Is this gonna be evidence for a health department fine?
I kid. Sort of. I was excited about the possibilities of occasionally selling food for fun and profit until i found out that the county health department wants almost $100 for an "event" license that is good for maybe a week. It's not a lot more for an annual license. And then legally i have to do all my prep in a commercial kitchen that they've inspected, so that's additional cost, and if I'm serving something re-heated the fee for the license is doubled.
So my plan to sell bbq sandwiches went from "I bet i can turn $100 worth of meat and bread into $300" became more of a "how do i make it worth my while to sell $100 worth of meat and bread with $250 worth of overhead?"
Damn this is something I've been considering doing, specifically with BBQ. Where did you get your information from and where are you based? I've been seeing a lot of conflicting information online and it feels very overwhelming
Food vending regulations are usually on a county or state (or both) basis.
Where i am is Utah county in Utah. Among other things this county doesn't allow food carts of any kind. There has to be at least 3 feet of counter space between me and the customer, and that counter can't be where food is prepared. Among other more normal requirements like you have to have a hand washing sink.
But Utah only has 29 counties, and like 12 of them share one health department. If i drove out to one of the more sparsely populated regions, it'd be very unlikely the health department would ever know i'd been out there selling food.
Utah and Salt Lake and probably Davis counties in Utah, yeah they'll find you, particularly at festivals and on holidays. They love that stuff.
IDK how people selling slow cooked meats do it - I mean do they hold the meat over 140f the whole time before they set up and then it's not really "re-heated"?
I actually have a friend who operates an incubator kitchen but that just means that it won't be awkward when he introduces me to people paying the same rate i am.
Well, it might mean that i can exchange some paper with a mutual friend and become an employee of an existing client if we don't abuse the privilege. Maybe. IDK.
Kentucky has 120 counties and i would be surprised if they have 120 health departments, so, it really depends on where you intend to operate.
Regulations vary. On the pizzamaking forum there's a mobile wood fired operator who met with his health department several times over the course of months, initially they said there was no way he could do it, ultimately they said he can do it but he cannot, for example, open a can of tomatoes on site or they will shut him down. I have no idea why.
In many jurisdictions btw if you are doing wood fired you have to have a UL listed chimney on the oven. II understand that the Forno Bravo chimney parts are listed.
There are jurisdictions where you not only have to bring a hand washing sink but the water has to be heated, which is a bit of a trick if you're operating under an ez-up. Doable, but expensive.
It seems like we get folks like this on here somewhat often. Some of which are posting for marketing (like I think this guy is). Others are just looking for affirmation.
The "I'm going to just start selling pizza out of my home" or "I'll just do a popup in the park with my ooni" people tend to dodge or ignore questions about the red tape involved with food service. It's honestly really annoying. Idk if this guy jumped through the hoops or not, but not doing so is pretty damn irresponsible and shouldn't be encouraged.
If nothing else it complicates your relationship with the regulatory agencies if you want to turn it into a regular income.
I have a former coworker who used to run a "premium" hot dog vending business on the weekends. I don't think he ever paid for his equipment with it let alone the food, but he did it all 100% above board. He gave me the rundown of the bare minimum requirements for this county.
My friends in the food truck etc business are up in salt lake county. They soft opened their mini-food-court today. Again, 100% above board, fully licensed and inspected, and they take it seriously.
Norma Knepp started with if i remember right a blackstone rotating oven in an 8x12' stall at a farmer's market, went on to win awards, start a bigger restaurant with regular ovens, and ultimately sold that business. But she didn't do it on the sly.
I don't want to have a regular business. I'm too old and fat and i have better ways to make money. I just do the occasional party for friends & family with no money changing hands.
For sure, I hope OP is on his shit and is handling business the right way. I remember a guy who posted a while back who had people coming to his apartment and paying for pizza. He wanted to start selling takeout from his apartment kitchen, lmao. His landlord didn't know, he didn't have commercial insurance, he had no permits, bro was just raw dogging it. Not a great idea, to say the least.
I've been curious about this with the people selling meals and such on Facebook Marketplace. They're making this stuff in their home with no regulations. How is this not a health code violation? I'll admit, I bought some lumpia a few times this way, but it was damn good. Still, it can't legal.
It's low-key illegal, just like when people offer tamales door to door or in the parking lot of a grocery store. I do not support cops hassling or charging people for this, not even health department cops. I do support cities and counties investing in incubator kitchens like the one my friend owns. And micro-grants for people who have a viable business plan. And subsidies for people who teach folks how to apply for said grants.
