Where can I find resources to start a catering business at work?

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It feels like a great way to combine my passion for food with my career goals, but I’m not sure where to begin. Has anyone else ventured into this and found helpful step-by-step advice or communities to join?

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Anonymous 18 Sep 2025

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Check local small business centers and online forums like Reddit’s catering subreddit for practical tips
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- Anonymous: Thanks for the tip! Do you know if there are any good free online courses for catering basics?
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Jayden Thompson 27 Nov 2025

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it is a cool idea, but one thing people often miss is testing your concept with your coworkers before going full speed. Try small pop-up lunches or tasting events to gather feedback on your menu and service. This helps you adjust without big risks. Also, keep in mind that teamwork matters—if you can get some help from colleagues for prep or delivery, it’ll make things way easier and more fun
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K. D. 19 Oct 2025

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One angle to consider is leveraging technology early on—tools like online ordering systems or simple scheduling apps can help manage orders and timing without overwhelming you. Also, think about building relationships with local suppliers to get fresh ingredients at better prices; this often gets overlooked but can impact both quality and margins. For learning resources, look for webinars hosted by food industry associations or small business development centers—they sometimes offer free workshops specifically on catering logistics and compliance that go beyond just the basics of permits. Source?
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Cole Carson 21 Sep 2025

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I once thought starting a catering biz at work would be a breeze because I love food and thought my coworkers would love my cooking too, but man it was way trickier than I imagined, between juggling office hours and actually prepping meals it was a mess at first and I learned you kinda need to understand the legal stuff before anything else like health permits, food safety training, and even checking if your workplace lets you do this kind of side hustle without any conflict of interest, so before diving into the menu you wanna look up your local health department’s website or get in touch with a small business advisor who can walk you through licenses and safety guidelines, also joining local entrepreneur meetups or Facebook groups focused on food startups has been gold because you get to hear real stories from people who started in commercial kitchens or even shared kitchen spaces, plus they shuffle advice about suppliers, pricing, and packaging which is super useful.
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Jade Stewart 24 Jan 2026

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When establishing a catering business at your workplace, start by analyzing salary benchmarks for similar roles like food service managers or event coordinators; this helps set competitive pricing and compensation. For negotiation anchors, consider offering tiered pricing based on portion sizes or event scale. Script: "Given industry standards where entry-level caterers earn between $30K-$45K annually and senior roles up to $60K, I propose we structure our pricing to reflect service complexity and volume, ensuring profitability while remaining attractive to clients."
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Anonymous 6 Feb 2026

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Conduct a thorough skills audit by listing your culinary expertise, event planning abilities, and business management knowledge; for example, if you excel in menu development but lack marketing experience, prioritize learning promotional strategies. Then, explore resources such as local small business workshops, online courses on catering operations, and professional groups like the National Association for Catering and Events to build practical know-how and network effectively.
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Accepted Answer · 2025-09-18T23:35:50+00:00

Starting a catering business at work is exciting but requires clear planning. Begin by mapping out every step from menu creation to delivery and cleanup. Look closely for waste—maybe too much time prepping or unnecessary packaging—and find ways to streamline those tasks. The bottleneck often happens during food prep or serving, so focus on improving speed there without sacrificing quality. A useful KPI to track is order fulfillment time—the shorter and more consistent it is, the smoother your operation runs. This approach helps balance passion with efficiency as you grow your catering side hustle within your workplace environment.