For cooks

Your cooking already feeds people. Now let it feed your block.

You already make food people ask you for. Silo turns it into a small, legal storefront in your own neighborhood. You set the prices, you keep almost all of it, and you only ever cook what someone already bought.

  • Keep 90 to 95% of every order
  • Only cook what sells
  • We help you get permitted, free
The honest part

You already know how to cook. Here is the part you are worried about.

Almost every good cook who hesitates is stuck on one of two fears. So we answer both before anything else, plainly.

"What if I cook and no one buys?"

You never cook on a guess. On Silo your neighbors reserve and pay before you turn on the stove, so you cook to the orders you already have in hand. No tray of food going cold, no money spent up front, no waste. If a drop does not sell, you simply do not cook it.

"What if it is not even legal?"

It is, with one permit. California law (AB 626) lets you sell meals made in your own kitchen once you hold a MEHKO permit, after a county health check. It protects you and your neighbors, and we walk you through getting it for free. That is the whole legal story.

What is yours stays yours

You are not staff on someone's app. You are a cook with a storefront.

Silo is the shelf your food sits on, not the boss of your kitchen. Everything that makes it yours stays yours.

Your recipes

Cook what you cook. We never touch your menu or your methods.

Your prices

You set every price. We never discount your food to move it.

Your schedule

Drop when you want to cook. There is no quota and no penalty for rest.

Your neighbors

You cook for people on your own blocks, who come back by name.

What you keep

You set the price. You keep almost all of it.

Silo takes a small service fee so there are no delivery cuts, no monthly charge, and no commission games. You keep 90 to 95 percent of every order, and payouts land in your bank through Stripe within about two business days.

The example beside this is the math on one small drop, not a promise of what you will earn. Your numbers are yours: your prices, your portions, your week.

See the honest math for both sides
An example drop
12 plates at $14
Neighbors reserve and pay $168
Silo service fee (about 5 to 10%) −$8 to $17
You keep, roughly $151–160

Illustration only. You only cook these 12 plates because 12 were bought, so there is no cost for food that did not sell.

What you need

Less than you think. We help with the one hard part.

Food you make well

The dishes people already ask you for. You do not need a new menu or a culinary background, just cooking you are proud of.

A phone and a window

A phone to post a drop and a pickup window that fits your day. Neighbors walk over and pick up; there are no drivers and no delivery to manage.

A MEHKO permit

The one real requirement, and the one we help with most. It is what lets you sell legally and reassures your neighbors. We guide you through it for free. See the full permit guide

How to start

Four steps to your first drop.

It starts with one email. We do not hand you a manual and walk away, we get on the phone and help you through each step.

Start with one email
1
Tell us you want to cook

One email. We learn what you cook and where, and answer your questions like a person, not a form.

2
Get permitted, with our help

We walk you through the MEHKO permit and the kitchen check, for free. This is the step most cooks dread, so it is the one we carry with you.

3
Post your first drop

Snap a photo, name the dish, set the price and the pickup window. A live preview shows exactly what your neighbors will see.

4
Cook what sold, hand it over

Cook only the portions people reserved. Neighbors show a code at your window and take their meal hot. You get paid within about two business days.

A cook like you

The most convincing thing is a neighbor already doing it.

Real cook story coming soon

Our first cooks are getting their kitchens permitted right now. A real face, a real dish, and the real numbers from their week will live here, in their own words. We will never put words in a cook's mouth or invent a number to fill this space.

We have your back

You are cooking. We are handling the rest.

Permit help, free

We guide you through MEHKO and the inspection at no cost. You are not figuring out the paperwork alone.

Payments handled

Neighbors pay in the app through Stripe. You never chase money or handle cash at the door.

Real safety tools

Only verified neighbors in your area can find you, and report and block are one tap away. Your address is never public.

People to ask

A real person answers cooks@silo.market. When something is off, you reach a human, not a queue.

No 30 to 40% cut

What delivery apps take, we do not. Our small service fee is the whole cost, and you keep the rest.

No false promises

We will not promise you crowds we cannot deliver. Silo is new in your neighborhood, and we will be honest with you about that.

Compared honestly

Versus opening a restaurant or taking catering jobs.

Silo is not better at everything. It is far lower-risk to start, and that is the honest difference.

A restaurant or catering
Cooking on Silo
Lease, build-out, and commercial rent before you sell a plate
Cook from the kitchen you already have, no rent
Hire and manage staff and shifts
Just you, cooking what you choose to cook
Buy inventory and risk it spoiling unsold
Only cook what sold, so nothing is wasted
Cater on someone else's terms and timeline
Your prices, your hours, your neighbors
Full commercial permitting and a storefront inspection
One home-kitchen MEHKO permit, and we help you get it

You are not selling to the internet. You are cooking for your block.

The people who reserve your food live near you. They learn your name, they come back for the dish they loved, and they tell the neighbor next door. That is the whole point of Silo: real food, between real neighbors.

Cook questions

The things cooks actually ask.

Do I really need a permit?
Yes. Selling food made in your own kitchen in California means holding a MEHKO permit (AB 626) after a county health check. It is what makes your cooking legal to sell and reassures your neighbors. We help you get it for free, and the full cook guide walks through every step.
What about liability and food safety?
The MEHKO permit and inspection set the food-safety standard you cook to, and every dish lists its allergens for the neighbor ordering. See the food safety page for what the permit covers and how pickup keeps food handled safely.
How much time does this take?
You decide. Post a drop when you want to cook, set a pickup window that fits your day, and cook only the portions that sold. Many cooks start with one drop a week. There is no set schedule and no penalty for taking a week off.
What can I cook and sell?
The food you already make well. MEHKO rules cover what a home kitchen can sell, and the cook guide lays out the details. Most meals made to order and picked up the same day are exactly what the permit is built for.
How and when do I get paid?
Neighbors pay in the app when they reserve. You keep 90 to 95 percent of each order, and payouts arrive in your bank through Stripe within about two business days. There are no delivery fees and no monthly charge.
What about taxes?
Your earnings are yours to report like any small income, and Stripe keeps a clean record of every payout for you. We are not your accountant, but we will not leave you guessing where your numbers are.

You could actually do this. And it would be worth it.

Start with one email. We will help you get permitted, set up your first drop, and cook for your neighbors, the food you already make.

Questions first? Email cooks@silo.market.