Unfortunately, I do not have a suggestion for you, but I can commiserate with what you are going through. Those are the very reasons I bagged my Personal Chef business a couple of years ago and now just cook for friends. I will be watching this with interest to see what others recommend.... I still have people calling me and asking if I will do one more party, but I wont until I can be sure of the liability issue.

Alexa

I just got through a close examination of the church's insurance...
Make sure your own insurance, liability umbrella policy etc is up to snuff....then write a clause into your contract with the client saying that their insurance package must cover....whatever your insurance doesn't.
Then go looking for a good independent insurance agent who deals in personal lines and have him or her go to work for you.
The package you want is out there....you just have to find it or have it specially written.
Linda C

When I had my Personal Chef business operating, I was able to get my insurance from the Hartford Agency, sorry do not remember the name of the agent. If you were to join a professional organization for Personal Chefs, they would probably have a tie-in with an insurance company. The cost at the time was $350 I think.

Here is a link to insurance info for personal chefs:

Here is a link that might be useful: Personal Chef Insurance

This is OT but this is for Teresa, are you going to go back to baking your breads and selling at the Farmer's Market again?

Not that you asked, but you might want get some disability coverage on yourself.

I've linked to an outfit that claims to be a Private Chef Assoc.--might be semi-useful.

Here is a link that might be useful: Personal Chef

Yes, Ellen, I start again this Saturday. I've added some tea loaves to the regular breads and rolls. I'll have Hawaiian Banana and Lemon breads to add to the Amish Wheat, 100% Whole Wheat, Potato Rolls, and maybe whole wheat rolls. Lucky for us, making bread at home and selling at a Farmers' Market is O.k. as long as you have your phone number and name listed on the products.

I think Teresa has the right idea...and belonging to the organization may also get you discounts on other goods/services you might use. At the very least, it sends a message to clients that you are serious about being seen as a professional personal chef rather than just a hobbyist. If you join, be sure to capitalize on it by putting the logo on your cards and website.

Serv-Safe might not be a bad thing to have if only to cut through some red tape and, should something happen (heaven forbid), it's one more point in your favor that you hold the certification. The good news is that certification is good for five years, so you won't have to do it again for a long time.

Comment about your website -- I'm running a low resolutions (so text and graphics appear larger) on my computer, but TMO your photos are slightly too small to grab attention. At the same time, a couple of them seem a bit out of focus or a little "stretched." Fewer stunning (and larger) pictures might work harder for you.

Sooz, I took the ServSafe class and got a certificate that I had passed. It was worth it to me to learn some important things and to be able to list the certification on my web info and marketing brochures. The class was only a few hours on one Saturday, about a half hour away, so it wasn't difficult for me to attend.

Please don't underestimate the value of liability insurance. Without it you leave yourself wide open and you never know who you are feeding or what they might try to pull....

Website:
I agree with beenthere.. the photos are small. Do they all relate to the foods you are offering? As they say...a picture is worth a thousand words.
Just a thought on your offerings... is there a way to let the customer put together their own menu? What about a list of choices? When you put together a preset menu I think you run the risk of turning off the customer who doesn't like certain combinations.

Figuring it all out is vital to your sucess....

Nancy

I was a state certified sanitarian. In my state, even gas stations that offer their customers a cup of coffee have to have a sanitarian on premises, no ifs, ands or buts!

As for liability insurance, I have no idea. But what if you dropped a pan and knicked your customer's granite counter top, or dented the wood floor? Don't laugh - my son has no idea how the big chip in his granite got there, but it's there! You would surely want to be covered for accidents that occur, because they will.

I attended an event such as you would like to do and it was great fun. For 8 dining adults there was one chef and two sous chefs! They prepared everything from appetizers through cake for dessert, supplied the candles for the table, fresh flowers, all the dishes, flatware and glassware, encouraged us to watch and ask questions, and to participate in the prep if we wanted to. They left complete recipes for everything they prepared. I have no idea what it cost, but probably a lot!

I'd love to be your sous chef!

Sherry

IMO, it's foolish to do the first dinner without liability insurance. Also, be sure your vehicle is covered for commercial use...would hate to find out it's not when you back out of your client's driveway smack into their new car. (Just joking...I know you'd never do that but still...)

Get the certificate. There's no downside. That's a no-brainer. Just do it!

Check the SBA's website. They might offer micro-business insurance assistance.

The cost of your liability insurance will be based on a pre-determined (by the insurance companies) risk factor. Serving food is high risk no matter who's stove you use or where you cook. You didn't mention the amount of coverage but I'm going to throw out here that again, IMO, you should have at least $300K (and more would be better). You might have a hard time finding a carrier that will write such a small policy. Teaming up with a professional personal chef organization makes really good sense. Consider your membership fees as advertising costs.

Remember...the reason most small businesses fail is because they were inadequately capitalized...that includes such things as insurance.

Sooz, you sound sincere about this venture. If you are...I'd also seriously suggest you prepare (if you haven't already) a detailed WRITTEN business plan. Again, the SBA Micro-Business department will assist (as will SCORE). Your odds of success go up (or down) in multiples depending on what steps you do now before you start your business. Having a WRITTEN business plan is considered crucial. Nobody will take you serious if you don't have one. I suspect you haven't done this step 'cause if you had...these questions would already have answers. Please back-up, put creating menus for the websiste on hold, & get your business ducks in a row. Write a business plan before anything else.

Sorry for lecturing...the banker in me is groaning in pain. It's awful to watch a small business owner fail. And they fail not because the food's yucky. They fail because they don't have WRITTEN professional business plans, know how to use them, & follow their plan. And, no, you are not too small for this to be important.

Sooz, professionals consider 2-3 years a minimum time investment in preparation for start-up of a micro-business. In the course of writing your plan you'll get the answers to all your questions plus lots more you've never thought of yet.

If it's important enough to do...it's important enough to do right. Off banker soapbox, sorry.

/tricia

Here is a link that might be useful: SBA's Guide to Writing A Business Plan

Yes, Ellen, I start again this Saturday. I've added some tea loaves to the regular breads and rolls. I'll have Hawaiian Banana and Lemon breads to add to the Amish Wheat, 100% Whole Wheat, Potato Rolls, and maybe whole wheat rolls. Lucky for us, making bread at home and selling at a Farmers' Market is O.k. as long as you have your phone number and name listed on the products.

IÂll have to wait on the ServSafe for nowÂthe class is offered when we are going to see the Grand Canyon.

I sure appreciate the suggestions and the links, and will take care of following through with those.

About my website, itÂs through Intuit and IÂm using templates so I can just drag/drop my photos into the photo areas. I really needed something that simplistic! ItÂs good to know what problems people are having with viewing it from other computersÂthanks! IÂll send them an email and see if there are any corrections.

IÂll have to be more clear about the menu and that people can make up their own menu--the menu samples shown are just thatÂsamples of meals people have chosen for their celebration or event so I'll definitely make some changes. I really appreciate this input as well!

Sherry, come be my sous chef ! IÂm in sunny California!

Tricia, I had hooked up with someone from SCORE, but truthfully, the person was NOT a lot of help AT ALL! I kinda question why they even were volunteering their time because I got soooo very little out of it! IÂll try SBA next and study their guide.

You folks are the BEST!