Food Entrepreneurship through OpenSeat
Food Entrepreneurship through OpenSeat
Good at cooking? Earn money through meal-sharing
If you’re a chef by training, have a knack for cooking, or simply enjoy preparing delicious meals, OpenSeat provides an ideal platform to turn your culinary passion into a source of income.
As a food entrepreneur, you can can take the lead by hosting your own events, orchestrating the entire dining experience from start to finish. Alternatively, you can opt to serve as a caterer for hosts, collaborating with them to deliver exceptional meals, either off-site or using the kitchen facilities at their venue. You can always choose the level of involvement that aligns with your personality and skill set. If hosting strikes your fancy, here’s a 10 step guide to food entrepreneurship on OpenSeat.
10 steps to meal-sharing for food entrepreneurs
1. Decide your culinary focus and menu
Choose a specific culinary theme that aligns with your expertise and experience, be it local African cuisine, country or region-specific food, or thematic dishes. As you think through your menu for the meal, check out this post:
2. Work out the cost per seat and markup
Calculate costs per person, factoring in ingredients, preparation time, and additional expenses. Add a fair markup that reflects the value of your culinary offering and experience. After you’ve build up a portfolio of meals on OpenSeat and goodwill from satisfied meal guests, you will likely be in a position to increase your markup and thus profit.
3. Find a suitable venue
Select a venue that suits your meal, whether it's your home or that of a friend, a local café after closing hours, or a communal space that you have access to (think churches, schools, parks). Aim for a warm, exclusive atmosphere — private homes and cafes are best — and make sure the venue is safe for guests who aren’t familiar with the area. Venues that aren’t someone’s home will usually incur a hiring fee, so factor this in to your cost per seat.
4. Think of a good meal title
Craft a title that captures the essence of your meal, perhaps using puns or creative wordplay, or by focusing on cultural influences on the food. A few pointers on your title:
Better to keep it short and punchy
Make sure to use capitals appropriately — avoid ALL CAPS, WeIrD CaPs, and no caps. Either use capitals on the first letter of each word, or just nouns and verbs.
Consider using emojis to add extra 🌶️ — they take very little space.
5. Write up a darn good description
Create a concise yet compelling description of your food and drink. Remember, it’s crucial to describe what you will be offering, as this is the only way potential guests can assess whether your meal matches the price you are asking.
Highlight key flavours, ingredients, and any special touches you’re planning to add, as a way of generating interest among potential diners.
To get a flavour for titles and descriptions by successful food entrepreneurs, check out Ali Majija’s Umcimbi and Fish Braai meals, Brittany Tuhi’s Family Feast, and Judd Campbell’s Pizza Pairing Project:
6. Create the meal on OpenSeat
Start your culinary venture by using OpenSeat's straightforward event creation form — you will need to add banking details to your profile to access this. Depending on your target guests, you can select Private (visible only to those with the link) or Public (visible to everyone on the ‘Find a Meal’ page). Fill in all the relevant details, insert the meal description you workshopped in the previous step, and click ‘Create’. Voilà, now marketing begins!
7. Get your friends and family onboard
After your meal has been created, take note of its web address (e.g. openseat.co.za/event/675), and share this with your inner circle. If they’re excited about your event and think the pricing is fair for what you’re offering, then others will likely too. Ask them to forward the meal page within their own social circles via WhatsApp. Every guest will request a seat — you will need to confirm each one. As soon as you’ve done this, payment will be taken off their bank card, a dynamic that disincentivises no-shows!
8. Spread the word on social media
Use your social media platforms to build anticipation for your OpenSeat event. Instagram and TikTok are the go-to social media for foodies, so that would be a good place to start. Update your WhatsApp status, and forward the meal to any contacts or groups you think might be interested. Contact us too — we can assist with marketing quality meals.
9. Prepare your meal and set your table(s)
Obviously, focus on the practical side of things as your meal date approaches. Source the ingredients based on the number of confirmed guests, prepare your food, and set up a welcoming table for an excellent and interesting dining experience.
10. Host your guests
Welcome your guests warmly, and ask a friend or family member to help you with this. Try create a comfortable atmosphere by introducing guests to each other, for example by using icebreakers and — as the centre of attention and the reason for gathering — showcase your culinary flair by verbally introducing each dish. This is where you prove your worth as a food entrepreneur: if your meal is good, word will get out, and you’ll have more people requesting to join the next meal you host.
A day or two after the meal, login to your dashboard on OpenSeat, click on the meal page, and email your guests to remind them to review your hospitality.
Conclusion
Go on, cook up a storm, share your meal, and make some money. Speaking of money, OpenSeat will payout the guest fees to the host’s bank account one working day after your meal has occurred. In the near future, we are looking to provide trusted food entrepreneurs (with an existing track record of hosting) with upfront capital from their guests, enabling them to purchase food supplies prior to the event. Stay tuned for our feature updates!
Not keen to host a meal, but prefer to co-hosting as a caterer? Sign up to our caterer database using the form below, and we’ll try connect you with hosts needing a caterer.