Cooking classes for guests on a farm: what your registration covers and how to run them

In a cooking class, guests work with the host to make pogača bread, bake under a sač (an iron lid covered with embers) or make cheese. It is one of the easier ways for a farm to earn money outside the accommodation season. The rules below apply to rural tourism facilities and family farms in Republika Srpska.

In short

• The Republika Srpska Law on Hospitality (Zakon o ugostiteljstvu) does not mention cooking classes by name. Article 19 allows preparing and serving food and drink from your own production and "other accompanying services", which include promoting local and traditional products and "other similar activities". A class can fit into this, but the law does not say so directly.
• The 2026 Law on Tourism (Zakon o turizmu, Article 52) describes tourist services in the countryside as a stay for rest and recreation, with the option of taking part in activities typical of rural areas, in line with the hospitality rules.
• Treat a class where guests eat what they make as a food service. The rules on food safety, food-quantity norms, posted prices and records all apply.
• Article 19 covers accommodation together with food and mentions a period of up to 30 days. Neither law says directly whether you may receive guests who come only for the class, without staying overnight. Ask your municipality before you offer the class publicly.
• Know the allergens before the class starts. A guest with an allergy cannot pick an ingredient out of a dish afterwards.

Who it applies to

• Hospitality businesses (ugostitelj: a company or a sole trader) that serve guests in a rural tourism facility in the countryside. The duties in Article 30 apply to them, and if they offer accommodation, also those in Article 31.
• Family farm holders who are not registered as sole traders. They may offer these services only if they have a contract with a tourist organisation or a licensed travel agency. They send the contract to APIF (Agencija za posredničke, informatičke i finansijske usluge, the Agency for Intermediary, IT and Financial Services) to be recorded (Article 19, paragraphs 4 and 5). Their own list of duties is in Article 19, paragraph 5. Article 30, paragraph 5 expressly frees them from keeping a business book. Check with the municipality which other duties from Article 30 apply to them.
• The Law on Tourism (Article 50, paragraph 2) says tourist services may be provided by legal entities, sole traders and individuals registered for this activity under the hospitality rules. The article on the Republika Srpska Law on Tourism for rural tourism providers covers that law in more detail.

What to do

1. Check your status. Check that your facility is registered and categorised as a rural tourism facility. The competent city or municipal authority does the categorisation (Article 26, paragraph 1); see the article on categorising a rural household. If your facility is not categorised, do not sell the class as a separate service until you have cleared this with the city or municipal administration.
2. Ask the municipality and the inspectorate about day guests. Ask a specific question: "May I receive guests only for a class, without accommodation, and under what conditions?" Ask for a written answer.
3. Check your ingredients. Own production covers products from your farm, products from other farms, and forest products and game that you pick or hunt yourself or buy from the people who picked or hunted them (Article 19, paragraph 2). The law does not say whether bought ingredients, such as flour or oil, may be used in a class. Ask the municipality. A registered ugostitelj keeps a business book with purchase records and may not use goods without purchase documents (Article 30, paragraph 1, point 10 and paragraph 2). A farm holder without sole-trader status does not have to keep the business book (Article 30, paragraph 5), but should still keep receipts for everything bought.
4. Write down the norms. An ugostitelj must set food-quantity norms for food services and show them to a guest on request (Article 30, paragraph 1, point 9). A farm holder without sole-trader status also sets norms and keeps to them (Article 19, paragraph 5, point 2). For a class, a simple recipe card is enough: how much flour, cheese or meat per person.
5. Post the price and keep to it. An ugostitelj must also charge domestic and foreign guests the same price (Article 30, paragraph 1, points 5 and 6). A farm holder without sole-trader status posts prices and keeps to them under Article 19, paragraph 5, point 1.
6. Issue a receipt showing the type, quantity and price of the service. This duty is in Article 30, paragraph 1, point 8 and applies to the ugostitelj. Article 19, paragraph 5 does not mention a receipt. The article on fiscalisation explains who must issue a fiscal receipt and who is exempt.
7. Keep guest records. A farm holder without sole-trader status keeps guest records daily and accurately (Article 19, paragraph 5, point 3). Article 30 has no separate guest-record duty. An ugostitelj who offers accommodation keeps a guest book under Article 31, paragraph 1, point 2. The law does not say whether guests who come only for a class must be entered in the guest book, so ask the municipality. The article on records for rural accommodation has more detail.

Food safety and allergens

• Providers of these services must meet sanitary, technical and hygiene conditions and have regular health checks (Article 20, paragraph 1). The article on health checks and hygiene training explains what this means for people who work in the kitchen.
• Ask guests about allergies when they book, not at the table. The list of 14 allergens and how to inform guests are in the article on allergens.
• Food Standards Scotland, the Scottish food agency, gives this advice for community events: wash your hands regularly with soap and water before preparing food and before eating, and always after touching raw meat, fish or poultry; use separate plates and utensils for raw meat, so it does not touch ready-to-eat food such as bread and salad; give participants information on allergens.
• For guests who help with the cooking, set up one handwashing place they can see, and send them there before you start.

Pricing

• Include in the price the ingredients per norm, your time, energy, depreciation and taxes. The article on pricing an agro-tourism package shows the calculation.
• Set a minimum number of participants below which you cancel the class, and state it at booking. Deposits and cancellations are covered in the article on bookings.
• The Law on Hospitality sets no maximum number of participants for a class. Keep the group to the number your kitchen and handwashing place can safely handle.

What we could not confirm

• Whether bought ingredients from outside your own production may be used in a class.
• How the period of up to 30 days in Article 19, paragraph 1 applies to guests who come only for a class.
• Which duties from Article 30, apart from the business book, apply to a farm holder without sole-trader status.
• Whether liability insurance for damage to guests also covers classes. Ask your insurer and get the answer in writing.
• Whether your municipality requires a separate notification for classes with more than a few participants. For gatherings and tastings, see the article on notifying the police.

Where to go

• Trebinje: Gradska uprava Grada Trebinja (City Administration of Trebinje), Odjeljenje za turizam, zaštitu životne sredine i preduzetništvo (Department for Tourism, Environmental Protection and Entrepreneurship). The conditions for categorising accommodation are published on the City of Trebinje website.
• Bileća, Gacko, Ljubinje, Nevesinje and Berkovići: the municipal administration, office responsible for hospitality and categorisation.
• Republička uprava za inspekcijske poslove (Republic Administration for Inspection Affairs), for questions on food safety and hygiene.

Laws and sources

• Law on Hospitality (Zakon o ugostiteljstvu, Službeni glasnik RS no. 45/17 and 1/24), Articles 19, 20, 26, 30 and 31
• Law on Tourism (Zakon o turizmu, Službeni glasnik RS no. 49/26), Articles 50 and 52
• Food Standards Scotland, Community and charity events