How to Sell Food From Home in Ontario: 7 Steps Before Day One

11. Your menu decides your rulebook

Before you call anyone, write down exactly what you plan to sell, because the rules split on that one question.

Ontario separates low-risk foods from everything else. Low-risk foods are described as non-hazardous items that do not need time and temperature control: most breads and buns, most baked goods with no custard, cookies, brownies, muffins, fudge, granola and coffee beans are the province's own examples.

If you sell only those, you are exempt from some requirements. If your menu includes meat, dairy, eggs, cooked rice, pasta or anything that has to stay cold or hot, the full requirements apply. Neither answer stops you. It only tells you which list you are working from.

22. The call that comes before the first sale

Every official guide agrees on one thing: tell your public health unit before you start, not after.

The province's guide says you are required to contact the public health unit where your business will be located and let them know you are a new food operator. In Toronto that means notifying the Medical Officer of Health before starting, through a form called Notify Toronto Public Health of a New Food Premises. After that, an inspector contacts you and explains what applies to your kitchen.

Treat that conversation as free advice. The inspector's job at this stage is to tell you what your menu requires, and it is far cheaper to hear it before you buy equipment.

33. City hall has its own questions

A pass from public health and permission from your city are two separate things.

Each municipality has its own by-laws on zoning, licensing, fire, property standards and waste collection. Peel Region's guide says plainly that these by-laws may affect whether a food business can be set up in a home at all, and asks operators to contact their municipality before opening.

The province gives the same advice: review zoning by-laws, municipal permits and licensing requirements for your area before you contact the health unit. Start with your city's business licensing office.

44. A kitchen an inspector can read at a glance

Most of the requirements are ordinary good practice, written down.

Health units in the GTA publish close to the same list. For any home-based food business, expect these basics.

If you sell foods that are not low-risk, the list gets longer: a designated handwashing sink in the food preparation area, and a two- or three-compartment sink or a commercial dishwasher for cleaning and sanitizing. Peel's guide notes that a domestic dishwasher is not accepted for that category.

• A working thermometer in every fridge and freezer
• An approved sanitizer on site, such as chlorine, quaternary ammonium or iodine
• Food and equipment for the business stored separately from household items
• Hot and cold running water, liquid soap and paper towels where hands are washed
• Ingredients bought from inspected or approved sources
• Smooth, non-absorbent surfaces that are easy to clean

55. The certificate worth having either way

If you cook meals, a certified food handler has to be there; if you only bake, the same course is still worth taking.

For foods that are not low-risk, York Region requires a certified food handler on site and Peel Region lists food handler certification as a requirement. For low-risk foods the certificate is not required, though York calls it strongly recommended.

It also gives you a straight answer when a customer asks how the food is made: the kitchen is inspected and the cook is certified.

66. Your results will be public

Inspection results are posted online, and that includes home kitchens.

Toronto posts results on its DineSafe website and puts an inspection notice at the premises. Peel posts results within 24 hours of an inspection. York's YorkSafe program publishes the type of premises, its name and address, and the date of inspection.

Two things follow. Your business name and address will appear on a public site, so decide early what name you trade under. And inspections repeat: in Peel, a low-risk home business is inspected at least once a year, a moderate-risk one at least twice and a high-risk one at least three times.

77. Orders and money, sorted before the rush

The rules cover your kitchen; most of the stress comes from how orders reach you.

Decide which days you cook, when ordering closes for each one, and how many portions you can honestly make. Decide how people pay and how you will know who has paid. Keep your receipts: for foods that are not low-risk, Peel's guide says records of where food was bought must be kept and produced on request.

A cook who has these answers on day one spends the first month cooking. A cook who does not spends it scrolling through messages.