The food industry is one of the most lucrative business ventures today. The entertainment business may be full of glitz and glamour, and fashion creates names, but food is a human necessity. You can’t deny the demand for good cuisine. You may have the passion and drive for catering having a successful catering business takes a lot of work. Your hired chef needs a wide range of cooking skills and the essential catering supplies to keep up with the competition. You also need to understand how everything operates through licensing, regulations, equipment, supplies, menu planning, payroll and even marketing. When everything is accounted for, you need to process the licenses required to start a successful catering business.

Food Establishment Permit

As the name implies, a food permit lets you operate your catering business to a defined standard of quality. This is to ensure consumer safety and satisfaction for customers and can even protect the establishment’s legality when the need arises. In most places, the Department of Health provides these licenses after passing a requirements test. This test varies but always includes inspecting the facility for safety compliance and ensuring that the staff is well-trained for handling food.

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Alcohol License

Before anything else, consider first if you’re planning to serve alcohol in your catering business. An Alcohol License is only optional and is very meticulous to obtain but it's a great way to increase sales in your business. If you do decide to serve alcohol, usually it takes some time to process one and you should start early to obtain it. The government may require a background check from you, proof of zoning limits and proper ID to serve alcohol.

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Other Licenses

The two main and common catering business permits are your food permit and alcohol permit. There are other ones that need to be followed but that depends on the government involved with the place, or if you’re opening another food business, like a food truck. You should check in with your local city hall to get the needed information for other possible licenses you need.

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