Do the recipes come with a restaurant when you buy it?

A restaurant’s food is often the reason customers come back, so a buyer naturally wants to know whether the recipes are included. The honest answer is that it depends on what was written down, who created each dish, and what the purchase agreement says. Raise it early so there is time to ask your lawyer how to settle it.

Find out what exists on paper

Some kitchens keep detailed recipe books and prep sheets. Others run on memory and habit, with the head cook holding most of it. Ask to see the written recipes, portion guides and prep lists, and ask which dishes are not recorded anywhere. A menu that lives in one person’s head is something you should plan to capture before closing.

Ask who owns each recipe

The owner may have created the signature dishes, or a chef, a family member or a former partner may have. If someone other than the seller made a dish, ask your lawyer whether the seller can hand it over. Ask your lawyer how to deal with this, and consider asking the chef to confirm in writing what they will leave with the restaurant.

Put them in the agreement

Have the agreement list the recipes, prep sheets and menu as part of what you are buying, along with the restaurant’s name and any signature sauces or mixes. Ask whether the seller will agree not to reuse them in a competing business. Your lawyer will advise on how that kind of promise should be written.

Plan a real handover

A binder is not the same as knowing how to cook the food. Ask for a period when the seller or head cook trains you and the kitchen team, with you tasting and cooking, not just watching. See the guide to buying a restaurant in Canada for how handovers fit into the wider process.