Providoor was all the rage during lockdowns, delivering restaurant-quality meals from high-end restaurants to homes. When Australia opened back up and we could go to those restaurants IRL, though, as you can imagine, little was heard about it anymore and in April 2023, the business entered liquidation.
Now, though, it’s back. Announced October 23, 2023, the service will comprise Providoor Frozen, which you can order through providoor.com, and Providoor Local, available on Uber Eats, with dishes created by some of Australia’s best-known foodies and celebrity chefs including Matt Preston, Silvia Colloca, Anna Polyviou, Manu Feidel, Luke Nguyen, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris.
“The way food is prepared has not really changed for thousands of years,” says Sam Benjamin, Providoor’s new investor. “We have worked with famous chefs and leading food technologists to disrupt this model. We have developed processes that allow us to prepare, store and finish restaurant quality food in a way that has never been done before.”
Providoor was the brainchild of Melbourne-based chef Shane Delia, who launched it during the pandemic in 2020. In just 12 months, Delia drove more than $40 million in revenue back into the project, delivering over half a million meals. It was considered a life-saver for the restaurant industry which was suffering under lockdown closures, particularly in Melbourne, one of the most locked-down cities in the world.
Bejamin is the founder and managing director Sydney’s Seventh Street Ventures, which is also behind Rolling Stone, Brag Media and gourmet food test platform Kaspa. He says he’s spent the last three years travelling the world testing, tasting, sourcing, preparing and delivering high-quality food through test-platform Kaspa.
“We have assembled a highly experienced team from all over the world – operations and culinary – all committed to the bold aspirations of the business with an innovative chapter to drive the full Providoor purpose and potential,” he says.
Meals will be prepared in Providoor kitchens located throughout Sydney in Homebush, Five Dock, Neutral Bay and Moore Park, with further kitchens to open in the city, as well as in Melbourne and Brisbane in the future.
“I was a customer and loved the original concept of Providoor,” says Sam Benjamin, Providoor’s new investor. “It offers a connection for at-home diners to top chefs and restaurants who don’t want to cook, but want elevated at-home dining. I know we can breathe new life back into a brand that such good sentiment. The demand is there, and we are ready to meet it.”
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