Membership

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Membership in The Chef Alliance gets you access to thousands of dollars in savings on goods and services, to strategic industry resources and alliances, to business tools, marketing and mentorship. One of the premier benefits is the complimentary membership in Restaurants Canada.

Starting July 1 2023, membership is quoted separately from Chef Insurance, which is an exclusive, low rate insurance policy, created for food businesses and Chefs.

To save money on liability insurance for your food or chef business, you must meet the parameters of the Chef Insurance program, operate your business in Canada (except QC) AND be a member of The Chef Alliance.  

Members save at least $500 each year on liability insurance, through the Chef Insurance program.

To access The Chef Insurance program, you must be a member of The Chef Alliance.

Tier 1 and Tier 2: members must run their own business (can be sole proprietors or an incorporated business), sell a culinary service or food product directly to the end-user/ consumer, have annual revenues of under $100,000 or $200,000 respectively, operate within Canada (except QC), have no prior insurance claims for the business and have valid food handlers certification.

Tier 3: members must meet the same criteria as Tier 1 and Tier 2 but can also sell their food products to resellers (e.g. stores, bakeries, restaurants etc).

Here are some sample descriptions of operations to help you complete the form.

• I make authentic Korean meals and snacks in a commercial kitchen and I sell them through food delivery apps such as Uber Eats.
• I offer in-home personal chef or private chef services, where I cook in clients' homes.
• I make packaged snacks in a commercial kitchen and sell them at local  farmers markets, night markets, festivals and events.
• I make boxed meal kits in a commercial kitchen. These are pre-ordered through my website and social media and are delivered to clients on scheduled days.
• I produce bottled sauces in a commercial kitchen and sell to resellers (specialty and ethnic stores, supermarkets) and also direct to end users through our website.
• I offer small group and private cooking classes in my community, in clients' homes, community centres and commercial kitchens. 

Need help? Contact a Success Manager for guidance.

The Chef Insurance program has changed completely in 2023 - each member will now have their own insurance policy through the Chef Insurance program, not a certificate on a master policy.  

This change brings with it many regulatory and compliance issues, hence we now have to quote insurance separately from membership. This allows members to better understand what they are purchasing.

The Chef Insurance program, however, can ONLY be accessed by members of The Chef Alliance - so no change there.  

The deductible is $1,000.

The low membership fee must be paid in full in order to access the member benefits, which includes being able to get the low rates for Chef Insurance.

Each member has their own policy through the Chef Insurance program.  Payment can be paid:

• directly to The Chef Alliance, or 
• financed through a third party financing company.  This option allows members to spread the cost of membership and insurance over time - up to 60 months.  And if you decide to pay the balance off early, no problem - there's no penalties.  Minimum finance amount is $1,000.

Chef Insurance is a commercial general liability insurance product, designed with food businesses and chefs in mind. It includes:

• Bodily injury /property damage
• Personal & advertising injury
• Products Completed Operations (Aggregate)
• Medical payments $10,000
• Tenants legal liability $250,000
• Owners, managers or lessors of premises as Additional Insured.  

• USA and international sales, operations and jurisdiction exclusion
• Total automobile exclusion
• Total liquor exclusion (Chef may make recommendations if requested but will not buy or serve wine or alcohol)
• Abuse exclusion
• Not available in QC.

Here's what we found when we compared our most popular product - Tier 1 Chef Insurance with $2million liability insurance - to others in the marketplace. 

Our price: $360/year. 

• A short term policy: $283.20 for ONLY 21 days of coverage - that's $4,922/year!
• A 1 year policy from another provider - $1,200/year

So even once the membership in The Chef Alliance is factored in, at $499/year, you're still saving money!

Currently, IF Express is offering financing to members of The Chef Alliance.  They were selected because of their simple application and terms.  To apply click here