Home kitchens in California
California leads with the home food MEHKO Finder doesn't cover — cottage food operations and street & mobile vendors — with the complete directory of 6,625 listings across every track in the finder below.
California's other home-food tracks — first
MEHKO Finder has California's permitted meal kitchens covered. Here, cottage food and street vendors lead — the coverage MEHKO Finder doesn't have.
Cottage Food Operations
California's CFO program (Class A & Class B) — shelf-stable foods made at home. 3221 listed so far, growing as county and market sources are swept.
Street & Mobile Vendors
Sidewalk vendors and Compact Mobile Food Operations (CMFO) — hot-dog carts, fruit-cup stands, and where they post up. 2148 listed so far.
The rules for both
CFO registration, sales caps, CMFO permits, and sidewalk-vending rules — California's full law guide.
MEHKO meal kitchens
The complete synced directory is in the finder below — and MEHKO Finder is its dedicated home.
🍳 Looking for California's permitted MEHKO meal kitchens?
MEHKO Finder is the dedicated home for California's MEHKO program — its finder, Ask Mehko, county-by-county permit help, and owner claims live there.
Home Food Finder's California coverage leads with what MEHKO Finder doesn't cover: California cottage food (Cottage Food Operations, Class A & B) and street & mobile vendors (CMFO / sidewalk vending) — with the complete national directory, all tracks, in the finder below.
Find a home kitchen in California
6,625 listings — by track: 1,256 meal kitchens · 3,221 cottage producers · 2,148 street vendors. Search, filter, or use your location to sort by distance.
Three tracks, three different kinds of food business. 🍳 Home Kitchen — Meals: permitted home kitchens cooking meals. 🥧 Cottage Food — Shelf-Stable: home producers of shelf-stable foods (baked goods, jams, candy) — preorder / pickup, not restaurant-style reservations. 🌮 Street Food — Sidewalk & Mobile: vendors selling in public places — they do NOT cook from home kitchens; they hold different permits and are walk-up only, with no bookings. Listings badged 🌾 Food Freedom sit under a state law broader than cottage food; in the track filter they count under Meals when they sell hot/prepared food and under Cottage when they sell shelf-stable goods.
🔒 Pins show the city or neighborhood, not exact addresses — home kitchens' exact locations stay private.
🌮 Know a stand, cart, or home kitchen in California that isn't listed here? Spot a vendor → Photograph it, add what you know, and it lists as a community spot the vendor can claim free.
🍳 Run a home kitchen in California?
Claim your listing with proof of your California Cottage food law permit, license, or registration — whichever your program issues — and unlock the Owner Studio: your logo and colors, photos, menu, reviews, QR code, and booking requests.
Cottage producers: claim with proof of your California Cottage food law registration or permit — whichever your program issues — and your listing carries the Cottage Food badge with preorder / pickup requests, never reservations.
Street & mobile vendors: you are a separate track — you do not cook from a home kitchen. Claim with your mobile/sidewalk vending permit (in the permit type your state or county issues) and your profile shows your typical area and where you are often found — walk-up only, no bookings.
The rules in California
⚖️ California home-kitchen laws — snapshot
Mixed: state + county Cottage food lawMicroenterprise home kitchen (MEHKO)
Sales cap: Cottage food: Class A $75,000 / Class B $150,000 in verifiable gross annual sales, adjusted annually for inflation based on the California Consumer Price Index…
Allowed foods: Cottage food — Allowed: only foods on CDPH's Approved Cottage Food List (shelf-stable, non-potentially hazardous): baked goods without cream, custard, or meat…
Start your own
👩🍳 Start a home kitchen in California
California sets statewide rules but counties add their own — check both levels, then follow the general roadmap.
Events & news in California
Recent changes: 2023 (context for current caps): AB 1325 (Chapter 101, Statutes of 2023; urgency, effective July 21, 2023) raised the MEHKO gross-sales cap from $50,000 to $100,000 (CPI-adjusted), raised the weekly meal limit from 60 to 90, and defined 'meal.' 2024: Los Angeles County opted in (ordinance adopted May 14, 2024; permitting began Nov. 1, 2024); Contra Costa County authorized a MEHKO pilot program;…
🔔 Launch & law alerts for California
Get told when kitchens launch in California or its home-food laws change. Read the current California law guide while you wait.
Keep Home Food Finder free 💚
Home Food Finder is free for home kitchens and visitors — no listing fees, no paywall. It runs on one person's dime. If it helped you, a small gift keeps it free for the next person.