How to start a catering business in the UK (2026 guide)

Short answer: to start a catering business in the UK, pick a niche (party buffets, office lunches, weddings or events), register with the council where you'll prepare the food at least 28 days before your first job, and put a written food safety plan in place. Then price per head so you cover food, staff, transport and your own time, take deposits, and confirm every booking in writing. You can start from home or from a hired kitchen.

This guide covers the legal steps, the money (with a worked £ quote), VAT on catering, alcohol licences and how to take bookings. It's written for small UK caterers starting out in 2026.

What kind of catering business?

Choose one niche to start. It makes your menu, kit and marketing much simpler.

Step 1: Decide where you'll cook

You don't need a commercial kitchen to start. You have three options.

1. Your home kitchen. Fine for buffets, platters and small events. It must let you prepare food safely, and the council will inspect it. Ask your mortgage lender or landlord first.
2. A hired kitchen. Community centres, church halls and some restaurants rent kitchens by the hour. The premises must be registered, so ask the owner how it's set up.
3. Your own unit. A small commercial unit makes sense once you're cooking for 100+ guests a week. You'll need planning, rates and a proper fit-out.

Catering from home: what you can't easily do. Selling direct to customers needs registration only. But if you make meat, fish, dairy or egg products for other businesses (a café, a shop or another caterer), you may need council approval. Some councils say you can't make products like meat pies or samosas at home to sell to retailers. Ask before you agree any trade deal.

Step 2: Register your catering business

• Register online through gov.uk with the council where you prepare the food. For home caterers, that's your home address.
• At least 28 days before your first job. It's free and can't be refused.
• Register each kitchen you use regularly.
• If you add a van or a market pitch later, tell the council.

The council will arrange an inspection and give you a food hygiene rating. Aim for a 5. Event organisers and corporate clients often check it.

Step 3: Put your food safety system in place

Catering carries more risk than most home food businesses. You cook in bulk, cool and reheat, transport food and hold it for hours. Your HACCP-based plan must cover all of that.

Use the FSA's free Safer Food, Better Business pack (or CookSafe in Scotland). Pay special attention to:

• Cooling. Cool large batches quickly: split into shallow trays and don't leave food out for hours.
• Hot holding. Keep hot food at 63°C or above (the law across the UK). Use a probe thermometer and record checks.
• Cold holding. Keep chilled food at 8°C or below (the law in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and recommended in Scotland). The FSA advises setting fridges at 5°C or below.
• Reheating. Reheat once only, until piping hot all the way through. In Scotland the law says reheated food must reach at least 82°C.
• Transport. Insulated boxes, hot boxes and cool boxes with ice packs. Clean the vehicle.
• Buffet time limits. Decide how long food stays out, then bin it. Write it in your plan.
• Allergens. Label every dish on the buffet. Keep allergen-free orders separate and clearly marked. If customers order from your Menuthere menu, you can tag the 14 allergens, calories and a halal mark on each tray, on every plan including Free, and they see them before they order.

Training: no certificate is legally required, but you must be properly trained. Most councils expect Level 2 food hygiene for everyone handling food and Level 3 for the owner or supervisor.

Step 4: Design your catering kitchen workflow

Whether it's your home kitchen or a hired one, plan the flow before your first big job:

• One-way flow: deliveries → storage → prep → cooking → cooling or hot holding → packing → dispatch.
• Raw and ready-to-eat kept apart: separate boards, knives, cloths and fridge shelves.
• Enough fridge space: a 60-guest buffet won't fit in a family fridge. Many caterers add a second fridge or hire a chiller for big weekends.
• Hand washing close to the prep area.
• A packing area where finished trays are covered, labelled and checked against the order.

Step 5: Price per head (with a worked example)

Most caterers quote per head. These ranges are typical estimates for UK small caterers in 2026, not sourced figures. Prices vary a lot by region and menu.

Worked quote: 60-guest hot buffet for a 40th birthday

Food cost here is 29% of the price, which is a healthy GP of about 71%. Check your own dishes with the GP calculator. Pay staff at least the National Living Wage (£12.71 an hour for 21+ from April 2026), and add employer costs if you run PAYE.