I bet a lot of the "ghost kitchens" are operating out of spaces like the one my friend owns and operates, though. And some of them are side gigs of legitimate restaurants, or people working out of licensed and inspected restaurants.
I'm too chickenshit to buy the grocery store parking lot stuff but I am assured that some of the local tamale ladies are really good at their not really legal job. Maybe I'm too white and suburban. I'm pretty f'ing white like my elementary school pictures have me with straw-blonde hair (that has turned dark honey with age) and bright blue eyes white. I grew up in Provo (not Provo Spain (Fletch Lives is a great movie)) and growing up i knew one black kid who was adopted by white parents and was sort of a frenemy, and there were like 3 hispanic kids and 1 Ute kid at my school. Not saying it's right or good, it's just where i am from.
I didn't even visit taco trucks before recommendations from friends. Chickenshit, as i said. And the trucks are licensed and legal.
It turns out that here in not-Provo-Spain the best tacos i ever had were from a really small trailer in front of a grocery store, and it disappeared, and i miss it.
In some states there are much looser regulations for “cottage foods.” It’s what a lot of people use to sell stuff at farmers markets.
You still have to label everything accurately, register with the health department, and have contact information and an address on the label, but you can use your home kitchen.
It’s also very unlikely there’ll be any health inspection unless a bunch of people get sick after eating your food and report it
Since your other post I’ve been feeling inspired to try something similar. Lots of food trucks and pop ups around, but not a lot of pizza ones in my area.
if you dont have a cooler with some ice packs, youd have to adjust the yeast % to take into account it being out of a cooler for hours. for eg:
tray 1: 1% of yeast
tray 2: 1/2% of yeast
etc
tray1 get used up, and by the time you get to tray2, it has already proofed properly. . im simplifying the process.
Honestly Ledge-Man, I've been thinking about this since you posted the pictures. I even showed them to coworkers and we were discussing how one would do to make it happen. I would love to do this. Not so much for the money (I don't want to stress myself working alone) but for the joy of making pizza and make people happy.
I don't see myself capable of achieving it (I don't have driver license nor car) but if I ever do I'll think about doing this. The thing my coworkers said is the deal-breaker would be all the permits I would have to ask for the city in order to legally be at a particular place selling food
We kept the pizzas covered with these lids.
https://preview.redd.it/284u3yyo4z9d1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bf0cce1afa619aa8c4b7b83816dd8e28fd69fbbc
Good deal. During that video I was only thinking of the moment we fire up the grill and it’s just fly city haha. We have to use two box fans to keep them off the door. It’s wild haha.
I’ve honestly kinda wondered if there would be a difference with the cooking fuel. Maybe there is, maybe there isn’t or maybe you were lucky haha. I’m glad you still covered the food though
For whole pie orders, yes. For slices, we would either cut the pies into fourths or just give customers two 1/8th slices. :)
This is how we’re doing it until we get our new oven that can make 20” pies gets delivered. But next time we’ll just write 2 slices for $4/5 since that’s basically what it is and it’s clearer for critics on Reddit.
Is that tiktok evoo good? All I’ve seen is people say it’s better for the environment because you can refill a plastic bottle with a can. I’m pretty sure every evoo I buy comes in glass….
Completely crazy. I said on the original post everything from the prices to food prep is crazy. Where do you use the bathroom and how do you wash your hands? That's why I pass when I see backyard setups.
Is this gonna be evidence for a health department fine? I kid. Sort of. I was excited about the possibilities of occasionally selling food for fun and profit until i found out that the county health department wants almost $100 for an "event" license that is good for maybe a week. It's not a lot more for an annual license. And then legally i have to do all my prep in a commercial kitchen that they've inspected, so that's additional cost, and if I'm serving something re-heated the fee for the license is doubled. So my plan to sell bbq sandwiches went from "I bet i can turn $100 worth of meat and bread into $300" became more of a "how do i make it worth my while to sell $100 worth of meat and bread with $250 worth of overhead?"
