A failed luxury food delivery service is relaunching with the support of several Australian celebrity chefs after collapsing earlier this year owing $6.3million.
Providoor will offer ready-to-eat meals as well as frozen options in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane from 5pm on Monday.
Celebrity chef Shane Delia started Providoor in 2020 as a way for foodies to enjoy fine dining during the Covid lockdowns.
Customers were able to order meal kits designed by some of Australia’s top restaurants which they could prepare and enjoy at home.
However, some of the company’s loyal fans were stiffed $4.4million after it suddenly closed six months ago in April, leaving unused gift vouchers in limbo.
Providoor will start selling fresh ready-to-eat meals in Sydney and frozen meals in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne from 5pm on Monday
Celebrity chef Shane Delia (above) opened Providoor in 2020 to help foodies enjoy fine dining at home during Covid lockdowns
This time around, Providoor will supply meal kits and frozen meals created, but not cooked, by famous Australian chefs, Good Food reports.
Some menu highlights include a lasagne by Silvia Colloca, a mushroom burger from Matt Preston and a white-chocolate cheesecake by Anna Polyviou.
Other familiar faces include Luke Nguyen, Gary Mehigan, Manu Feildel, Justin Narayan and George Calombaris.
The Providoor Frozen service will deliver frozen meal kits in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Meal orders will arrive the next day in Sydney if customers order before midday while Brisbane and Melbourne customers face a three-day lead time.
Hot ready meals by Providoor Local will only be available in Sydney to begin with and can be ordered through Providoor or Uber Eats.
Founder Shane Delia described Providoor’s closure in April as a ‘very sad day’ but said he was ‘proud of Providoor and what it has achieved’.
During its first stint, the unique company sold more than 1 million meals.
Long-time Providoor customer, Sam Benjamin – owner of the Rolling Stone Australia and Brag Media – is the new owner of the business.
He hopes the service’s ‘more approachable’ price point will spark the interest of new customers.
Providoor Frozen will deliver frozen meal kits in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane while Sydney customers can order hot ready meals through the company’s website and Uber Eats
‘For frozen, the most expensive [item] is probably $40, and it will feed two,’ he said.
Providoor was far from the only delivery service to take a hit following the end of Covid lockdowns.
Deliveroo Australia entered administration last year, claiming the delivery market had become too crowded and competitive for it to return a profit.
Other post-Covid victims included Delivr – a Victorian service which had 200 drivers at its peak and CoLab – which offered ready meals from over 150 restaurants.
Grocery service Milkrun – which offered to deliver groceries in 10 minutes – also shut up shop before it was bought out by Woolworths.