HOW IT WORKS

Are you passionate about cooking and reside in Arizona? If so, we have thrilling news for you! With the recent passing of the Tamale Bill (HB 2042), selling food prepared in your home that contains meat, poultry or dairy will not only be legal but a potentially lucrative endeavor.  

The dawn of this legislative shift heralds an exciting opportunity for culinary entrepreneurs in Arizona.  While the Arizona Department of Health Service is in the process of rulemaking for HB 2042 we encourage aspiring chefs to begin designing their online stores and prepare their menus.  Join the online marketplace cottagecuisine.com where home chefs can create a fully functional food store for free.  Features available at cottagecuisine.com:

• Each vendor has their own easy-navigation frontend dashboard.
• Vendors set their own store hours and can take their store offline when necessary.
• Customers select days and times for delivery or pick up.
• Live chat feature between vendors and customers utilizing WhatsApp.
• Secure payments with Stripe.
• Customers can search for vendors by location, product or category.
• Customers can follow and rate vendors.

Steps for vendors….

1. Register as a vendor and create an online store. Your registration and store will be reviewed for approval by the site administrator before going live.
2. Install the free WhatsApp Messenger application from Microsoft on your device.
3. List your address, set your store hours and enable live chat using the WhatsApp.
4. Customers will select days and times for order delivery or pick up. Watch for email order notifications.
5. Create excellent food for your customers and exceed their expectations. Be sure to follow the vendor terms of service agreement when preparing, packaging and distributing food. There is a 5% site commission fee on sales.
6. Communicate with the customer through the live chat feature for pickup or delivery. Collect payment from the customer if they chose cash on delivery. Payments made upon deliver are still subject to the 5% site commission fee and will be collected through reverse withdrawal.

Steps for customers..

1. Register as a customer.
2. Install the free WhatsApp Messenger application from Microsoft on your device.
3. Search for food by store, category or location.
4. Order your food, select the day and time for pickup or delivery, then prepay through the website or pay upon receipt of your food.
5. Communicate with the food vendor for pickup or delivery. You will need to have WhatsApp installed on your phone to live chat.
6. Enjoy your food.
7. Rate the vendor’s performance.
8. Follow your favorite vendors.

Important Notice

Before stores can sell to customers, food preparers must obtain a food handler’s card from an accredited program and register with the Arizona Department of Health Services. And online stores must provide prominent notifications that include all of the following:

1. The name and registration number of the food preparer.
2. A list of all ingredients in the cottage food product and the cottage food product’s production date.
3. The following statement: “This product was produced in a home kitchen that may come in contact with common food allergens and pet allergens and is not subject to public health inspection.”
4. A website address provided by the department that includes all of the following: (a) Contact information for consumers to report foodborne illnesses. (b) Information on how to verify a food preparer’s active registration status. (c) Contact information for reporting issues regarding a food preparer’s registration status.