Cooking from Your Home
Working from home when you are in the catering trade can be a help especially if you have a young family to take care of. But there are considerations to be made being undertaking this venture.

Cooking

Do you have a big kitchen? Could you earn a living cooking from your home? The idea of earning a living from home is always tempting. When you have a family to work around and do not have the opportunity to undertake a job outside the home you may have no option but to work for yourself.

However, cooking in your own home can have problems and these should be considered before starting a new business.

Number

If you are hoping to cater for events large and small you will have to calculate how you can cater with just a home style oven and cooking equipment. Would you have to purchase more cooking accessories in order to run your business? Where would you store them, do you have a spare room for this purpose?

Obtaining an order for a party buffet for one hundred people could well be a boost to your income but this size of catering will be a big undertaking. You will need days of cooking and preparation before the order is packed off the client.

In between cooking for your business and doing all the other tasks associated with working from home you will have to care for your family and this includes cooking their meals. To purchase a take away rather than cook is not only irresponsible but expensive and will eat into your income from your cooking.

Health and Safety

Just because you work from home does not mean you can avoid health and safety issues. You must adopt the same business like attitude when cooking and working from home that you would when cooking in a professional kitchen.

If your children are used to playing around your feet while you cook this would be considered a health problem as would family pets and other quite normal household activities.

Do you have separate hand washing facilities, what about food storage and cold room requirements? In recent time's health and safety regulation have clamped down on people cooking and working in their homes and if you are in doubt regulations you should contact your local council about hygiene regulations.

Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.

Cooking Accessories

Cooking equipment and accessories can take up a lot of space when working from home. If this is a problem why not see if there are premises in the area you could rent for your work? If not and your business can afford it you may be able to build an extension to your home for a large kitchen area and an office. Better still is there any chance you could change a room such as the garage into a kitchen?

Office

When working from your home you still have to have a businesslike approach to your work. This includes your paperwork and your public appearance. Where will clients meet you to discuss their requirements? Will it be with the children playing and the television turned up loud in your living room or will you have to visit clients in their homes?

What about the telephone, who will answer it? If your family are in the habit of answering all the calls you have to remind yourself that it is very unprofessional for a young child to answer a business call – especially when clients are hiring you for your business skills and intend to spend a lot of money with you.

Perhaps a separate telephone line with an answering machine would be ideal plus a room as your office where young people are banned from entering. Being a good cook is not enough reason to start working from home especially of you have a busy home life.