Babysitting + Cooking

[GlorifiedBabysitter]

I am taking a gap year (2009/10) before attending university. I am very proficient cook and thoroughly enjoy preparing meals for other people.

With this in mind, I have thought of starting a miniature catering business - offering parents with either:

A) a last minute cook - travelling to home and preparing dinner for children etc.

B) a contemporary 3 course meal for adults and friends.

Please could people give their ideas whether they think this is a viable business idea (including details of how much people would pay etc.)?

Many thanks!

What about offering to cater for kids parties or adults parties??

My friend was 40 last week and paid a small caterer £10 per head and we got a small portion of Lasagne, a bit of salad, some garlic bread and either lemon tart or fruit salad for sweet.

It was plenty for an evening party.

Hmmm this is interesting. If you are a bit of a dab hand in the kitchen then I would take a leaf out of Jamie's book. Are you following his American Road Trip series? This week he was in NY. And the end of the programme culminated in him inviting guests from all over the city to dinner and he cooked up a melange of different meals with influences from around the world. He actually got part of this idea from 2 ladies who lived in a suburb of NY and who advertise an evening of dinner where guests pay into an anonymous kitty and bring their own wine (obviously guests are selected) but it gives them something different from the usual restaurant dining experience, and they meet new people/network etc.

Could be an idea for singles? I suppose you could offer this as an add on to your original idea - host dinner parties yourself and instead of an anonymous kitty you could have a minimum price for the meal? You could advertise it on the internet and on forums like this one. You could create a real buzz and even tailor the service to cater for people with food issues/allergies.

Something to think about - I wish I could do it but I don't have the nice roomy dining room or the culinary expertise!