Bigchris350 Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 Hi guys im new here but not to smaking ive has a lot of success with beef chicken and pork smoking so far with good smoke rings and pulling nicely, im here wondering how many have turned the passion into a business! as that's what im now thinking ? didn't know weather to start on fb marketplace selling a few weekend meals or what really ? where do people but bulk buy charcoal at a good cost plus meat and seasoning etc 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokin Monkey Posted March 2, 2020 Share Posted March 2, 2020 Hi Chris, once again welcome to the Forum. I used to run my own BBQ & Hog Roast company but got a bit much with my full time job as well. @Wade started to BBQ catering, but I think he sticks to smoking meats & fish and selling rather than covering events and venues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icefever Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 Hi & welcome to the forum Chris....👍 Ice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 Welcome. @Smokin Monkey has experience of business in this are and can give you excellent advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoogl Posted March 3, 2020 Share Posted March 3, 2020 Hi and , It's worthwhile calling your local council as if you are using your residence for business there may be an impact to neighbours etc. They can also advise of on getting the relevant food hygiene and if relevant street trader license. Best of luck and keep us updated. especially with 📸 of 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 On 3/2/2020 at 12:38 PM, Bigchris350 said: Hi guys im new here but not to smaking ive has a lot of success with beef chicken and pork smoking so far with good smoke rings and pulling nicely, im here wondering how many have turned the passion into a business! as that's what im now thinking ? didn't know weather to start on fb marketplace selling a few weekend meals or what really ? where do people but bulk buy charcoal at a good cost plus meat and seasoning etc Hi Chris It is quite straightforward to start your own business with BBQ/Smoked food. I have been running a smoking business for many years and here are a few tips Decide on what your initial product offering is going to be. Do not try too many things to begin with or you will end up doing none of them well enough. Cook enough, and document each cook, so that your product is consistent. With most amateur smokers every smoke ends up slightly different - if you are offering a product every batch you sell to the customers needs to be consistent. Develop your own rubs and seasoning as this will differentiate your product. It will also be a lot cheaper than buying commercial products. There are plentry of good recipies out there and if you need help I can suggest some to start off with. You can then tweak these until you get your own distinct flavour brand. Keep a log of every smoke you do (this will be required by EHO anyway) and note any significant changes - e.g. meat supplier, temperature fluctuations, cook times, rubs used, unusual events. This will allow you to identify the reason for any variations between batches. Become as automated as you can. A smoker that can be digitally controlled will make life much easier than a back garden manual smoker. Once you have the product quality sorted, do some customer research on friends and family to make sure that you are producing a product that is not just your own personal taste ** Sort out how it will be packaged and labelled. You may need to invest in some form of packager/vacuum packer depending on what products you are selling - and also a label printer.. Talk to your local Environmental Health Officer - their contact number will be on your local borough council Web site. They like being consulted in the early stages and they will offer you some excellent free advice - which could save you a lot of wasted expenditure when you first start up. With them as your friends your life will be so much more straightforward. Make sure that you have a suitable food hygiene qualification. You should have more than the minimum level 1 certificate - a Level 2 is OK but they will be impressed if you have a level 3. These are not expensive and can be taken as online courses. Read and inwardly digest the Food Standard Agencies publication "Safer Food, Better Business, For Caters" https://www.food.gov.uk/sites/default/files/media/document/sfbb-caterers-pack.pdf. Your local EHO will give you a copy of this and it is what they will be assessing you against. Meet all the criteria in this booklet and you will be getting your 5* food hygiene certificate for your door. The certificate is awarded by your EHO and is often required by event organisers before they will allow you to sell at their event - so it is worth getting a good rating. Have some of each of your product Lab Tested for bacterial safety testing. It isnt expensive and I would be happy to help you out with this if you dont want to set yourself up with your own account. Again, this is something that your EHO will ask you about Do not expect it to make you a fortune from day 1... or day 2... or day x. It is someting that you need to scale up over time. ** I was once asked to produce smoked Feta cheese. I disliked it and so didnt produce it regularly. It turned out to be one on my biggest sellers at certain events I attended. One of my favourite products just did not sell well at all. I hope this helps and I am happy to provide more assistance if you need it. Wade 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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