Avia Collinder, Business Writer

Your ability to prepare tasty meals is just the beginning of your dream of running a restaurant.

Everyone who has the intention of preparing meals, selling food and or operating a restaurant will need a food handler's permit.

There are also other requirements such as a Tax Registration Number and National Insurance Scheme registration for your business which will assist you in getting loans.

Kevin Williams, technical adviser on food with the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) in Kingston, indicates that the food handler's permit can be had at the department of health in every parish.

There, you will be given a very simple test on the principles of hygiene and sanitation.

At the public-health department, you will submit two passport-size pictures signed by a justice of the peace and also to do a blood test which will be used to check for communicable diseases such as hepatitis.

In two weeks, if all is in order, you may return for your food handler's permit.

You will, additionally be required to get a public-health certificate for your establishment.

Contact the public-health department and inform them of your intent to open a restaurant or prepare food, disclosing your location.

They will send an inspector to check that you have a clean and adequate source of water, hygienic and sanitation food preparation rooms and other factors.

See the Public Health Act online at www.moj.gov.jm/law/publichealth to view all that the inspector would be looking for. As long as you satisfy the regulations, your certificate will be issued.

If you intend to finance your new venture through loans, you should register your business at the Com-panies Office of Jamaica - whether as a sole proprietor or as a partnership.

Apart from your business name, you might also want a trademark, which will help you in protecting your product. You can get this from the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office.

NIS registration, TRN

Next will be your NIS registration and TRN. To get your NIS tag, make an application to the Ministry of Labour. Your TRN, which you will also need to process loans, can be had from any tax collectorate.

For your loan, you may also need a business plan, for which the Jamaica Business Development Centre can provide assistance.

Your plan should include a cash forecast which includes product pricing, as well as the cost of overheads and raw materials.

It should also include information, such as the location - a place which is accessible to clients - and, if possible, should include a parking lot, a marketing plan for selling your meals and the type of restaurant you intend to have.

"You cannot be all things to all people," warns Winsome Armstrong, JBDC business development officer.

So, determine if you would be operating a quick-service restaurant or a family diner, a seafood or health-food restaurant.

Your plan should also incorporate the menu and every piece of machinery you would need for your operations. In real terms, these do not have to be purchased all at once, but can be acquired along the way as the business prospers.

Workers needed

In planning for your restaurant, you should also consider the kind of workers you need. You may have to commit to training them.

According to Armstrong and Williams, many food- service organisations in Jamaica suffer because the quality of food served, as well as those who prepare food, is so poor. Plan also how to retain good staff.

A kitchen fire is worse than many other fires. Prepare for this danger and put in place safety regulations. You may also have to convince your loan officer that you have anticipated theft and would have good inventory-management strategies in place.

According to Winsome Armstrong, restaurant operators would also have to be quick on their feet in dealing with any problems observed by clients.

By the time you have received 10 complaints about the same thing, it might be too late to save your business.

avia.ustanny@gleanerjm.com