Becoming a caterer does not always require a culinary diploma, but it always requires three things: mastering food safety, cooking in a place that allows it, and selling at a price that truly covers your costs. The procedures differ between Québec and France, and they change often; the organizations named below remain the up-to-date source. Here are the steps in the order they come up.
Do you need a diploma to become a caterer?
Not necessarily. Many caterers come from the restaurant industry, others are self-taught. Culinary training helps you save time and gain credibility, but what you will be asked for almost everywhere is food hygiene and safety training. That is the first step to plan for.
The procedures, in brief
In Québec, check with the MAPAQ (permits and food hygiene and safety training), the Registraire des entreprises (business registration) and your municipality (zoning, especially for cooking at home). For taxes, Revenu Québec indicates when you must register for GST and QST.
In France, the contacts are the chambre de métiers et de l’artisanat or the business formalities portal (business creation and legal status), the DDPP in your département (declaration of food activity) and food hygiene training organizations. Your accountant will help you choose the legal status (micro-entreprise or company).
In both cases, take out professional liability insurance before your first event.
Cooking at home or in a commercial kitchen?
Starting in your own kitchen is tempting, but it is not always allowed, and rarely for long. Depending on local rules and volume, you will need a separate kitchen, a shared kitchen rented by the hour, or your own commercial kitchen. A shared kitchen is often the right compromise at the start: equipped, compliant, with no heavy investment.
Choose your niche
A caterer who does everything has a hard time getting known. Choose a starting point: corporate meals and boxed lunches, weddings, cocktail receptions, in-home meals, cultural or sporting events. Each niche has its own rhythm (weekdays or weekends), its own volumes and its own clients. You will expand later.
Set your prices from the start
The most common mistake is to calculate the price from ingredients alone. You need to add labour, delivery, equipment, rentals, packaging and your fixed costs. The price per guest calculator gives you a first ballpark figure, and Catering business plan: the numbers to include helps you lay out the rest.
Find your first clients
The first contracts almost always come from your network: former employers, local businesses, reception halls, event planners. Then come reviews, photos of your dishes and a website where people can easily request a quote. A client happy with a business meal often brings in others from the same company.
When to switch to software?
At first, a spreadsheet and an email inbox are enough. The day quotes, orders, production and invoices no longer fit in your head, it is time for a single tool. Caterer Manager has a plan for small teams; there is no rush until you need it.
