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No matter the industry, side hustles have become a common way for people to bolster and diversify their income. Whether a hobby or something more, these supplemental forms of income are a good example of “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” and in some cases may also help advance your career.
If you’re a culinarian, you have a lot of options when it comes to creating side gigs. Whether you start a small business or pursue passive income sources, there are countless things you can do with cooking skills and a culinary degree.
So keep your day job and get started on any of the following culinary side hustles.
1. Sell a Food Product
Perhaps one of the most obvious ways to earn extra income as a professional chef is to sell your food. If you love making salsa, or you think your bread is the best around, why not sell it?
Farmer’s markets can be a good place to start. You can lease a stall for weekly gigs or even monthly appearances, depending on how much time you have to commit to a business and what your local farmer’s markets have available.
Farmers’ markets can be a good place to start selling your culinary creations.
E-commerce marketplaces like Etsy can also be great for chefs looking to sell their creations, and selling your products online can make your food available to more potential customers. You can leverage social media to build the product’s brand with minimal investment. If you start getting a lot of sales, you could even start your own website. When you sell on websites like Etsy, you do pay fees to the platform and are also responsible for shipping, so crunch the numbers carefully.
Keep state and local laws and regulations in mind, too. For example, before you begin churning out batches of cookies or jars of jam, check to see if you can cook in your home or if you need to lease a commercial kitchen space.**
**Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts does not provide legal advice. Always consult with a professional advisor before creating a new business entity!
2. Serve Private Dinners
This is like a cross between catering and being a private chef in which you cook for a smaller, more intimate group in a one-time event. Imagine a group of friends or business acquaintances who want a professional meal made and served in their home. You can prep at your place or at theirs, then cook and serve everything at the client’s house.
You might cook a three-course meal for six people or offer a tasting menu. Chefs will sometimes do wine pairings and serve drinks as well. Check your state and local regulations for parameters to follow regarding health and safety as well as alcohol service.**
**Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts does not provide legal advice. Always consult with a professional advisor before creating a new business entity!
*Information may not reflect every student’s experience. Results and outcomes may be based on several factors, such as geographical region or previous experience.
3. Offer Prepared Meals Locally
Meal-prepping has never been more popular, but not everyone has the time to prepare meals for themselves. That means you can use your culinary skills to fill this gap.
You might deliver ready-made meals to customers’ homes or you could just deliver the ingredients that customers assemble and cook themselves, which is often referred to as a meal kit service. To differentiate yourself, consider including recipes or helpful tips that add value and interest to your service.
This side hustle can fit into any type of schedule—you can sell as many ready-made meals as you have the capacity to make, marketing as much or as little as you like. If you’d like to set yourself apart from the crowd, you can choose to specialize in a specific diet or type of meal, such as keto, plant-based, or kid-friendly menu items. You can also choose to offer delivery services, or have your customers pick up from your kitchen or a local business.**
**Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts does not provide legal advice. Always consult with a professional advisor before creating a new business entity!
*Information may not reflect every student’s experience. Results and outcomes may be based on several factors, such as geographical region or previous experience.
4. Prepare Food for Catered Events
If you love cooking for dinner party guests and preparing appetizer spreads for parties, catering events for others may be a good side hustle for you. Depending on the type of events you cater and local regulations and restrictions, you may cook in your own home, at a commercial space, or in a kitchen at the event. Catering also allows you to choose the crowd size that’s right for you—you can start with appetizers for ten-person parties or jump right into preparing food for hundreds of wedding guests.
Like most culinary side hustles, your success will lie in both your culinary and business skills. When you plan a menu the people in your area respond well to and you figure out how to make it work financially, you may be in good shape to keep this business going long-term.**
**Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts does not provide legal advice. Always consult with a professional advisor before creating a new business entity!
*Information may not reflect every student’s experience. Results and outcomes may be based on several factors, such as geographical region or previous experience.