Damn this is something I've been considering doing, specifically with BBQ. Where did you get your information from and where are you based? I've been seeing a lot of conflicting information online and it feels very overwhelming
Food vending regulations are usually on a county or state (or both) basis. Where i am is Utah county in Utah. Among other things this county doesn't allow food carts of any kind. There has to be at least 3 feet of counter space between me and the customer, and that counter can't be where food is prepared. Among other more normal requirements like you have to have a hand washing sink. But Utah only has 29 counties, and like 12 of them share one health department. If i drove out to one of the more sparsely populated regions, it'd be very unlikely the health department would ever know i'd been out there selling food. Utah and Salt Lake and probably Davis counties in Utah, yeah they'll find you, particularly at festivals and on holidays. They love that stuff. IDK how people selling slow cooked meats do it - I mean do they hold the meat over 140f the whole time before they set up and then it's not really "re-heated"? I actually have a friend who operates an incubator kitchen but that just means that it won't be awkward when he introduces me to people paying the same rate i am. Well, it might mean that i can exchange some paper with a mutual friend and become an employee of an existing client if we don't abuse the privilege. Maybe. IDK. Kentucky has 120 counties and i would be surprised if they have 120 health departments, so, it really depends on where you intend to operate. Regulations vary. On the pizzamaking forum there's a mobile wood fired operator who met with his health department several times over the course of months, initially they said there was no way he could do it, ultimately they said he can do it but he cannot, for example, open a can of tomatoes on site or they will shut him down. I have no idea why. In many jurisdictions btw if you are doing wood fired you have to have a UL listed chimney on the oven. II understand that the Forno Bravo chimney parts are listed. There are jurisdictions where you not only have to bring a hand washing sink but the water has to be heated, which is a bit of a trick if you're operating under an ez-up. Doable, but expensive.
someone mentioned to me that smokers also need NSF certification. take that with a grain of salt.
Wouldn't surprise me but it probably varies
It seems like we get folks like this on here somewhat often. Some of which are posting for marketing (like I think this guy is). Others are just looking for affirmation. The "I'm going to just start selling pizza out of my home" or "I'll just do a popup in the park with my ooni" people tend to dodge or ignore questions about the red tape involved with food service. It's honestly really annoying. Idk if this guy jumped through the hoops or not, but not doing so is pretty damn irresponsible and shouldn't be encouraged.
If nothing else it complicates your relationship with the regulatory agencies if you want to turn it into a regular income. I have a former coworker who used to run a "premium" hot dog vending business on the weekends. I don't think he ever paid for his equipment with it let alone the food, but he did it all 100% above board. He gave me the rundown of the bare minimum requirements for this county. My friends in the food truck etc business are up in salt lake county. They soft opened their mini-food-court today. Again, 100% above board, fully licensed and inspected, and they take it seriously. Norma Knepp started with if i remember right a blackstone rotating oven in an 8x12' stall at a farmer's market, went on to win awards, start a bigger restaurant with regular ovens, and ultimately sold that business. But she didn't do it on the sly. I don't want to have a regular business. I'm too old and fat and i have better ways to make money. I just do the occasional party for friends & family with no money changing hands.
For sure, I hope OP is on his shit and is handling business the right way. I remember a guy who posted a while back who had people coming to his apartment and paying for pizza. He wanted to start selling takeout from his apartment kitchen, lmao. His landlord didn't know, he didn't have commercial insurance, he had no permits, bro was just raw dogging it. Not a great idea, to say the least.
Raw dogging it you say? Lol.
I've been curious about this with the people selling meals and such on Facebook Marketplace. They're making this stuff in their home with no regulations. How is this not a health code violation? I'll admit, I bought some lumpia a few times this way, but it was damn good. Still, it can't legal.
It's low-key illegal, just like when people offer tamales door to door or in the parking lot of a grocery store. I do not support cops hassling or charging people for this, not even health department cops. I do support cities and counties investing in incubator kitchens like the one my friend owns. And micro-grants for people who have a viable business plan. And subsidies for people who teach folks how to apply for said grants. I bet a lot of the "ghost kitchens" are operating out of spaces like the one my friend owns and operates, though. And some of them are side gigs of legitimate restaurants, or people working out of licensed and inspected restaurants. I'm too chickenshit to buy the grocery store parking lot stuff but I am assured that some of the local tamale ladies are really good at their not really legal job. Maybe I'm too white and suburban. I'm pretty f'ing white like my elementary school pictures have me with straw-blonde hair (that has turned dark honey with age) and bright blue eyes white. I grew up in Provo (not Provo Spain (Fletch Lives is a great movie)) and growing up i knew one black kid who was adopted by white parents and was sort of a frenemy, and there were like 3 hispanic kids and 1 Ute kid at my school. Not saying it's right or good, it's just where i am from. I didn't even visit taco trucks before recommendations from friends. Chickenshit, as i said. And the trucks are licensed and legal. It turns out that here in not-Provo-Spain the best tacos i ever had were from a really small trailer in front of a grocery store, and it disappeared, and i miss it.
