Getting started is the hard part. We are here to make it easy.
Selling food from home in Ontario means a few steps: telling your public health unit, a food handler certificate for some foods, labels and allergens, tax and insurance. We have written each one up in plain language, with the official pages beside it, so you know exactly what to do and in what order.
- Which route fits you: home, shared kitchen or existing business
- Who to call in Toronto, the GTA and Prince Edward County
- How to get your food handler certificate
- What you can sell from a home kitchen
- Labels, allergens, jams and canning
- Business name, HST and insurance
Make a little extra from what you already cook well.
Guilt Free Takeout is a neighbourhood marketplace for slow, homemade food that is frozen, baked or preserved: soups and stews that freeze well, loaves, pies, jams and pickles. People who want to know exactly what they are eating buy straight from the person who made it.
We are opening across Toronto, the GTA and Prince Edward County with a small group of founding cooks: the first 100 are free for life. If you are one of them, you help shape how the site works and you are featured first.
What you get
Your own storefront and link
A page with your story, your photos and every dish you make, and a short link you can send to anyone. They book straight from you, not from a faceless kitchen.
Your recipe is the product
Every dish shows the recipe, the frozen or packed version and the finished dish. Buyers who care what is in their food will find you.
Keep what you earn
Buyers pay you directly at pickup. No payout wait. Free until the new year, then a simple fee: whichever is greater of $5 a month or 0.5% of your sales.
Set your own pace
You choose what to make, how many containers, your price and your pickup windows. Sold out is a fine outcome.
We do the admin
Labels with ingredients, allergens, batch and date. Stock counts that update as orders come in. One place to see who is collecting what, and when.
One cook, one buyer
No delivery drivers, no bundles of strangers' orders. A neighbour reserves from you and picks up from you.
Your own storefront, with a link you can send anywhere.
Every cook gets a virtual storefront as part of Guilt Free Takeout. You do not need to wait for a stranger to find you. Send your link to the people who already ask what you are cooking, and they can see your dishes, read the recipes and book a pickup directly.
- Your own short link, guiltfreetakeout.com/c/your-kitchen
- Your story, photos, recipes and pickup windows in one place
- Customers book and choose a pickup time with you
- Stock counts update as orders come in
- Also listed in Find meals for neighbours who are looking
Your link
guiltfreetakeout.com/c/your-kitchen
Put it in your Instagram bio, a group chat, a flyer or on the label of every container you hand over.
See an example storefrontRun your own numbers
A weekend batch of 24 containers at $14 sells for $336. Change the figures to match your food and see what is left after ingredients. We will not tell you what you will earn; you know your costs and your time.
- Sales
- $1,344
- Ingredients and packaging
- −$480
- Left for you, before tax
- $864
- Platform fee from 2027 (standard)
- −$7
- Founding members pay
- $0
Your own numbers, not a promise of income. You collect payment from buyers at pickup. Count your time, kitchen costs, insurance and tax too. From 1 January 2027: $5 a month or 0.5% of your sales, whichever is greater.
How you start
Apply
Five short steps, about five minutes. Tell us what you make and where you cook.
We review by hand
We check your kitchen setup and what you plan to sell, and we say plainly if something needs to change first.
Add your first dish
Photos of it frozen or packed and finished, the recipe, and why you make it. Your first listing is the hardest; the rest copy from it.
Open for pickup
Set a pickup window, add a batch, and neighbours can reserve.
What we ask of you
Ontario's rules are lightest for low-risk foods such as plain baking, jams and pickles, and stricter for food that must stay cold or frozen. Which setup fits depends on what you sell, so we ask which one you are and review each application by hand. Check with your local public health unit for your situation too.
Level A
Home kitchen
Independent producer cooking small batches in a permitted home kitchen.
- Notification to your local public health unit for your home kitchen
- Food-handler certificate
- Liability insurance
- An allergen declaration for each recipe
Level B
Commercial kitchen
Independent chef or caterer cooking in an approved commercial or shared kitchen.
- Booking or lease for an approved commercial kitchen
- Food-handler certificate
- Liability insurance
- Allergen declarations
Level C
Food business
Established bakery, caterer or meal-prep company with licensed premises.
- Current food premises licence
- Food-handler certificate on staff
- Liability insurance
- Allergen declarations
Common questions
- Does it cost anything?
- Free until 31 December 2026. From 1 January 2027: $5 a month or 0.5% of your sales, whichever is greater. Founding cooks do better: the first 100 sign-ups are free for life and the first 1,000 get their first year free.
- How do I get paid?
- Buyers pay you at pickup, however you prefer. The site does not handle money yet.
- Do I need a recipe written down?
- Yes, and it is the point. Buyers read your ingredients and method before they order. If you cook by feel, your first batch is a good time to weigh and write it down.
- Is my address public?
- No. Buyers see your neighbourhood. The exact address appears only to someone with an active order from you.
- What if I sell out or need a week off?
- Set the batch to zero or pause your kitchen. Nobody can order what you have not made.