Hi,

My husband is going to graduate from Penn State in two years. I want to spend this time getting ready to launch my own business. What I want to do is have a menu of dishes for clients to select from. I would like to prepare these dishes in my home, and have the client pick them up weekly or biweekly. I guess this does not follow the traditional definition of a PC. Any thoughts on running a business this way? I am not sure why PC's normally cook in the client's kitchen. I live in PA and we have many people who sell food items from their home. I do not know what regulations PA has for this matter.

If anyone has a free minute, I would really appreciate you writing me personally at lucinda@askmother.com . I would love to hear any stories on your own start-ups, marketing ideas, etc. Please feel free to send me copies of any materials you have for your business.

Lucinda,
The main reason a PC cooks in the clients kitchen is to avoid bureaucracy. When not cooking in the clients home, it becomes catering.

Here is a link from George's Catering Forum,
Catering in Virginia. This applies specifically to Virginia but in general some aspects are universal.