5. Teach an Enthusiast Class
If you have a passion for sharing your knowledge of ingredients and cooking techniques with the public, teaching may be the side hustle for you. This gig can take many forms, from holding single classes on how to make homemade pasta to instructing multi-week sessions that cover basic cooking skills.
You can reach out to local restaurants to see if they need chef instructors on a guest or rotating basis, or you may consider renting a kitchen where you can hold regular classes. But you don’t need a restaurant or commercial kitchen space to teach people how to cook! You can teach virtually from the convenience of your own kitchen or even offer in-home classes where you travel to teach small groups of family and friends.**
**Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts does not provide legal advice. Always consult with a professional advisor before creating a new business entity!
After teaching a class on cooking or baking, you may feel inspired to expand your own education. Escoffier offers 100% online degrees and diplomas with hands-on industry externships that even the busiest entrepreneurs can complete.
6. Write a Cookbook
Are you bursting with ideas for recipes and culinary stories to share with the world? If so, consider moving those ideas from your mind to the page by writing a cookbook. Best of all, you don’t have to hope that you land an agent and wait a few years for a publisher to release your book; there are more opportunities than ever to publish books independently, whether with the help of a self-publishing company or by going the DIY route via a place like Amazon’s KDP.
Not only can this process help you share your knowledge with others, but it may also connect you with other culinary professionals like food photographers, food stylists, and cookbook publicists.
Unsurprisingly, accomplished culinarians often go on to become published authors. In fact, several Escoffier Chef Instructors have written cookbooks. Online Pastry Chef Instructor and Master Baker Collette Christian is just one instructor who has published a cookbook, Mastering Macarons: Classic to Contemporary Techniques. As an Escoffier student, you can have the opportunity to be mentored and taught by some of the best chefs in the industry.**
**Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts does not provide legal advice. Always consult with a professional advisor before creating a new business entity!
If publishing a cookbook seems like too big an endeavor, you can opt to sell your recipes to blogs, magazines, and other platforms for extra cash. Freelance recipe developers may not get a lot of recognition, but they can make good money doing what they love.
7. Start a Food Blog, Podcast, or YouTube Channel
Food blogs, podcasts, and YouTube channels can be a fun outlet for creativity and a chance to make some extra money.
These mediums offer many opportunities for food influencers to make money with affiliate marketing, in which you earn a percentage of any sale you refer to a brand or company. The greater the following you build, the more likely brands and companies could pay you to promote their products.
You may decide to make your content free and utilize ads for income, or you may opt to charge for subscriptions. Many successful podcasts utilize the subscription model after growing a substantial audience.
If your blog or channel takes off, you may want to use some of your revenue to purchase cameras, props, or audio equipment so you can continue building your business and brand.**
**Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts does not provide legal advice. Always consult with a professional advisor before creating a new business entity!
Modern technology makes it simpler to start a blog or youtube channel.
Turning Your Side Hustle Into Your Job
A culinary or pastry degree or diploma may give you the skills and knowledge you need to start your side hustle or turn it into a profitable culinary career. Escoffier students receive guidance from professional Chef Instructors and also have the opportunity to interact with other passionate peers.
Not only do Escoffier students explore culinary techniques and work with new ingredients, but they may also have the chance to dive into business and entrepreneurial skills. They can spend time exploring topics like business planning, inventory management, and marketing, which may help them in future endeavors. And our new Food Entrepreneurship program can provide students with crucial information about what it takes to start a food business.
You’ll never know what you’re capable of until you try. Request information about Escoffier to learn more about becoming a culinary entrepreneur, and how a mentor may help you make your business dreams a reality.
FOR MORE TIPS ON STARTING A SUCCESSFUL COOKING BUSINESS, READ THESE ARTICLES:
- 4 Keys To Running a Cottage Industry Bakery
- How to Start a Restaurant: A Step by Step Guide
- How Ghost Kitchens & Ghost Restaurants Lower Startup Risks
This article was originally published on April 7, 2021, and has since been updated.
*Information may not reflect every student’s experience. Results and outcomes may be based on several factors, such as geographical region or previous experience.
