How to start a catering business in the UK, from registration to your first booking

Registration, not a licence

People search for a catering licence, but the UK system works differently. GOV.UK's guidance on starting a food business says you must register with your local authority at least 28 days before you start trading, and that registration is free and cannot be refused. That applies whether you work from home, a rented kitchen, a market stall or a van.

A licence enters the picture for other reasons. Selling alcohol needs a premises licence or, for occasional events, a temporary event notice. Street trading may need a council street trading consent. Businesses that make certain products of animal origin to sell on to other businesses may need premises approval. A caterer cooking meals for events does not usually need approval, only registration.

After you register, the council's food safety team may inspect you. Officers look at your premises, how hygienically you handle food, and your food safety management system. The visit leads to your food hygiene rating, which runs from 0 to 5, and GOV.UK notes that all businesses should be able to achieve 5.

Step by step

1. 1

   Decide what kind of catering you will do

   Drop-off platters, wedding and event catering, corporate lunches, street food or private chef work each need different equipment, staff and insurance. Pick one to start and build menus and prices around it.

2. 2

   Choose your kitchen

   Cooking from home is allowed if the kitchen lets you work hygienically, but you need permission from your mortgage provider or landlord and should check with the council about planning. Many caterers rent a commercial or shared kitchen once orders grow.

3. 3

   Register with your local council

   Register your food business at least 28 days before you start trading. Registration is free and cannot be refused. The council may then arrange an inspection, usually unannounced.

4. 4

   Put your food safety management system in place

   Write down how you control hazards using HACCP principles. Most small caterers use the FSA's Safer Food Better Business pack, which covers cross contamination, cleaning, chilling and cooking.

5. 5

   Set up allergen information

   Record which of the 14 allergens each dish contains and how you give that information to clients and guests. Label any food prepacked for direct sale with a full ingredients list.

6. 6

   Register with HMRC and get insured

   Register for Self Assessment or set up a company, watch the VAT threshold, and buy public and product liability, plus employers' liability before you hire anyone.

7. 7

   Price, quote and win your first bookings

   Work out food cost and labour per guest, set packages and a deposit policy, and send clear quotations and invoices.

Food safety: HACCP, training and the kitchen

Most food businesses must have a documented food safety management system based on HACCP, which stands for hazard analysis and critical control points. In plain terms, you identify where food could become unsafe, such as cooling a large batch of rice too slowly, and write down how you control it and what you check.

The Food Standards Agency's Safer Food Better Business pack is the usual starting point for small caterers. It covers personal hygiene, cross contamination, cleaning, chilling and cooking, with diary pages for daily checks. Inspectors know it well, and a filled-in pack is good evidence when they score you.

GOV.UK says it is not compulsory to hold a food hygiene certificate, but recommends a food hygiene qualification for anyone starting a food business. Food handlers must be trained or supervised to a level that suits their work. Many caterers take a level 2 food hygiene course themselves and put staff through it, and our guide to the level 2 food hygiene certificate explains the options.

Your kitchen needs enough space, handwashing facilities, safe water, adequate refrigeration, and pest control. Keep raw and ready to eat food apart. Plan transport too, because catered food often spends time in a van, and you need to keep hot food hot and cold food cold on the way.

Allergens and labelling

UK law lists 14 allergens that food businesses must be able to declare. For loose food, such as a buffet or plated meal, you can give the information in writing or verbally, but it must be accurate and available. For food prepacked for direct sale, such as sandwiches wrapped before a customer orders them, the label must show the name of the food and a full ingredients list with the allergens emphasised. This rule, often called Natasha's Law, took effect on 1 October 2021.

The FSA's guidance for event caterers explains that large sharing platters are not PPDS, but individually wrapped items on a buffet are and need their own labels. If you take orders online or by phone, allergen information must be available before the order is completed and when the food is delivered.

Starting a catering business from home

Food safety law applies to a home business in the same way as to commercial premises, so the kitchen has to let you work hygienically. GOV.UK asks home food businesses to get permission from their mortgage provider or landlord, check whether they need permission from the council, and look at insurance and business rates.

Practical limits come quickly. A domestic fridge fills fast with event quantities, pets must be kept out of food areas, and family cooking has to stop while you work. Many caterers start at home with drop-off platters and small private events, then rent a commercial kitchen by the hour once wedding or corporate orders arrive.

HMRC, VAT and the business structure

As a sole trader you register for Self Assessment, and GOV.UK sets the deadline as 5 October after the end of the tax year in which you started. A limited company registers with Companies House and then deals with corporation tax. Speak to an accountant before choosing, because liability, tax and paperwork all differ.

VAT registration becomes compulsory when your taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, or when you expect it to pass £90,000 in the next 30 days. You can register voluntarily below that. Catering is generally standard rated, so price your packages knowing whether VAT will be added.

Insurance before your first event

Employers' liability insurance is compulsory once you employ staff, with at least £5 million of cover. Public liability is not compulsory, but venues and clients ask for it, and product liability covers claims that your food caused illness or an allergic reaction. If you use a van for deliveries, your motor insurance must cover business use.

Our UK catering insurance guide explains each policy, the HSE fines for missing employers' liability and how casual event staff are treated.

Pricing, quotes and your first clients

Price per head for weddings and events, and per platter or per item for drop-off orders. Build each price from food cost, labour, transport, disposables or hire items, and overhead, then add margin. Set a minimum guest number for staffed events, a date for final numbers and a deposit to secure the date.

Your first clients usually come from people you already know, local venues that need a reliable caterer for their events, and office managers who order lunches. Venues care most about reliability and paperwork: insurance documents, hygiene rating, allergen information and a clear quotation.

Venura's catering app keeps each enquiry, menu, headcount, quotation, deposit, invoice and staff schedule in one place on web, Android and iOS, so quotes go out the same day and nothing is lost between the first call and the final invoice. The UK quotation and VAT invoice templates on this site work alongside it.

Start a catering business: questions from the United Kingdom