Turn this into a professional quote with our free catering quote maker.

Step 6: Understand VAT on catering

You only charge VAT once your taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in a rolling 12 months. When you do, catering has its own rules (HMRC VAT Notice 709/1):

• Catering is standard-rated (20%). That includes food you supply and serve at an event, and delivered cooked meals.
• Food supplied under a contract to cater for an event is 20%, even cold platters.
• Cold food simply sold and delivered, with no catering contract, can be zero-rated if each item qualifies. Think a one-off order of sandwich platters with no service.
• Crisps, soft drinks, confectionery and alcohol are always 20%.

Where the line falls depends on your contract. Ask an accountant once you get close to the threshold. Our VAT on takeaway food guide explains hot and cold food in more detail.

Step 7: Alcohol and late-night licences

• Selling alcohol at a one-off event (England and Wales): a Temporary Event Notice (TEN) costs £21 and covers events with fewer than 500 people, for up to 168 hours. Give the council at least 10 clear working days' notice (a "late TEN" can be given 5–9 working days before). You can give up to 5 TENs a year, or 50 if you hold a personal licence.
• Regular alcohol sales: you'll need a premises licence and a personal licence holder.
• Scotland: the council's licensing board can grant an occasional licence for up to 14 days to a premises licence holder, a personal licence holder or a voluntary organisation. Northern Ireland: an occasional licence is granted by the court to someone who already holds a liquor licence, for up to 6 days at a time, so caterers usually work with a licensed partner.
• Hot food after 11pm at a public event in England and Wales counts as late night refreshment and needs authorisation (a TEN can cover it).
• Free drinks included in the package may still count as a sale if they're part of the price. Ask the council.

Step 8: Write a simple catering business plan

You don't need 40 pages. Answer these on two sides of A4:

1. Niche and customers: who books you, and for what?
2. Menu: 3–4 set packages, priced per head.
3. Kitchen: home, hired or unit, and its capacity.
4. Pricing: average job size and margin (use the worked quote above).
5. Marketing: Google Business Profile, Facebook groups, venues and wedding fairs.
6. Costs and break-even: fixed costs per month ÷ average profit per job = jobs you need.
7. Funding: savings or a government-backed Start Up Loan (up to £25,000 at a fixed 7.5% a year, repaid over 1–5 years).

Step 9: Take bookings, deposits and payments

Catering orders begin as a conversation: dates, numbers, dietary needs and a few changes. Make that easy, then lock it down in writing.

• Set a minimum order and a lead time, such as 20 guests and 7 days' notice.
• Take a deposit, often 25–50%, to secure the date. Ask for the balance before or on the day.
• Confirm final numbers a few days before, in writing.
• Send a proper invoice with your business name, date, items, per-head price and payment terms. Use our free UK catering invoice template.
• Written terms: cancellations, changes, allergen responsibility and what happens with leftovers.

For bespoke jobs, a chat often works better than a cart. Read why catering and party orders belong in a conversation and how to take party orders on WhatsApp.

Step 10: Sort tax, insurance and staff

• Self Assessment: register by 5 October after the tax year you start, once income is over £1,000. Making Tax Digital applies to sole traders over £50,000 from April 2026.
• Insurance: public and product liability are standard for caterers, and venues often ask for proof. Employers' liability is a legal requirement once you employ staff.
• Staff: check the right to work, pay at least the minimum wage and register as an employer with HMRC before the first payday.
• Waste: in England, businesses with 10+ full-time-equivalent staff must already separate food waste. Smaller firms must do so from 31 March 2027.

Catering business ideas for 2026

• Office breakfast and lunch platters for local firms
• Funeral and wake buffets (steady, local, word of mouth)
• Cultural celebration catering: weddings, Eid, Diwali, christenings
• Grazing tables and boards for parties
• Plant-based and allergen-friendly catering
• Weekly meal prep for gyms or busy families
• Afternoon tea boxes for delivery

Rules in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Start-up costs for a small catering business

Typical estimates, not sourced figures.