Can someone in Ga HELP?

[CUTigerQ]

Ive searched...I really have. I have searched for the rules for BBQ catering and vending on the site and county websites but cant find them. Can someone who has started a catering/vending business with a BBQ smoker please tell me what I need to do or where I need to look for the rules? What do I need? What permits? Where can I find this information? Ive found stuff n food trucks, but I won't be doing that for a while...jut cooking for parties and catering for weddings and private events for people. Again, I've looked and searched with no results on looking for this stuff...HELP??

 

[ShadowDriver]

Deleted - Tried to help. Only found what you'd already discovered. Apologies for the chaff.

Mods, delete at your discretion.

 

[Jason TQ]

Have you still not contacted your health dept?? All counties vary too. Not everything is online. They are the place to start.

 

[CUTigerQ]

Im calling them tomorrow.

 

[Jason TQ]

Good. Even getting advice from someone with experience the best advice is always to contact the health dept since hearing things 2nd hand can get lost in translation. And not all GA counties are the same. The BBQ joint I was pitmaster at had certain different rule nuances than the next county over.

Even private parties are different. Not all the HD rules apply for private parties since you aren't selling to the public, but normally that is only if all the prep and cooking is done on the private property. The second something is done not at the place you are cooking at the HD might have a problem which means you would have a problem. I have zero idea how Cobb roles.

 

[CUTigerQ]

So its all county and not state, right? Im sure there ARE state rules, but the county should cover those, right? This is a little overwhelming.

 

[Jason TQ]

Georgia dept of public health governs the state, but counties are broken out. And yes starting out legally can be crazy, but the HD will probably clear it up very quickly for you and you will see if you want to continue and jump through all the hoops. But they will at least make all the hoops clearer. Opening a restaurant can take a year or more to get all the ducks in a row. Catering and private chefs are a little different, but you still need the certified commissary which is added cost.

I'd be interested to see what they tell you. Full private chefs normally can get around most HD stuff, but again just about everything if not 100% of work has to be done at the private residence. And of course I'm not sure about that. I'm not an expert there.

 

[Jason TQ]

I'm also pretty sure for personal chefs stuff has to be bought and transported there with no "additional storage". So you probably can't buy meat the day before and legally store it at home until the day of the event. So any big meat cooking would be next to impossible if this is the case. Unless the owner buys it all.

I'd be asking about this.

 

[Jason TQ]

Did you find some good info from the HD?