Are you a foodie looking to turn your love for food into an extra source of income? Look no further, Airtasker has got you covered with a variety of food-related side hustles! Whether you’re passionate about food but lack cooking skills, or a culinary whiz seeking your own cooking side hustle, you can turn to Airtasker for a job up your wheelhouse.
From food delivery to food photography and even side work in a restaurant, there’s a wide range of gigs available for you to explore and make a living working with food. Take a look at the list below and discover how to make money with food related side hustles that suits your interests and goals.
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1. Cooking as a side hustle
If you’re a foodie who’s also a whiz in the kitchen, then you might be wondering how to make money by cooking at home. There are plenty of ways to make money with your culinary skills. Choose between private chef gigs, selling baked goods, opening a restaurant, and plenty of other ways to use your kitchen expertise to earn extra cash.
This is one of the most obvious ways to start working with food and turning your culinary passion into a stream of income. You can start small with a quaint food business or simple cooking gigs. You can also work your way up the restaurant and catering industry, or explore niche markets like pop-up dining. Cooking is a versatile and satisfying pursuit, and you’re sure to work with food as much as possible.
2. Take photos of food
Only some foodies are great cooks. If you’re not an expert in the culinary arts, you can still showcase the beauty of food by becoming a food photographer! You can take pictures for restaurants to put on their menus, food businesses to put on their packaging, or recipe sites to post with their tasty treats. While you might not be handling the food directly, you’re still making the food the star of the show with your food porn-worthy shots.
Food photography jobs are more complex than taking pictures with your smartphone. Becoming a food photographer takes a bit of work. Make sure you have a quality camera to take high-resolution photos, team up with food stylists who know their way around a plate, and keep your portfolio refreshed to attract clients who want you to capture their delicious delicacies.
3. Open a food truck business
A popular way to start a food business quickly is by opening a food truck. This method is the ultimate side hustle business because you decide how it runs and what you serve daily. You decide what, when, and how you sell. It provides a flexible way to test whether the food you and your business partners make will be marketable and profitable.
If you want to know how to make money with a food truck, look at how other food trucks have become successful. Start with a unique concept and name, hire a chef that makes excellent food, and sell trendy and fun dishes that everyone will rave about on social media. The food truck business is fast-paced and thrives when you use the power of trends.
4. Start a food blog or vlog
Writing about food can be a great way to work with food without doing the cooking. Whether you write about your local restaurants, a specialty cuisine you have much experience with or your general thoughts on food culture, there’s always a unique angle you can find to talk about in the food world. Finding your niche is difficult, but you’re set for a successful food blog once you find a topic with an audience.
Can you make money with a food blog? Finding revenue streams for your blog can be challenging. Still, the most common ways to earn from a blog are by running ads and using affiliate marketing, especially if your blog becomes popular. This advice also works for food vlogging, another way to earn money from food content. Run ads on your YouTube videos and watch the revenue roll in.
5. Go into food delivery
One of the most popular ways to earn money with food without actually handling it is by delivering food to others.
According to a study by the Pew Research Center, there has been a significant increase in the number of people participating in the gig economy, including those involved in making deliveries from a restaurant. It’s a booming trend that offers a great opportunity to earn extra income, so why not explore this side hustle?
All this task entails is picking up food from restaurants and delivering it to their customers. While it may not be the most glamorous of the jobs listed here, it’s an in-demand job that can earn you quick cash without much effort. A food delivery side hustle can also come with perks like tips and free food from generous customers.
6. Grow food by gardening
Fresh produce is at the core of all good food, and growing food as a gardener is a satisfying and worthwhile side hustle. Gardening is a task that requires patience and time to maintain your plants. However, it ultimately rewards you with fruits and vegetables to sell to restaurants, in a market or your neighbors.
Before growing any patch of produce, ensure you have the skills necessary to cultivate the fruits or vegetables. This is one of the more challenging side hustles on our list, but it can turn into a long-term business, especially if you have the means to scale your production.
7. Become a restaurant critic
Get paid for food reviews by becoming a restaurant critic. This is a dream job for foodies, as it entails eating in restaurants all over your city and giving your opinions on the food, the service, the ambience, and everything else about an eatery. It’s a way to earn money from food while also eating food made by others.
However, if you want to get paid to review restaurants, you have to put in the work:
- You have to have pristine writing skills and gain experience in the journalism industry.
- Your food knowledge must match those in the food industry, as that’s the only way to write reliable reviews.
- You have to put yourself out there as a food critic.
Before becoming a reputable reviewer, you must establish your name in the industry, which can be challenging.
Start making money with food
Working with food is exciting and lucrative, but it requires a lot of work as the food industry is saturated. However, if you sign up with Airtasker, you will find plenty of work in your desired side hustle. Just set up your Tasker profile, and Airtasker handles the payment and insurance for you, so all you have to worry about is the task at hand!
FAQs
How do I start a food side business?
Successful food side businesses always start with a unique concept. Whether it’s a family recipe that no one can copy or a hole in the market in your area, ensure your business’s idea gives you the edge over others. Once you’re sure you have a solid vision, it’s time to develop recipes and iron out your operations.
Of course, there’s a ton of paperwork involved as well. Once you register your business, you have to get the word out there and ensure your supply meets your customers’ demand.
Is catering a good side hustle?
Depending on your rate and client, caterers can make between $9 to $25 an hour. It’s a good side hustle for those who love cooking for crowds, but it does take a lot of time and effort. If you open a catering business, you must fully commit to prep for days before the event, which includes talking to your client, cooking the food, and serving the crowd.
How do cooking videos make money?
When you put your recipes and other cooking content on the internet in video format, there are a few ways to make money from them. When you post the video on YouTube, you can earn from the ads run at the start and in the middle of the video. You can also post them behind a paywall, like on Patreon, to get money from your loyal fans. Lastly, you can use the power of affiliate marketing and get paid by using certain products while cooking.
How do you start a food vlog?
If you’re interested in creating video content for a food vlog, your first task is to define your brand. Whether you’re a humble homemaker making delightful treats, or a foodie putting your reactions to good food online, you have to create a persona that people want to watch. Afterwards, you have to create content consistent with your brand. That’s how you can start building a fanbase that clamors for your cooking videos.
