Good morning

I was wondering if anyone can help me please ?

We want to use an external catering company for supplying lunches (both hot and cold food) to visiting clients on our premises.

I have requested Risk Assessments for preparation and serving of food and for the transportation of food as the caterer has her own kitchen some distance from our premises. We have our own preparation kitchen that she will use.

Could anyone advise me on the other pieces of information i need before she starts such as Public Liability etc or give me their thoughts as to the best way forward with this
Thank you in advance.

Talk to your local EHO's re HACCP to see if that applies noting that if it is a very small company doing basic work then I would doubt that HACCP does apply but check just in case and listen to what other parameters they would expect as its they not the HSE that enforce re some areas of kitchens especially in day to day situations

Thank you all for your help, time and input - its very much appeciated!
Rose

Hi Rose,

Not sure about the insurance angle, but from the food safety perspective, all caterers irrelevant of their size are required to have a food safety management system based on the principles of HACCP, the simplest version being the Safer Food Better Business pack (see www.food.gov.uk). All caterers must also be registered with the Local Authority as a Food Business Operator.

Therefore my first port of call would be to get the business address and then call the Env. Health dept at the relevant local authority and ask if the business is registered, if not, then I wouldn't touch them.

If they are registered then ask for the last inspection report, you may need to do this via Freedom of Information, however some authorities actually publish the reports. You could also ask the authority if they subscribe to a 'scores on the doors' scheme and if so what was the last score.

Also as previously posted the caterer should have some training to at least level 2 in food hygiene.

Finally, depending on the amount of catering you require you may wish to consider whether a domestic kitchen situation is the best option (if this is actually the case), as running a catering business out of their personal kitchen can raise all kind of issues e.g. pets, separating personal food from the business food, preparation conditions, storage conditions, smoking etc etc. Inspections of domestic premise kitchens are usually done via appointment rather than an unannounced visit, as the authority has to give a minimum of 24 hours notice. This is not to say that there are not good home caterers, but just food for thought :-)

Paul