Ask Me Help Desk - Culinary Cash!

Food is my Passion. I recently applied and was accepted to The California Culinary Academy.
The tuition is $47,000. For the 21 month program I want to pursue. I would like to do some personal fund-raising by selling dinners. This was a form of fund-raising I witnessed as a child growing up in a Southern Baptist Church. This is my question, how does someone go about the selling of "dinners"? Any suggestions? The idea I have is to prepare one specific dinner every Sunday. If I charge about $20.00 a dinner this might put a dent in this bill. This will also show the world what a good cook I am. With the training I'll receive from the CCA, I will become a great chef, capable of bringing all of my culinary ideas to fruition.

Would you be serving these dinners at a certain location during a certain time (rent a hall?), or would they be delivered to people's homes? You'd have to work with your county's health department and also with the village/township/county for business licensing.

Will you have help in the kitchen, or do you plan to do this all by yourself?

What credentials do you have that will tell future diners that you will provide nourishing and flavorful dinners?

In this day and age of economic troubles, how many people will pay $20 for a dinner cooked by someone they don't know and not part of a restaurant?

I've been in charge of dinners given at a Lutheran church. We already had a captive audience, and the church provided the kitchen help and the money to pay for the raw foods. How would you purchase the raw foods for the dinners, and with what funds? Would you post menus and hope for applicants, or would you build up a client list first?

I agree first this would be income and you would have to pay taxes for that money

Next most church fund raisers are to pay for non profit things groups are doing

Next where are these dinners going to be served.

Start a company with a unique name, one you may like to keep for years. Get a business license, like a street food vendor does, or find out which one you'll need . Like Wondergirl asked, are you going to rent a building, or a lot? If so, have a specific schedule to adhere to. Have a good menu, but don't go crazy with the dishes. Don't charge more than $8.00 for a meal.

I am the head of the food and kitchen for a large church in small-town Georgia, who has many fundraising events, and I highly doubt , again like W-Girl mentioned, anyone will shuck out $20.00 for a foil wrapped mystery. Especially nowadays, when people want a good deal. Sell things that you can make a good profit on. Get meat and other items and wholesale prices.

Over the years, I have cooked in six different restaurants, and have co-owned one. It is a very difficult business to get into, and to make a success.

Cooking for an established restaurant, for an experienced chef, is also a career option . You take your knives home at the end of the day, and get some time of your own.

OWNING a restaurant is whole different story.

I wish you luck, and am actually jealous of the eduction and experience you are about to receive.

Thanks to all who responded to my question. You all asked me some really good questions and more to think about. I was thinking that these dinners would be packaged to go, tasty, wholesome and well worth the $20.00. A complete meal with a main meat, two sides and maybe dessert. All of my church dinners I remember were prepared to go. No one was ever served at anybodies home. I'll have to check into the legalities of all of this. Thanks again for your input. DD

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deb Doug

Thanks to all who responded to my question. You all asked me some really good questions and more to think about. I was thinking that these dinners would be packaged to go, tasty, wholesome and well worth the $20.00. A complete meal with a main meat, two sides and maybe dessert. All of my church dinners I remember were prepared to go. No one was ever served at anybodies home. I'll have to check into the legalities of all of this. Thanks again for your input. DD

The health department will be all over your kitchen. Our frequently-scrubbed church kitchen was shut down more than once, so I can only imagine what scrutiny a private kitchen would be under.

$20 is way too much money to charge for a meal, two sides, and maybe (?) dessert. I can get all that at any fast food place for under $10. And after all the publicity, grocery shopping, purchase of containers, etc. your profit will be minuscule. And you have no cooking reputation and are how old? Doing this alone? And the timing -- to sell enough HOT dinners over a what? Two-hour period? And the customers have to pick them up? Even Seattle Sutton charges less and delivers.

I suggest starting small and inexpensive and then building up the business.