The City and AHS requirements in plain language, what they cost in 2026, and how PickTheCook gets paid. The low-risk home route comes first.
You can sign up now and start your City and AHS steps early.
A clearer way to get started
Plain language, official sources, no hidden platform fee
$0
Signup fee at launch
Signing up on PickTheCook is free at launch. City, AHS, and other government fees are separate and paid directly to those authorities.
10%
PickTheCook commission
On food sales only; never on a delivery fee you set or on tips.
First-month offer: 0% PickTheCook commission for the 30 days that start with your first paid order (section 7 of the Seller Agreement).
100%
Tips are yours
PickTheCook does not take commission from customer tips.
Direct
Stripe payouts
Order proceeds settle to your own connected Stripe account.
Start here
If every food you sell meets Alberta's low-risk home food rules, this is the usual route. The City and AHS make the final call.
These are dated estimates from current official sources. Pay government fees directly to the authority. The City, AHS, and other authorities decide your actual path and fees.
Fee sources reviewed:
Required for Calgary home-food businesses
This requires the City to accept Home Occupation – Class 1 and AHS to confirm that no Food Handling Permit is required.
The City's own pages disagree on whether a home food business needs Home Occupation – Class 1 or Class 2. Ask the City before you count on Class 1.
Home-based Food Service – Premises fees. These figures exclude the fire and planning rows that do not apply to home-based businesses.
City processing time varies and starts after a complete application is received.
City location approval with no application fee.
About 5 business days; no expiry while the operation remains compliant.
Alberta's low-risk home food rules decide what you can make at home without an AHS permit. Every food has to meet all of the rules. These lists are examples, not a promise that your recipe qualifies.
Salsas, ferments such as kimchi and kombucha, and canned food other than jams and pickles. These can need proof of acidity or water activity. Message us before you list one. A person from PickTheCook looks at some of these dishes before they go live.
Meals, soups, curries, rice, meat, cheesecake, custard, cream fillings, and anything that must be kept cold or hot. This includes filled dumplings, samosas and sambusa (fresh or frozen), and milk or custard sweets like rasmalai, leche flan and pastéis de nata. You need an AHS Food Handling Permit before you list these, and we'll ask you for it. AHS may also ask for changes to your kitchen.
Is your main dish on the permit list? You can still sign up today with the foods that fit the low-risk rules, and add the others once your AHS Food Handling Permit is on file. If everything you make needs a permit, you can sign up now too and add your dishes once the permit is on file.
The first-month offer starts with your first paid order, whatever you sell — it isn't tied to a particular dish (Seller Agreement, section 7).
Not sure? Ask AHS before you sell.
Ask the City whether Home Occupation – Class 1 or Class 2 applies to you. You need an AHS Food Handling Permit before you sell higher-risk food, such as meals, soups, meat, cheesecake, cream fillings, or anything kept cold or hot. Building or trade permits can apply if you change your kitchen or home; ask the City before any work.
City development permit. Current official City sources conflict, so both published figures are shown.
About 10–12 weeks; approval is not guaranteed and expiry varies.
Confirm the current amount with the City before paying.
A qualifying low-risk home-prepared-food path requires no permit. Otherwise, AHS decides the applicable permit class.
Valid for 1 year. An annual renewal fee applies, but AHS does not publish a separate renewal amount.
Each required building, electrical, gas, mechanical, or plumbing permit has a variable fee. Ask the City before starting work.
Timing varies by the permits and review required.
There is no universal total. Never infer your approval path or permit class from these figures; confirm it with the responsible authority.
Licensing in plain language
A provincial low-risk food path does not cancel Calgary's municipal requirements. Start with the real food, preparation address, people, water, and sales plan.
The City says Calgary home-based food businesses that prepare or sell food need a business licence. Home preparation is commonly routed to Food Service – Premises.
The City decides whether Home Occupation – Class 1, Class 2, or another approval applies. Visits, workers, space, pickup activity, accessory areas, equipment, and construction matter.
AHS decides whether the actual operation needs a Food Handling Permit, approved establishment, plan review, inspection, training, event notice, or another step.
Qualifying low-risk home-prepared food has direct-to-consumer, household preparation, ingredient, water, and label rules. Higher-risk food needs the stricter AHS path.
A cookie may be shelf-stable while a cream-filled cookie is not. Canned, pickled, fermented, jam, relish, and salsa products can need technical pH, water-activity, or process evidence. When unsure, ask AHS.
Optional application help
PickTheCook can help organize the facts and documents requested by official forms, compare your draft with current public checklists, and walk you through submission. You review every answer and declaration, submit through the official City or AHS process, and pay government fees directly.
Planned one-time price
CAD $200 + applicable tax
This inquiry does not book a service or charge you. Only after service and refund terms, tax treatment, capacity, and privacy arrangements are settled will PickTheCook say whether a pilot slot can be offered.
No payment today. Sign in to send a short inquiry. Do not include ID, SIN or BN, banking information, passwords, or licence or permit documents.
Money and Stripe Connect
The seller is the merchant of record. PickTheCook helps customers discover, order, message, and pay, while Stripe moves funds through the seller's connected account.