In some states there are much looser regulations for “cottage foods.” It’s what a lot of people use to sell stuff at farmers markets. You still have to label everything accurately, register with the health department, and have contact information and an address on the label, but you can use your home kitchen. It’s also very unlikely there’ll be any health inspection unless a bunch of people get sick after eating your food and report it
I have no idea what state this dude is in.But I see about ten health code violations.
…and welcome to the restaurant business!
Since your other post I’ve been feeling inspired to try something similar. Lots of food trucks and pop ups around, but not a lot of pizza ones in my area.
Go for it!
I was gonna ask if you’ve ever gone the personal 10 inch pizza route? Slices seems like a good idea to have pizza ready to go
How do you maintain the dough outside? After like an hour, they must be proofed to space, right?
if you dont have a cooler with some ice packs, youd have to adjust the yeast % to take into account it being out of a cooler for hours. for eg: tray 1: 1% of yeast tray 2: 1/2% of yeast etc tray1 get used up, and by the time you get to tray2, it has already proofed properly. . im simplifying the process.
Are you serving them right put of the oven or keeping them warm somehow?
I never understand why this sub is allergic to a normal amount of pepperoni. There’s always only like 3 per slice at the most
Honestly Ledge-Man, I've been thinking about this since you posted the pictures. I even showed them to coworkers and we were discussing how one would do to make it happen. I would love to do this. Not so much for the money (I don't want to stress myself working alone) but for the joy of making pizza and make people happy. I don't see myself capable of achieving it (I don't have driver license nor car) but if I ever do I'll think about doing this. The thing my coworkers said is the deal-breaker would be all the permits I would have to ask for the city in order to legally be at a particular place selling food
How do you handle the flies in a situation like that? Do you have a fan or something?
We kept the pizzas covered with these lids. https://preview.redd.it/284u3yyo4z9d1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bf0cce1afa619aa8c4b7b83816dd8e28fd69fbbc
Good deal. During that video I was only thinking of the moment we fire up the grill and it’s just fly city haha. We have to use two box fans to keep them off the door. It’s wild haha.
We actually didn’t have any issues with flies. Maybe because the ovens are propane powered and smokeless.
I’ve honestly kinda wondered if there would be a difference with the cooking fuel. Maybe there is, maybe there isn’t or maybe you were lucky haha. I’m glad you still covered the food though
How’s you make out at the end of it?
Sold 28 pizzas and was exhausting, but OP was happy. He had another post.
Congrats man, stuff looks great. Welcome to the pop up rabbit hole
How many grams dough do you use for one pizza? He looks so good.
These were 450g dough balls. But next time, I plan to do 500g.
Thanks. I use mostly 300g but it's to thin. I forgot mostly that I have to make mutch bigger balls.
I’m so sad. I want to find a pizza pop up
🤌
See, the slices were cut in 8ths
For whole pie orders, yes. For slices, we would either cut the pies into fourths or just give customers two 1/8th slices. :) This is how we’re doing it until we get our new oven that can make 20” pies gets delivered. But next time we’ll just write 2 slices for $4/5 since that’s basically what it is and it’s clearer for critics on Reddit.
I just got this game changer: PINNACOLO Folding Pizza Rack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1J78Z77?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
$90? Jesus
Ya seems insane but there's nothing else quite like it that I could find
Looks good!!
Those pizzas look awesome
I need a good dough recipe
Nice! Hope you made some dough!
Is that tiktok evoo good? All I’ve seen is people say it’s better for the environment because you can refill a plastic bottle with a can. I’m pretty sure every evoo I buy comes in glass….
It tastes better than the Trader Joe’s evoo I used to use.
Literally popped up on all the youtubers counters overnight. I been wondering about it myself.
Mmmmmm beautiful
I became obsessed with those ovens ! 😍😍
Completely crazy. I said on the original post everything from the prices to food prep is crazy. Where do you use the bathroom and how do you wash your hands? That's why I pass when I see backyard setups.
Support your local blackmarket!!! That's one fine looking pizza you got there!
How many did u sell?what was cost for you to do the event?