In India and many countries like US there is a big rage on home cooks and bakers starting a catering business from their home. I did that as well way back in 2010. Below is a short blog post on how I thought and went about in doing the business.
I was probably one of the first in Bangalore to begin a European food catering service for parties. The idea was born from the parties I held at home and the fan fare I cooked at home during those parties.
I believed that at most parties a variety of appetizers along with a couple of one dish meals and a fabulous dessert does bring the crowd together to have fun and get talking.
At every party at home, I have never repeated a particular dish. There was variety, there was flare, presentation and fun textures and tastes. My friends and family loved this flare.
So this flare got extended into a catering business where I had a few preset menus that were highly customizable for people’s parties. And all I catered was appetizers and desserts. They were all bite size. This meant that the host did not have to do anything, but just warm and serve.
So what did it take me to begin this business?
First, I started off with my home kitchen and its equipments. Soon I realized that its not enough, to cater efficiently with basic kitchen equipments.
Since most of my catering involved baking and grilling, the first thing I did was to invest in was a Professional Oven, Refrigeration Unit and a KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer. The breads, pizzas, tarts, baking cup cakes cakes and desserts needed a high end oven that can retain moisture, maintain temperature and also do some grilling. All the bite desserts and prep work for bite size appetizers needed a place to be chilled at perfect temperatures. Thus the need to purchase a cold storage unit came in. The home refrigeration unit was not enough to hold the food I cooked at home and for the parties. These two were the most basic things that I needed and did not hesitate to go and buy one. Click Here To Find Out More about these units.
When we run a home business or a professional catering business, we become efficient when we invest in special equipments for cooking. We not only increase efficiency but we are also able to focus on the core business that is making delicious food. The mind is calm and this calmness produces a meditative effect on the food you create.
Apart from the focus on food, you also get the confidence to take on large orders. Larger orders mean more business and revenues. This in turn means you have more reach.
Registering your business and getting a Tax Identification Number
Another important thing that I did was to make a registered company. I did this early on and it helped me open more channels. I was able to easily work with corporatea, cafes and restaurants. Yes you heard me right. A lot of times, cafes and restaurants don’t necessarily need to specialize in desserts, they tend to source from an external kitchen like a catering service. For all this you need to be registered entity so they can add you to their file as a vendor. You get more benefits like sourcing your goods from wholesale markets where you can avail more tax benefits.
Start Small, Think Big
In short, I believe that if any of you home bakers plan to start small, think big. Investing in a few simple things does help in getting the confidence, eventually more business and revenues as well.
All the best and yes I do help catering services and home business to design their menus, provide recipes and conduct video training sessions. Feel free to reach contact me for these services.