We do not offer any geographic territories. You choose your own facility, partners, and pricing. Respectfully, we do ask instructors to refrain from offering their classes in a facility where another HHC instructor is already teaching.
Business Questions
Yes. You will be required to apply for a business license and business bank account in your personal name or a company name and we suggest you create your own website or social media pages to promote your classes.
We do not allow sharing of back offices unless you have a legal partnership with someone else. Both partners are required to go through the training and maintain separate instructor accounts including background checks, food safety and food handling. Liability insurance can be attached to the main account.
Yes. We provide lesson plans and materials but you are free to do what you wish.
Yes.
We train instructors to avoid unnecessary legal issues by only teaching approved, commercial-use recipes in their classes. Recipes found in cookbooks, websites, or on social media, are almost always restricted to personal home use meaning they can't be used to make money in a commercial sense. (Read the fine print)! All HHC recipes are tested for quality and are commercial-free and royalty free to teach in any fee-based class you offer. This is your business decision to make.
You can create your own website and social media pages to list and promote your classes.
Regulations can be different from county to county, and state to state. You are advised to contact your local business license office and/or county health department to see if teaching simple food preparation in your home or in a facility requires any special licenses or permits in your area before enrolling with HHC.
Please email support@healthyhandscooking.com with questions.
HHC members receive downloadable, editable liability waiver forms, food allergy forms, and child model release forms.
You keep 100% of the class revenue you collect.
You will be taught several options for scheduling your classes and collecting online registrations and payments.
Classes are typically 1 to 2 hours in length depending on the age group you are teaching starting with 20-30 minutes of nutrition games/activities followed by cooking and clean up.
Please see our potential earnings calculator on our "Become An Instructor" page and our "Earnings Disclaimer" in our website footer. We offer no guarantees on income.
Unfortunately, we do not have a payment plan for training.
Yes. You must be 18 years or older to become a Healthy Hands Cooking Instructor or 16 years and older to become a Healthy Hands Cooking Certified Helper.
NO. We are not an MLM company or network marketing company. We are a training and support company. You do not need to build teams or collect points to get paid for your efforts. If you hold a class, you get paid, period. However, we do foster a teamwork attitude and encourage instructor support and sharing of ideas.
Please contact your local business office in your county to determine if you need a special license and/or permit to teaching cooking classes.
Either. You choose your own hours and create your own schedule based on your needs. We'll show you how to manage your time in a part-time, full-time or completely flexible capacity.
Additional optional instructor items, kids tools and other items can be found in your instructor store.
Email and private FB group support.
Classes can be held in homes, churches, schools, gyms, dance studios, parks, retail stores, senior communities, supermarkets, neighborhood facilities, after school facilities, corporate offices, wellness centers, insurance companies, restaurants, hotels, etc. A full kitchen is not needed to hold classes. You simply need a sink, soap, garbage can, workspace and a few simple plug-in appliances like a toaster, blender, and pancake grill.
Certification Questions
That depends on you. This is a self-study online course that you can do in your spare time from your home computer. Some instructors have received certification in as little as 2 days. Other instructors have taken months to complete the training.
No. Each module builds on the next and provides you with everything you need to start your own successful cooking career.
- HHC Certification: $1,995 - one-time
- Monthly Membership: $75/month - cancel anytime
- Background Check: $19.95 US.
- Food Handling Safety Course: $15 U.S.
- Business license, business cards, flyers, etc.
- General Liability Insurance - approx. $150/year
Lesson Plans Zones if you choose to be a member - (starts at approx. $17/lesson plan)
You pay for food and supplies to teach your classes.
You will get 11 training modules that teach you how to create the solid foundation and structure for teaching cooking classes including proper licensing, planning blueprint, food handling, media suggestions, support, and more. Once certified, you will also receive a certification logo and downloadable instructor certificate to use as you wish to demonstrate your accomplishment.
We train cooking instructors in the U.S. and other English speaking countries. We do not allow translations of our training or materials.
