TavolaMeet.

Host Terms

Rights and responsibilities for those hosting dinners on TavolaMeet

Cooking at home: country rules

You as the Host are responsible for complying with food, tax and zoning regulations of your country and municipality. Below are the main rules for the markets where TavolaMeet is active. For other countries, always check with local authorities.

FI

Finland (Helsinki)

Official source: City of Helsinki Food Safety Unit.

Pop-up exemption: up to 12 events per year

A private person can run paid dinners as a pop-up restaurant up to 12 times per calendar year without notifying any authority. No registration, no paperwork.

Beyond 12 events/year you need:

  • Formal notification to the municipal Food Safety Unit at least 4 weeks before starting the activity.
  • Self-monitoring plan (omavalvontasuunnitelma) assessing the risks of your operation.
  • Good hygiene practices, refrigeration and temperature control.
  • Product labels compliant with regulation (allergens, ingredients, expiry).

Domestic space — practical rules

  • You need approval from the property owner (if you rent).
  • The activity must not disturb neighbors.
  • Pets cannot be in the kitchen during preparation. Your own food must be kept separate from food for sale. Any family illness must not cause a hygiene risk.

Bakery products (special case): Selling bread, sweets and less perishable baked goods made at home is exempt from notification up to a revenue of EUR 20,000/year.

For doubts or specific requests, write to:

kymp.elintarviketurvallisuus@hel.fi

Open the official City of Helsinki page →

IT

Italy

Italian regulations on private home dinners are evolving. Always check with your municipality.

  • ·Occasional activity: grey area. For a few events per year, some municipalities accept a temporary SCIA or no formalities; others require advance notice.
  • ·Habitual/professional activity: requires SCIA to the municipal SUAP, VAT number (Partita IVA), possible INPS registration and an appropriate ATECO code (e.g., 56.10.20 catering without habitual serving).
  • ·Basic HACCP training is recommended also for non-professional activity (online course ~€30, valid 3 years).
  • ·Allergen disclosure is legally required for every dish served (EU Reg. 1169/2011 + D.Lgs. 231/2017).
  • ·Serving alcohol requires a specific license in addition to standard SCIA.

We are not a tax or legal advisor. Before exceeding a few events/year, talk to an accountant and your municipal SUAP office.

Restaurants

If you run a restaurant, the rules above (home-cooking exemptions, 12 events/year, etc.) don't apply to you: you operate with permanent licenses. On TavolaMeet your responsibilities are different.

What you handle

  • Keep your venue licenses valid (SCIA, fitness for use, HACCP, fire safety).
  • HACCP procedures and staff training.
  • Allergen disclosure for every dish (EU Reg. 1169/2011).
  • Alcohol serving license (anniskelulupa in Finland, art. 86 TULPS in Italy).
  • B2B electronic invoicing for TavolaMeet commissions.

What we handle

  • Payments, receipt to Guest, payouts to your Stripe Connect account.
  • VAT verification via VIES at registration time.
  • Guest reviews visible on your public profile.
  • Support to Guests for minor issues (no-shows, delays).

TavolaMeet is an intermediation platform, not a food service provider. Regulatory compliance for your venue remains your responsibility.

This information is a summary for informational purposes, updated as of May 2026. Regulations may change. Always confirm with the competent authority of your municipality before starting. TavolaMeet is not responsible for Host operations.

Ultimo aggiornamento: May 24, 2026

These Host Terms ("Host Terms") supplement the general Terms of Service and govern the use of the TavolaMeet platform ("Platform"), operated by Grata Oy (Helsinki, Finland, Y-tunnus 0756383-4, EU VAT FI07563834), by users who host paid dinners ("Host"). Becoming a Host implies full acceptance of these Host Terms in addition to the general Terms of Service.

1.Definition of Host

1.1A Host is a user who hosts paid dinners through the Platform.

There are two categories of Host:

  • Private Host: natural person who cooks at their own home.
  • Restaurant Host: holder of an authorised commercial business (restaurant, agriturismo, B&B with kitchen, inn).

2.Onboarding and identity verification

2.1Private Host must complete identity verification via Stripe Identity (ID document + selfie) before being able to publish their first event.

2.2Restaurant Host must complete Stripe Connect onboarding (business), providing corporate and tax information, before being able to publish events.

2.3TavolaMeet may request additional documentation at any time (chamber of commerce certificate, licence, HACCP (food safety management) records, insurance policy).

3.Tax and administrative obligations

3.1Each Host is solely responsible for the tax obligations relating to the income received through the Platform.

3.2Private Host (Italy): earnings may fall under the occasional services regime (up to €5,000/year) or may require opening a Partita IVA (Italian VAT number). It is the Host's responsibility to assess their tax position, where appropriate with the support of an accountant.

3.3Restaurant Host: issues an electronic invoice directly to the Guest in accordance with their own tax setup. TavolaMeet transmits the data required for invoicing.

