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This page is where you’ll find all the information you need to get set up as a cook on the platform. Please bookmark this tab so that it is easy to come back to. I would recommend completing the steps in the following order, although it isn’t essential.
Once you have completed the forms, we will start building your cook profile and menu on the website. There is no deadline for the food hygiene checks, but you will need to have this completed before you start selling your food, so the sooner you can do this the better!
Please complete the form below, which helps us build your cook profile. Your cook profile tells people who you are, what food you cook, and when they can order it. It should take you no longer than 10 minutes to complete.
Your notice period needs to suit you and your lifestyle, so it needs to be as much time as you need to prepare an order once you have received it! However, most of our cooks ask for 23- 48 hours notice, any longer and it could have an impact on your orders.
Ideally a nice smiley photo of you, holding something delicious in your home-kitchen! Don’t worry fi you don’t have a picture of you cooking though, it isn’t essential. Just try to avoid selfies or close up pictures, so that we have plenty of space to work with.
We understand not everyone’s week looks the same, and you might work shift patterns or have changes in your plans. That’s fine, your availability is just a rough framework for your customers to see when they can order.
You can either update your availability with us weekly, or keep yourself as available as possible and hope you’re available to fulfil any order you receive, and rearrange those that you can’t do.
Please complete the form below for each food item that you would like to sell. If you’re uploading a set menu with multiple dishes/courses, then please try to include the information for all dishes in one form. It should take you no longer than 10 minutes to complete.
If you have not had the opportunity to photograph your dishes yet, or we have arranged this for you, please just complete the form without attaching any pictures.
There is no right amount of food listings to have on your page. Only share food that you love to cook, and know your limits! Of course the more food you have on offer, the more food there is for customers to choose from. We would suggest starting with approximately 5-10 dishes if you can.
Most smartphone cameras are good enough these days as long as you’re using natural light. Give it a go next time you cook each of your dishes You also don’t have to attach the photos now, feel free to send them to us later.
We also have a photographer who we are happy to send to your home to take your photos if you aren’t confident doing it yourself. If you haven’t told us that this is something you want help with, please request a photoshoot here.
If you aren’t familinar with the 14 key allergens, we would highly recommend you complete this quick course.
It is important to let people know which allergens are present in the food you’re preparing, and update this if your ingredients or recipes change.
If you’re unsure, please get in touch and we would be happy
Setting prices for your food can be hard, and unfortunately there is no ‘one size fits all!’
You’ll need to consider several factors including ingredient costs, packaging, electricity costs and your labor.
The best place to start is by looking at the price for similar dishes (both on our website, as well as other local food businesses), to ensure your prices are competitive.
Finding a pricing strategy that works for your business and the type of food you’re cooking may take some trial and error. We will always provide feedback if we think your prices don’t look right, and you can edit the prices of your dishes at any point.
There are two final steps you need to complete to ensure you are selling your food safely through our platform. Please ensure you have done both of these before you start sellig your food through the platform
You need to submit a food business registration license with your local authority. This will take you no more than 10 minutes and then the council will get in touch with your next steps.
A Level 2 Food Hygiene course will teach you the basic principles of food hygiene, and we ask all our cooks to demonstrate this knowledge. If you do not have a (minimum) Level 2 certificate, you can complete the course we have suggested (or choose one yourself), it just needs to be CPD approved. They typically take no longer than 2 hours to complete. If you already have a certificate, please send us a copy.
The answer to this question is ‘I operate as a sole trader.’
If you don’t have a ‘business’ name, this doesn’t matter as it won’t be shared with anyone. This is just the name that your business is legally registered as, you can just choose something generic, like ‘your name, your food’
If you don’t have an exact opening date yet, don’t worry. Just make a sensible guess!
The answer is: ‘The establishment will supply food directly to end consumers.’
Just send us a copy and we will have a look and let you know!
Anyone who prepares or serves food in the catering industry must understand their legal responsibilities on how to carry out their roles safely. It is important that we give our customers the assurance that all our home-cooks take this responsibility very seriously.
Once you have submitted your application, wait for the council to get in touch to acknowledge your registration.
They will give you a date for an inspection of your home kitchen, and let you know how to prepare for this.
You can familiarise yourself with what to expect on the Food Standards Agency website. They
…and that’s everything! Hang tight and we’ll be in touch to let you know how your page is coming along! In the meantime, send us any questions or updates to: izzy@allaboutthecooks.co.uk