Nutrition Questions
Yes.
No. We provide you with all of the resources and support to run fun, educational and engaging classes.
Eat Clean. Keep your food sources as close to Mother Nature as possible.
Take the Science Out of Your Food. If you can't pronounce it, you probably shouldn't be eating it.
Shop Local. Not only does this support our local economy, most importantly with small businesses, but the shorter the distance produce needs to travel, the more nutritious it can be!
Shop Seasonally. Seasonal produce is more affordable, which will help keep anyone in budget and will also reduce environmental costs of long distance transportation.
Shop Wisely. Fresh and healthy food should be affordable! Use coupons, weekly sales, in-store specials, farmers markets and buying clubs to get the most for your money.
Avoid Trans Fats. This includes partially and fully hydrogenated oils. Avoid labels that claim 0g trans fats, since there are still trans fats in the product (ingredient list should confirm).
Avoid Excess Sugars. Look for foods that are minimally sweetened, sweetened with natural sugars (e.g. fruit juice, honey, molasses) or use a safe natural alternative (i.e. stevia, xylitol).
Reduce Refined Carbohydrates. Avoid bleached, white flours and sugars. Look for multi-grain, 100% whole grain and 100% fruit/vegetable juice on the label.
Shop Wild Caught Fish. Farmed raised fish aren’t fed the optimal diet and contribute to the pollution of our waters. To get a healthier omega-3 ratio in the diet, look for wild caught whenever possible.
Shop Grass-fed and/or Organic Meats. These meats are not only free of antibiotics, hormones and growth promoters, but the animals are also fed grass and/or organic feed and raised in a healthier environment.
Shop Organic When Possible. Organic foods (i.e. dairy, meats, grains, legumes and produce) support a cleaner environment and a healthier and more nutritionally sound mind and body. They are GMO-‐free, as well as being free of antibiotics, growth hormones, pesticides, herbicides, sewage sludge and irradiation. Look for organic ingredients listed, “made with organic ingredients” stated or the USDA Organic certification seal. When shopping for produce, look for a 9 on the PLU sticker or trust your local farmer.
Avoid GMOs. Genetically Modified or Genetically Enhanced ingredients. GMOs are designated with an 8 on the PLU sticker for produce. Labeling is an option, not a mandate, and is rarely done. Support your state’s initiative to mandate GMO labeling of our foods. We can also vote with our pocketbooks by buying GMO-free and/or organic foods! Visit www.NonGMOProject.org and see if your favorite products are verified!
Avoid Artificial Sweeteners. Includes: acesulfame-‐K (acesulfame potassium), aspartame, sucralose (Splenda) and saccharin.
Avoid Artificial Preservatives. Includes: ammonium chloride, azodicarbonamide, BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole), BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene), potassium benzoate, potassium bisulfite, potassium bromate, potassium metabisulfite, etc.
Avoid Artificial Colorings and Flavorings. Includes: carmine, vanillin, ethyl vanillin, titanium dioxide, D&C blue # 1 & 2, red dye #40, yellow #6 ,etc.
-by Detria Branch, Certified Instructor
HHC Contributing Editors
HHC Teaching Methodology:
HHC does not subscribe to any one method of teaching nutrition (i.e. raw foods vs. vegan cooking, or even MyPlate). Our goal as instructors is to try to meet our students exactly where they are on their own health journey - and that will be different for everyone.
For some, that means reducing fast-foods in their diet. For others, it means reducing processed foods or foods that may cause sensitivities, like dairy.
HHC may use tools and resources from time to time as a way to help teach a certain concept (such as what is a whole grain or how to include healthy foods in a lunch menu). HHC Instructors teach their own food and cooking methodologies in their classes.
All HHC lesson plans are educational in nature with approximately 20 to 30 minutes of nutrition activities followed by hands-on or virtual food preparation followed by cleanup time.
We have age appropriate educational lesson plans available for teaching onsite and virtual classes for ages 2 to 99.