Question regarding the use of a commercial kitchen

I am looking for commercial kitchens in New York City and I found some options.While doing my research I started to think about this issue. If I use someone's commercial kitchen to produce my chocolate, are they supposed to give me some document stating that I am actually using their kitchen? So, if I want to start selling my products to retail stores (for instance), I will not be in trouble?Can someone please give me some feedback on this?Thanks,Andre CostaDaCosta Chocolates(I will change my signature from 'chocolatier-to-be' to 'chocolatier-in-the-making')
updated by @andre-costa: 04/24/15 07:47:11AM

I don't know what the rules are for NY, but most states you will have to have a health inspector approve the establishment for your production. That means the owners of the kitchen will pretty much be inspected all over again, which may deter a few of them from allowing you to produce there, it's not fun. They would basically be sub-leasing the area to you so you would have that contract as verification for your place of production, assuming you are using a contract. But, as I said, I don't know the rules for NY, I could be totally off base. Just a few things you might want to think about though. Good Luck!Andrea

Thank you. I will look further into this matter.Andre Costa

In Utah, it is a lengthy process to get not only certified by the Utah Dept. of Agriculture and have inspections, but also to get the necessary permits from the city. It can be done though and it is an ongoing process to submit your recipies so they will check them for food safety and shelf-life issues.

Also, depending upon your formulations, your insurance carrier my chager a different premium. My truffle centers use fresh dairy. Many commercial formulations use powdered dailry. I pay more to use fresh dairy than if i were using powdered dairy. Just something else to consider. Libiltiy insurance does vary based upon your ingredients.

Are you going to be sub-letting a small part of the kitchen as your own, or will you be using areas common to the other producer? Make sure you have a written agreement for who is responsible for maintenance, repairs and even cleaning. Shared space can be good but it is full of potential for disagreements! I would recommend a full contract as mentioned in a previous post.