Home chefs in Los Angeles will soon be able to legally prepare and sell food from their home kitchens starting this November, after Los Angeles County granted “microenterprise home kitchen operations” licenses on Tuesday. Become.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has approved a permitting process that will allow home cooks and sidewalk vendors in the county to prepare safe and regulated food for the public.
Supervisor Holly Mitchell said the ordinance “creates collaboration between Los Angeles County and the state in creating a path for unregulated chefs to be allowed, providing guardrails to protect residents and brick-and-mortar businesses.” Meanwhile, it strengthens our commitment to helping thousands of sidewalk vendors and home cooks make a profit.” From our local economy. ”
In 2018, the state passed a law allowing home cooks to sell their products to the public, but Los Angeles County still does not. Home cooks will not be allowed to prepare, sell or give away food in their home kitchens for now, until November 2024.
Riverside County became the first county in the state to launch the Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKO) program in 2019.
Under Los Angeles County's new ordinance, home businesses will pay a $597 application fee and a $347 annual health permit fee, which will cover the cost of annual inspections and enforcement actions.
The ordinance also sets an annual gross sales cap of $100,000 and limits meals to 30 meals per day or 90 meals per week.
Under the ordinance, MEHKO will also be authorized to serve as a kiosk with up to two food carts, or a compact mobile food operation. In this case, meals in the kitchen will be limited to him 80 meals per day and 200 meals per week. MEHKO, operated as a commissary, has total sales of $150,000.
Health officials said the ordinance was developed in consultation with other counties that already have MEHKO programs and with the COOK Alliance, an advocacy group that works to legalize and support home cooking businesses.
Los Angeles County becomes the 15th jurisdiction in the state to license MEHKO, and the licensing ordinance will go into effect on November 1, 2024.
