What API Restauration does

API Restauration is a French contract catering company founded in 1993 and headquartered in Mons-en-Barœul in the Lille metropolitan area. It operates as part of the broader Groupe API and is structured as a Société par Actions Simplifiée (SAS), with Damien Debosque serving as Directeur Général. The company provides culinary and catering services primarily to corporate and institutional clients in France under a "Cuisinier responsable" (responsible chef) philosophy that emphasizes ethics, dietetics and nutrition, formalized in an Ethics Charter refreshed in November 2023 and embedded through its "entreprise à mission" corporate status.

Its core offering is direct contract catering delivered through on-site kitchens at client locations, supported by an internal talent ecosystem that includes the API d'Or biennial culinary competition (currently in its 7th edition), structured apprenticeship programs, named chef promotion cohorts (e.g., Promotion Pierre Caillet, Promotion Olivier Nasti) and a training partnership with the Institut Culinaire de Paris. The company also operates CREAPI as a wholly-owned subsidiary handling digital/web production for the group, and maintains a separate recruitment portal at apirecrute.com to support frontline hiring at scale.

The business model is direct B2B contract catering sold via a quote-based, direct-sales motion; no public pricing, no software products, no mobile app and no public or partner APIs are offered. Marketing is conducted through a WordPress-based corporate website with blog content, a Facebook page (apirecrute) and a LinkedIn page, with the recruitment portal serving as the primary talent-acquisition channel. No revenue figures, funding history, M&A activity, patents, certifications or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed in the available sources.

Name

API Restauration

Legal name

API RESTAURATION

Website

https://api-restauration.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

API Restauration is a French contract caterer founded in 1993 and headquartered in Lille, providing direct on-site catering services to corporate and institutional clients under a "Cuisinier responsable" responsible-cooking mission. It operates at multi-thousand-employee scale with structured chef training, apprenticeship and internal competition programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Contract Catering Services

NAICS

Food Service Contractors (72231), Food Service Contractors (722310), Caterers (722320)

SIC

Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744), Services-Business Services, Nec (7389)

akta.pro primary industry

Contract Foodservice Management (Outsourced Catering) (THAFAIAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Specialty & Dietary Catering (Vegan, Kosher, Halal, Allergy-Friendly) (HSACAGAH)

Keywords

• Corporate catering services
• Institutional food service
• Responsible cooking
• Contract catering
• Culinary training programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Mons-en-baroeul

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

API Restauration is a French contract caterer providing on-site meal services to corporate and institutional clients under the "Cuisinier responsable" (responsible chef) banner. The core service spans day-to-day catering operations, ethics- and nutrition-driven menu design, and supporting programs such as chef apprenticeship, internal culinary competitions (API d'Or), and chef promotion in partnership with the Institut Culinaire de Paris.

Product overview

API Restauration is a catering and restaurant management company operating under the API Group (Groupe API). Its primary activity is providing culinary and catering services, with a focus on responsible cooking ("Cuisinier responsable"). The company organizes internal culinary competitions (Api d'Or), promotes chef development through apprenticeship and training programs (Institut Culinaire de Paris), and publishes a recipe book. The website serves as an informational and recruitment portal rather than a product technology platform. No distinct software products, SaaS platforms, or named technology modules were identified in the source material.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Corporate and institutional contract catering service Outsourced on-site meal service for corporate and institutional clients in France, delivered under multi-year contracts under the "Cuisinier responsable" responsible-cooking, ethics and nutrition charter.
• Chef apprenticeship and training program (with Institut Culinaire de Paris) Professional culinary apprenticeship and chef training pathway offered by API Restauration in collaboration with the Institut Culinaire de Paris to develop internal chef talent.
• Dietetics and nutrition advisory service Nutrition- and dietetics-led menu engineering and advisory service embedded in API Restauration's responsible-cooking offering, also published as an ethics charter (Charte Éthique, November 2023).

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Institut Culinaire de ParisminorOthersCulinary training institution providing professional development for chefs within the API group.
• CréapiminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerWebsite design and development partner located at 382 Bis rue du Général de Gaulle, Mons-en-Barœul. Responsible for site conception and realization.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Elior Group: Leading French contract catering group serving corporate, education, and healthcare clients in France and internationally; directly comparable to API Restauration in target segments and service model, with a much larger revenue base.
• Dupont Restauration: Independent French contract caterer serving corporate and public-sector clients across regional France; closely comparable in scale and target customer profile to API Restauration.
• Restalliance: French contract caterer specializing in healthcare, seniors, and education segments; comparable operating model and institutional client mix to API, with particular overlap in the public-sector and medical-social verticals.
• Newrest: France-based international contract catering and airline catering group; competes with API for institutional contracts in France while also operating across aviation, rail, and remote-site catering.
• Ansamble (Elior subsidiary): Elior Group's French B2B contract catering brand focused on corporate and local authority clients; directly competes with API for the same French corporate and institutional RFP pool.
• Eurest (Compass Group): Compass Group's French workplace and corporate catering brand; directly competes with API for corporate restaurant and workplace catering contracts across France.
• SCOLAREST (Compass Group): Compass Group's French education contract catering brand; comparable in operating model and segment focus to API's institutional catering work in schools and public-sector clients.

Broad incumbents

• Sodexo: Global French-headquartered food services and facilities management company with a large contract catering business in France; comparable business model and customer base but operates at vastly greater scale and geographic breadth.
• Compass Group: UK-listed global contract foodservice leader with a strong presence in France through brands such as Eurest and Scolarest; overlaps with API on corporate, education, and healthcare catering but with multi-national scale and procurement leverage.

Regional players

• Convivio: Independent French regional contract caterer serving B2B clients; smaller scale than API but comparable contract catering model and customer profile within its regional footprint.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/apirecrute
• LinkedInfr.linkedin.com/company/api-restauration
• Xx.com/APIRecrute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about API Restauration