PA catering/vending laws

[chris1237]

Right now I am doing research on what it takes to become a legal cater/vendor in PA. I am confused on where to start and what I need to do to become safe in the states eye's. My hope is to become a cater in which I show up at a location and bbq at person's private event. I also want to be able vend bbq in front of my dad's store. There I hope to sell sandwiches, chips, drinks, meat by the pound ect. Also for the vending operation I would prefer to cook the food at home and reheat it on site. My question is what to I need to do to become legal? I assume I need to take a food safety class but what else needs to be done? Also what does the state require you to have for sanitation and food prep in these type of situation?

Thanks
Chris

 

[Rich Decker]

The place to start is you're local health department. In some states is isn't very easy and it's expensive getting your permits to cook legally. In other states (like Vermont) it's simple, you just need potable water in your home kitchen.