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Plenty of the best food in Greater Victoria starts in a home kitchen: a pepper sauce, a batch of chin chin, a jar of shito. Turning that into something you can sell is mostly paperwork, and the paperwork is easier once it is in the right order.

The guides in this section set that order out. Which foods count as low risk and can be sold at a farmers' market with few conditions. When you need a permitted kitchen and approval from Island Health. Where shared and commissary kitchens fit in. What your municipality and, later, federal rules expect.

Rules change. Each guide names the body that sets the rule, so you can check its current version before you apply.

The two questions that decide everything

Almost every rule a small food maker meets on Vancouver Island follows from two questions. First, is the food lower risk or higher risk? Jams, many baked goods and dry spice blends are usually lower risk. Anything with meat, dairy, cooked rice or beans held at room temperature, or a low-acid sauce in a sealed jar is usually higher risk. Second, where will you sell it: a farmers' market, a temporary event, a shop, or across provincial borders?

Lower-risk food at a farmers' market is the easiest start and can often be made in a home kitchen. Higher-risk food needs a kitchen approved by Island Health, which for most new makers means renting time in a commercial or shared kitchen. Selling to another province brings in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

What sits around the permit

A health approval is only part of it. Municipalities such as Victoria, Saanich and Esquimalt issue business licences, and some offer inter-municipal licences for mobile vendors. Markets set their own vendor rules, insurance requirements and application windows. Labels have to carry a common name, ingredients and allergens, and some exemptions apply at farmers' markets.

The two guides here put those steps in order, starting with the food itself.

Before the first market day

A short checklist covers most first seasons. Decide whether your product is lower or higher risk, and if it is higher risk, line up a permitted kitchen before you apply anywhere. Take FOODSAFE Level 1. Read the vendor rules of the market you want to join, since Moss Street, James Bay, Esquimalt and the Peninsula markets each run their own application process and many ask for liability insurance. Check whether your municipality needs a business licence for a home-based business or a market stall. Then design a label that names the product, lists every ingredient in order and flags common allergens.

None of these steps is expensive on its own. The cost for most new makers is time, especially the weeks between an application and a reply, so it pays to start in winter for a summer season. Keep copies of every approval in one folder, because market managers and inspectors may ask to see them at the stall.

Pricing a first product

Many new makers set a price by looking at the next table and charging a dollar less. That rarely covers the real cost. A workable price starts from four numbers: what the ingredients cost per unit, what the jar, bag or label costs, how many hours of kitchen time each batch takes and what those hours cost if the kitchen is rented, and the share of each market day that goes to fees, insurance and travel.

Add those together for one batch and divide by the number of units it makes. That is the cost floor. Anything under it is a donation, however busy the stall looks. Most makers then add a margin for their own time, which is the part people leave out when they are starting.

Two habits help in the first season. Keep a simple sheet of what each market day sold and what it cost to attend, because some markets turn out to be worth far more than others. And test a price before printing a large run of labels: a sauce that sells out by noon at one price may still sell well at a higher one.

Questions readers ask

Can I sell food made at home in Victoria?

Often yes, if it is a lower-risk food such as many baked goods, jams or dry mixes, and you sell it at a farmers' market or similar venue that follows the provincial guideline. Higher-risk foods must come from a kitchen approved by Island Health. Check the current guideline before your first market, because it is being revised.

Do I need FOODSAFE?

FOODSAFE Level 1 is required for operators of food service establishments in British Columbia and is a sensible course for anyone handling food for sale. Certificates are valid for five years. Many markets and shared kitchens ask vendors to hold it even when the law does not.

What is a commissary kitchen?

A commercial kitchen that rents time or space to food businesses that do not have their own permitted kitchen. Using one lets a small maker produce higher-risk foods under an Island Health approval without building a kitchen. Hourly rates, storage and booking rules vary from kitchen to kitchen.

When do federal rules apply?

When you sell food across provincial or national borders, or import or export it, you generally need a Safe Food for Canadians licence from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Selling only within British Columbia usually does not require that licence, though federal labelling rules still apply to prepackaged food.

Do I need insurance to sell at a farmers' market?

Most Greater Victoria markets ask food vendors for liability insurance, and some will not let you set up without proof of it. James Bay Market lists insurance as mandatory for food vendors, and Esquimalt asks new vendors to provide it shortly after they are accepted. Ask the market manager which amount of coverage they expect before you buy a policy.