1. Purpose
These Requirements establish minimum Platform standards. Chefz must also comply with all federal, state, county, municipal, health-department, licensing, and venue requirements applicable to their services. Platform approval does not replace legal authorization.
2. Licensing and Permits
Chefz must determine and maintain all required business licenses, food-handler credentials, food-manager credentials, catering permits, health permits, cottage-food registrations, commercial-kitchen approvals, mobile-food permits, sales-tax registrations, and other approvals. A home kitchen may not be lawful for every food or service type.
3. Approved Preparation Locations
Food must be prepared only in locations lawful for the applicable activity. Chefz must not misrepresent kitchen type, inspection status, commercial-kitchen access, cottage-food authorization, or onsite-preparation authority.
4. Personal Hygiene
Chefz and staff must wash hands properly and frequently, wear clean clothing, restrain hair when appropriate, avoid bare-hand contact where prohibited, cover wounds appropriately, use clean gloves correctly, and avoid preparing food while experiencing symptoms that may indicate communicable illness.
5. Illness
Chefz must not prepare or serve food when prohibited by applicable health rules. Potentially relevant symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, sore throat with fever, diagnosed foodborne illness, and infected wounds that cannot be safely covered. Chefz should arrange lawful replacement or cancel when safe performance is not possible.
6. Time and Temperature Control
Chefz must use appropriate controls for receiving, storage, thawing, cooking, cooling, reheating, hot holding, cold holding, transportation, and service. Chefz should use calibrated food thermometers and follow applicable health-code temperatures.
7. Cross-Contamination
Chefz must protect food from contamination by separating raw and ready-to-eat food, cleaning and sanitizing surfaces, using appropriate utensils, storing food safely, preventing chemical contamination, controlling pests, protecting food during transport, and using safe water.
8. Allergens
Chefz must clearly communicate their ability to address allergens. Major allergen concerns may include milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy, and sesame. Chefz must not promise an allergen-free environment unless they can lawfully and reliably provide one. Cross-contact risks must be disclosed.
9. Ingredient Sources
Ingredients should come from lawful, reputable sources. Chefz must not use recalled ingredients, adulterated food, unlawfully sourced meat or seafood, expired or spoiled food, or ingredients stored under unsafe conditions.
10. Transportation
Food transportation must maintain safe temperatures, protection from contamination, secure packaging, separation of chemicals and personal items, reasonable delivery timing, and clean transport containers.
11. Buffet and Event Service
Chefz must plan for temperature maintenance, sneeze and contamination protection, proper utensils, safe replacement intervals, guest flow, and discarding food when safety cannot be assured.
12. Kitchen Assessment
Before onsite service, Chefz should determine whether the location provides safe water, electricity, refrigeration, cooking equipment, sanitation, adequate space, ventilation where required, and safe storage. Chefz may decline unsafe conditions.
13. Cleaning and Sanitizing
Food-contact surfaces and equipment must be cleaned and sanitized using lawful methods. Cleaning chemicals must be properly labeled, properly stored, used according to instructions, and kept away from food.
14. Staff Training
Chefz are responsible for ensuring that assistants understand handwashing, temperature control, cross-contamination, allergy procedures, cleaning, illness exclusions, and emergency reporting.
15. Records
Chefz should maintain records appropriate to their operation, potentially including ingredient receipts, supplier information, temperature logs, staff assignments, permits, certifications, allergen communications, event menus, and incident reports.
16. Recalls and Suspected Illness
Chefz must promptly respond to ingredient recalls, contamination alerts, suspected foodborne illness, and customer safety complaints. This may include stopping service, preserving records, notifying customers, contacting health authorities, cooperating with investigations, and disposing of affected food.
17. Alcohol
Chefz may not sell, serve, or provide alcohol unless lawfully authorized. Wine-pairing services must comply with applicable licensing and service laws.
18. Verification
All Dem Chefz™ may require certificates, permits, inspection records, kitchen information, insurance, and renewal documents. Verification does not transfer food-safety responsibility from the Chef.
19. Enforcement
Food-safety violations may result in warning, required training, listing restrictions, suspension, immediate removal, or reporting to authorities when appropriate.