Cooking for a "friends" party

Ribeye Republic said:

Do I need to do anything special, when I cook bbq for a "friend of a friends" party and receive money for cooking the food. Health codes, tax implications, etc.

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Any time you cook food, for pay (and even sometimes not for pay), for the distribution to others you come under the governance of State (and sometimes Federal) organizations.

It all depends on whether you wish to be legal and have your personal assets protected or not.

If you are not legal you could face fines from the governing agencies. This includes fines for not having a food license, business license, not operating out of a licensed kitchen, etc. Also you must collect and remit the appropriate sales and business taxes.

If you do not have liability insurance you are placing ALL of your personal assets at risk. If anyone gets sick from a food borne illness, from your food, you can find yourself being sued.

My personal suggestion is to do your due diligence and ensure that you have covered ALL of the bases if you choose to go forward.

Personally I wish it was otherwise but it is all a matter of risk mitigation.

What Bizznessman says is correct. Now, if you cook as a private chef, you have more leeway, other than getting sued, there is no protection against that. If you are cooking food that is provided by the host, in the hosts facility, you are fairly well-protected from most of the health and welfare violations a normal operator would incur. However, if you take the money, you do need to report it as normal income.

All of that being said, you are better off doing it right, and following all of the proper regulations, if this is a one off, you can get event insurance and be protected. Not cheap, but, worthwhile.

landarc said:

What Bizznessman says is correct. Now, if you cook as a private chef, you have more leeway, other than getting sued, there is no protection against that. If you are cooking food that is provided by the host, in the hosts facility, you are fairly well-protected from most of the health and welfare violations a normal operator would incur. However, if you take the money, you do need to report it as normal income.

All of that being said, you are better off doing it right, and following all of the proper regulations, if this is a one off, you can get event insurance and be protected. Not cheap, but, worthwhile.

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Good point landarc, I forgot to mention the PC option.

If you decide to go this route you should check with your HD and State/Local Municipalities to find out if they require you to be licensed as a PC (these days most do except in rural locations such as ours :biggrin1: ).

The reason I never think to suggest the PC option is that you cannot supply the raw ingredients. You are required to cook what is provided. Even if YOU STRONGLY SUGGEST to the client what product to buy YOU cannot require that they do so. This takes quality control out of our hands and is something we just don't choose to do.