3.4TavolaMeet provides the Host with a monthly statement of payments received, useful for income tax reporting.

4.Food safety — Italy

4.1Private Host cooking at their own home must:

  • ensure hygiene conditions in line with general food hygiene rules (clean surfaces, correct food storage temperatures, no cross-contamination);
  • mandatorily declare the presence of the 14 major allergens (EU Regulation 1169/2011) in the menu of each event;
  • not serve potentially hazardous food without proper preparation (raw meat not blast-chilled, raw fish not blast-chilled, unidentified mushrooms);
  • refrain from the activity in case of infectious or contagious illnesses.

4.2Restaurant Host must hold and keep valid: SCIA sanitaria (Italian municipal health business start notification), HACCP manual, staff training certificates, premises authorisation, professional liability insurance policy.

4.3The Host warrants that the kitchen is not subject to any closure orders.

5.Food safety — Finland

5.1Private Hosthosting dinners in Helsinki or other Finnish municipalities benefits from the "occasional food service" exemption if they host a maximum of 12 events/year for groups of up to 12 non-family persons. Above these thresholds, notification to the local health authority (Ympäristöpalvelut, Helsinki) is mandatory at least 4 weeks in advance.

5.2Restaurant Host in Finland must hold elintarvikehuoneisto (Finnish food premises registration) and an omavalvonta plan (Finnish HACCP equivalent).

6.Alcohol

6.1The serving of alcoholic beverages during events is governed by the applicable local legislation.

6.2Italy: the Private Host may not serve alcoholic beverages for payment without a licence under TULPS art. 86 (Italian Public Safety Act). If alcohol is free or included in the menu, an assessment of the classification with an accountant is recommended.

6.3Finland: the serving of alcoholic beverages for payment requires a Valvira licence regardless of the context.

6.4Serving alcohol to minors is always prohibited (under 18 in Italy; under 18 for beer and wine, under 20 for spirits in Finland).

7.Payments and fees

7.1TavolaMeet retains a 10% fee on the price of each successfully completed booking.

7.2Stripe fees (~1.5% + €0.25 per EU card transaction) are borne by the Host and deducted before payout.

7.3Payouts are made via Stripe Connect according to the configured schedule (default: weekly, every Friday).

7.4In the event of cancellation of the event by the Host with less than 24 hours' notice, TavolaMeet may charge a penalty equal to the lost commission.

8.Reviews and reputation

8.1The Host accepts to receive public reviews from Guests after the event.

8.2The Host may review Guests. Such reviews are not public but contribute to the Guest's reputation and are visible to Hosts assessing future bookings from the same Guest.

9.Guests' privacy

9.1The Host has access to the names of the Guests approved for each event (necessary to manage arrivals and any allergies).

9.2The Host undertakes not to disclose Guests' data to third parties, not to contact them outside the Platform for commercial purposes, and not to retain the data beyond what is necessary for the provision of the service.

10.Uploaded content

10.1The Host warrants that they hold the rights to the photos uploaded (photos of food, of the venue, of themselves).

10.2The Host grants TavolaMeet a non-exclusive, free licence to use the photos for the Platform's promotional purposes.

10.3It is prohibited to upload photos containing the faces of third parties without their consent.

11.Suspension and termination

11.1TavolaMeet may suspend the Host in the event of:

  • 3 distinct non-frivolous reports (automatic suspension);
  • breach of food safety rules;
  • fraud or repeated payment disputes (chargebacks);
  • average reviews below 2.5/5 over at least 5 events.

11.2Suspension is notified by email. The Host has 14 days to challenge it by writing to legal@tavolameet.com.

12.Liability

12.1The Host declares to be solely responsible for food safety, for the quality of the service and for the integrity of the premises in which the dinner takes place.

12.2The Host shall indemnify and hold harmless TavolaMeet from any claim, request for compensation, administrative or judicial sanction arising from the breach of the applicable legal rules, non-performance of these Terms, or damage caused to Guests or third parties during events.

12.3The subscription of a private or professional civil liability insurance policy (for Restaurant Host) covering possible damage to Guests is strongly recommended.

13.Governing law and jurisdiction

13.1Finnish law applies.

13.2Exclusive forum of Helsinki, Finland, for relations with Restaurant Hosts.

13.3For Private Hosts qualifying as consumers residing in the European Union, the mandatory consumer protection rules of the country of habitual residence and the forum of residence remain applicable, pursuant to Regulations (EU) 1215/2012 and (EC) 593/2008. Italian consumers may rely on the Italian Consumer Code (Legislative Decree 206/2005); Finnish consumers may rely on the Kuluttajansuojalaki (Finnish Consumer Protection Act 38/1978).

14.Changes

14.1TavolaMeet may modify these Host Terms with 30 days' notice by email.

14.2Continuing the activity after the changes constitutes tacit acceptance. In case of disagreement, the Host may cease the activity and withdraw published events.