Cook Agreement

You sell food as an independent operator — not as an employee, agent, franchisee, or representative of ForkFork. You control your menu, prices, schedule, and preparation. Nothing in this agreement creates an employment, agency, or partnership relationship, and you are not entitled to employee benefits of any kind.

To sell on ForkFork you must hold and maintain a current, valid Santa Clara County MEHKO permit or cottage food registration/permit appropriate to what you sell, and you may only sell what your permit category allows (for example, cottage operations may only sell approved shelf-stable foods). You must tell us promptly if your permit is suspended, revoked, expired, or changed. No valid permit means no selling on ForkFork — we may suspend or remove a kitchen at any time if we believe its permit status or conduct puts buyers at risk.

You are solely responsible for the safety, quality, preparation, packaging, labeling, and legal compliance of everything you sell — including accurate ingredient and allergen information on every listing and any labeling required by California cottage food or MEHKO law. ForkFork does not inspect kitchens or verify food and assumes no responsibility for it.

You set your prices and you receive 100% of your listed price on every order. ForkFork charges you no commission, listing fee, or subscription; our revenue is a service fee buyers pay at checkout.

Your prices include tax. The price you set for each item includes any California sales tax due on it. Reporting and remitting that tax on your own CDTFA seller’s permit is your responsibility — your dashboard totals it for you each quarter as a convenience, not as tax advice. Income taxes on your earnings are also yours to report regardless of whether you receive a tax form; where IRS thresholds and Stripe’s requirements apply, tax forms (such as a 1099-K) are issued for payouts Stripe processes, and your full payout history is always available in your Stripe dashboard.

You appoint ForkFork as your limited agent solely to collect payment from buyers on your behalf. A buyer’s completed payment to ForkFork satisfies their payment obligation to you for that order, and your full listed price is then transferred to you automatically through Stripe.

Payouts require you to complete Stripe’s onboarding (identity and bank verification) and are subject to Stripe’s Connected Account Agreement. Your kitchen is not visible to buyers until payouts are active. If an order you were paid for is refunded under the Refund Policy, the corresponding transfer to you may be reversed.

Accept only what you can fulfill; prepare orders as listed and have them ready at the arranged pickup or delivery time; keep your menu and availability accurate; and communicate promptly with buyers. Repeated cancellations or no-shows can lead to suspension.

Buyer contact details are shared with you only to fulfill orders. You may not use them for marketing, add them to mailing lists, sell or share them, or solicit buyers to transact off-platform for orders initiated on ForkFork.

You grant ForkFork a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host and display the content you provide (kitchen name, photos, descriptions) to operate and promote the marketplace. You confirm you have the rights to everything you upload and that your kitchen branding doesn’t infringe anyone else’s trademark.

ForkFork does not provide insurance of any kind. We strongly recommend carrying liability insurance appropriate for a home food business; you bear the business and legal risk of your operation, and you agree to indemnify ForkFork for claims arising from your food, your operation, or your breach of this agreement, per the Terms of Service.

You can pause your kitchen anytime from your dashboard, or ask us to close it entirely. ForkFork may suspend or terminate a kitchen at any time for permit issues, safety concerns, policy violations, or risk to the marketplace. Orders already paid at termination are handled under the Refund Policy; completed order, payment, and tax records are retained as required by law.