Everyone loves East End Market for the shops and food stands, and that’s usually what people think about when they hear the name of the Audubon Park building. But I’ve always thought one of the more interesting aspects of the original business model was to be a resource for would be food entrepreneurs.

Indeed, the incubator kitchen, a professional grade facility that budding food manufacturers can rent to try out recipes, is a popular part of East End. You might have the desire to bake and sell your chocolate chip cookies or maybe a vegan turkey leg, but if you try to make those items to sell from your own kitchen, you’re probably breaking some state laws. And in the case of the vegan turkey leg, crimes against humanity. The incubator kitchen is health inspected and street legal.

But even with the proper cooking facility, becoming a food entrepreneur involves a whole lot more than perfecting the recipe.

So East End Market is offering Food Biz Start-up, a seminar that will focus on all the things you should focus on if you want to start your own food business. The first class, Foodpreneur 101, is Saturday, March 19, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Market. Some of the topics that will be covered include:
• What business structure to chose
• A look at trends and gaps in local food scene
• How to get you product on store shelves
• Day in the life of a foodpreneur
• Working with Dept. of Health and Florida Dept. of Ag
• Working in commissary kitchens
• Start-up costs

Cost for the class is $53.25 — consider it one of your first start-up costs — and reservations are accepted only through advance registration. You can register at this link.