If you are catering to the public there are all sorts of things to consider, from registering your food premises to when to charge VAT and traceability of ingredients.
Guides and toolkits
- Catering and retail (Food Standards Agency)
- Starting up – your first steps to running a catering business (PDF) (Food Standards Agency 2006)
- Good Practice Guide for Community Food Initiatives: has a section on setting up a community café in Section B of the guide (Healthy Food for All in Ireland)


