Catering Business Startup Guide
Find the real licensing path before you spend a dollar — cottage food law almost never covers catering. This 37-page guide walks through the commissary-kitchen route, the FDA food-safety temperatures that keep people out of the hospital, the food-cost pricing formula, and the contract terms that protect you when a wedding cancels — plus six working templates to run it with.
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What It Covers
Confirm the real licensing path — county health department first, food manager certification, a commissary kitchen agreement before you apply for your permit. Hold food safely using the FDA Food Code danger-zone temperatures, including the four-hour cumulative rule. Price every job off food cost with the divide-by-0.30 formula, not by what feels fair. Lock in deposits, final-count deadlines and cancellation terms in writing before you buy a single ingredient.
Six Working Templates
- Startup checklist
- Equipment and budget worksheet
- Pricing and estimate template
- Invoice template
- Job log and lead tracker
- Compliance and safety page
This guide gives you the framework. The full Catering Business Plan ($27) adds startup cost ranges, per-person pricing tiers, contract and deposit terms, an event quote calculator, and temperature-log and readiness worksheets. See what’s inside the plan →