New businesses
Start Up Restaurant Advice
Useful advice to help you get started — from registration and premises design through to procedures, training, licences and accurate food descriptions.
Checklist
Before you open
Work through the essentials so your opening is compliant from day one.
- 01 Have you registered your premises?
- 02 Do design and construction meet legal requirements?
- 03 Have you put food safety procedures in place?
- 04 Do you and your staff understand good food hygiene?
- 05 Have you considered health, safety and fire arrangements?
- 06 Have you described your food and drink accurately?
- 07 Do you need a licence to sell alcohol or for entertainment?
- 08 Do you need a late-night / street-trading licence?
Registration
Registering your food business
Registration applies to most food businesses, including home catering and mobile or temporary premises. Register with your local authority environmental health service at least 28 days before opening — it is free. Multiple premises each need registering.
If you plan to manufacture foods using products of animal origin and are not exclusively selling those products to the public, you may need prior approval from your local authority. We can guide you through registration, procedures, training and rating readiness.
Next step
Make an enquiry about Start Up Restaurant Advice
Tell us about your sites and priorities — we’ll recommend the right mix of consultancy, audits or mentoring.