This implies starting a market study that will give you an idea of what you need to start, from the type of services that are being offered according to public demand, as well as the rates for each of them, the type of tools you need, costs of inputs, among other aspects.
On the other hand, this study will also allow you to know the movement of the sector in our town of residence to identify if there are additional practices that we can supply, since we must consider that it is still a low activity. The regulation may vary from one region to another and from one municipality to another.
Quality must be one of your main pillars, not only in the preparation of the dishes, but also in each of the foods. That’s why before you buy them, it’s essential to choose a good supplier who will provide you with quality food, in the best condition and with all the necessary conditions.
How a home cooking business works
The home cook is responsible for proposing a complete menu (including wines and drinks to match) and organises lunches, dinners and buffets for a number of people that can exceed 20 guests.
Being a home cook is an ideal activity for those who have another job, because most of the commitments are made in the evening or at the weekend, although you can diversify your specialties to generate a more versatile service.
Requirements of a home cooking business
The important thing is to be sure that you can cook a complete menu for 5/30 people, have good relationship skills and a bit of “cold blood” to deal with the big or small obstacles that will arise during the preparation of the menu in a kitchen that is not ours. If you have already worked in the kitchen of a hotel or restaurant, or if you have graduated from a gastronomy or hotel management school, or if you have also taken courses in food and gastronomy, it is obviously an advantage.
The initial budget is minimal, as we can use the tools we will find in the kitchen, where we will prepare the menu. We should always make a careful inspection in the house we have been hired a few days before the event, to see if we need any particular tools. Likewise, this inspection is recommended to make an inventory of the instruments and equipment that are delivered to our care.
If we have some small savings we can invest in a good set of kitchen knives: it will allow us to work faster and easier. Hiring a civil responsibility policy will be a necessary document for your operation.
Key tips for starting as a home cook
About the menu: usually the person requesting the home cook already has an idea of the type of lunch or dinner for the guests: based on meat or fish, with few or many small tasting dishes prepared. So let’s prepare the “standard” menus that we can practice, which will be the basis for being customized to order.
You can sign up for a course for nutritionists, it is a short course, necessary to know all the rules of sanitation that have to do with the handling of food and that will allow you to update your knowledge. Every three years you will have to attend a short update.
Weaknesses: one of the basic aspects that you should consider with this business idea, is that although it is not necessary to have experience, the ideal is that we have knowledge in the preparation of a great variety of dishes and different food specialties to also offer a much better focused service.
It may be that the expectations you have caused in people are diminished by your lack of expertise in preparing menus, in that case you are at risk of losing credibility and money. It can also happen that due to lack of knowledge of the hygiene rules of the
food and environmental sanitation, make some mistakes that can ruin your reputation as a home cook. That’s why it’s so important to prepare before you start.
Pros: A business like this can offer you a lot of performance, because although there are agencies and companies that offer this service on a large scale or for special events, there is not much competition to do it in a more versatile and informal way, which becomes an opportunity to offer our service. This also allows us to be more likely to be chosen, since specialized companies usually charge high fees for this and we will do it in a particular way.
You can start at a low cost, since you will only need to cover the payment of the things you will need in each preparation service and you will have to travel. Organize your own schedule and start promoting your business.
And finally, practice very well the menus you propose in your catalogue and in your blog on the net, innovate in your dishes and start earning money.