PickTheCook takes 10% of food sales. Delivery fees you set and tips are excluded.
First-month offer: 0% PickTheCook commission for the 30 days that start with your first paid order (section 7 of the Seller Agreement).
The full customer tip belongs to the seller.
The seller reviews and accepts the request first. The customer then pays through a direct charge on the seller’s connected Stripe account.
The customer buys the food from the independent seller. PickTheCook is the marketplace.
Proceeds settle to the seller's connected Stripe account on Stripe's payout schedule; PickTheCook does not hold a seller balance.
Other deductions: Stripe processing fees and any applicable tax on PickTheCook's commission are also deducted. Current Stripe pricing and the exact order breakdown are shown separately; Stripe identity and payout approval do not replace City or AHS approval.
How to start
You can sign up without licence numbers or documents. For foods that need one, we'll ask for your AHS food handling permit before you list them. You remain responsible for completing every City and AHS requirement before offering or fulfilling food.
Step 1
Use this guide and the linked City and AHS sources to understand the rules that may apply to your food and location.
Step 2
Apply with the City and contact AHS early. Ask before construction, equipment installation, or operating.
Step 3
Give your kitchen's name and location, and accept seller responsibility. You add your story and photos later from your dashboard.
Step 4
After you sign up, build your menu and connect Stripe, and set your schedule. Being on PickTheCook is not a licence or government approval, and PickTheCook may ask for current proof of your licences or permits at any time.
PickTheCook is built to remove marketplace busywork while the seller stays in control of the food, schedule, prices, fulfilment, and legal responsibilities.
Menu, pricing, ingredients, allergen details, photos, and options.
Weekly availability, lead times, daily limits, and blackout dates.
Pickup plus optional seller-managed delivery with distance-based fees.
Secure checkout, clear order breakdowns, direct Stripe proceeds, and payout status.
Customer messaging, order notifications, custom requests, ratings, and reviews.
A seller dashboard, setup checklist, support tickets, and human review for uncertain cases.
Official sources
These are the current primary pages and useful subpages used for this guide. Official rules, case-specific written direction, current forms, and current fee schedules take priority over PickTheCook's summary.
Sources reviewed:
Rules can change. Alberta has announced Food Regulation changes for January 1, 2027, so PickTheCook must review this guide, checker, onboarding, and every translation before that date.
Common questions
The short answers below explain PickTheCook's current Calgary model. The official authority decides your actual licence and permit requirements.
The City says Calgary home-based food businesses that prepare or sell food need a business licence and location approval. A narrow personal-chef exception may apply only when all preparation and storage happen in each client's home; confirm it with the City before relying on it.
Not necessarily. A qualifying low-risk home-prepared-food operation may not need an AHS permit, commercial kitchen, or routine inspection. The food, process, preparation place, people, water, and sales channel must meet all conditions. Calgary's City requirement remains separate.
Not when you sign up. Licence and permit numbers and uploads are optional. For foods that need one, we'll ask for your AHS food handling permit number and a copy before you list them. You—not PickTheCook—are responsible for identifying, obtaining, and maintaining every requirement that applies, and PickTheCook may request current proof at any time.
At launch there is no seller signup fee. PickTheCook charges 10% on food sales, never on a delivery fee you set or on tips. Stripe processing fees and applicable tax on commission are separate deductions. First-month offer: 0% PickTheCook commission for the 30 days that start with your first paid order (section 7 of the Seller Agreement).
The seller offers pickup and may choose to deliver orders personally with distance-based fees. PickTheCook does not operate a driver network.
The seller is the merchant of record and has a Full Stripe Dashboard. After the seller accepts, the customer pays through a direct charge on that seller’s connected account. Stripe deducts PickTheCook’s application fee (PickTheCook’s commission plus any GST PickTheCook collects) from seller proceeds and pays out the remainder on the seller’s Stripe schedule; PickTheCook never holds a seller balance.
PickTheCook doesn't ask for your landlord's permission when you sign up, but selling from home may need it. Before your first order, check your lease or condo bylaws — many limit businesses run from home — and ask your landlord or condo board in writing. Their permission is separate from the City's approval; you may need both.
Not when you sign up. Stripe checks your identity on its own secure pages when you set up payments. PickTheCook asks for a SIN or Business Number only if your sales in a year come near the level where Canada's tax rules require us to report them, and only on your payouts page.
A large payments company. Customers' card payments go into your own Stripe account, and Stripe sends the money to your bank. PickTheCook never holds your money.
A rounded example, before any GST: a $40 cake. Stripe's card fee is about $1.46 (approximately 2.9% + $0.30 per payment, set by Stripe). PickTheCook's commission is $4.00 (10% of food sales). You keep about $34.54. PickTheCook takes no commission on delivery fees you set or on tips; Stripe's card fee applies to the whole payment. During your first-month offer (the 30 days from your first paid order), PickTheCook's commission is $0, so you'd keep about $38.54.
Not yet — sellers must be 18 or older.
Sign up in your preferred language. You can sign up without licence documents. Your City business licence is your responsibility under the Seller Agreement; we don't ask for its number.