Meal prep: a guide for pros
What customers ask, how to win the job, and what to put on your profile.
Offering meal prep
You plan, cook and portion meals for clients to eat during the week. Clients want meals that match their goals and diets, stored and labeled properly, and a menu that does not get boring.
What customers ask
- How long do the meals keep?
- Can you cook for my allergies and diet?
- Do you freeze any of the meals?
- Can you change the menu each week?
- Where are the meals cooked?
How to win the job
- On the first call, ask for the number of meals, the days, the diet goals, the allergies and the storage space
- Bring a sample weekly menu with the portions and the labels you use
- Explain your storage guide for each meal, including how long it keeps and how to reheat it
- Put in the quote the meals, the portion sizes, the groceries, the containers and the delivery day
- Label each container with the name, the date and the reheating instructions
- Keep allergen ingredients separate in prep and label them on each container
- Confirm the kitchen you cook in and the permits that apply to it
What to put on your profile
- Post photos of labeled meal containers and weekly prep spreads
- List the cuisines and diet types you cook for
- Show your labeling and storage guide
- Describe how you plan a varied weekly menu
- Add your permits and food handler certification status, described accurately
Follow-up that helps the customer
- Offer a weekend menu refresh for clients who want fresh ideas
- Suggest a holiday menu for the week of a family gathering
- Recommend a shopping list clients can use between weeks
- Share a reheating guide for each meal type
Licenses and permits
Food businesses commonly need a health permit or a food handler card from the local office that oversees food safety, and meal prep cooks who sell meals to clients are commonly in that category. Check the rules for the kitchen you cook in and keep your permits and cards on file.
Questions
Do I need a permit to sell prepared meals from a home kitchen?
Food businesses commonly need a health permit or a food handler card from the local office that oversees food safety. Ask that office whether a home kitchen can be used for selling meals, and what labeling rules apply.
How do I handle a client who wants a diet I am not trained for?
Decline the work or refer the client to a registered dietitian or doctor. Do not promise medical results, and tell the client what you can and cannot cook.
What if a client gets sick after eating a meal?
Stop taking orders for that meal, tell the client at once and keep the container and its label for review. Follow your food safety plan.
About this guide
This national guide is written and checked by infinibell. Rules and conditions differ by place, so local pros are credited on guides for the cities they serve, not on national ones.
Edit history
- Oct 29, 2026: Drafted by infinibell to our content guidelines.
More food and drink guides for pros
Start here
About this guide
Get meal prep requests
Customers pick you by name. Signup is free, and you pay only for leads you accept.
Join as a pro