Récup et Gamelles

What Récup et Gamelles does

Récup & Gamelles is a Lyon-based Loi 1901 non-profit association founded in 2014 by Alexandra Bouchek, Prescilia Bellat, and Antinéa with a mission to reduce food waste and improve access to quality food for vulnerable populations. The association developed a portfolio of interlocking activities: two solidarity-priced restaurants (La Récupéria opened 2021 in Lyon 8 at 95 rue Villon, and La MESA opened October 2022 in Langlet-Santy as a joint venture with VRAC Lyon Métropole combining a solidarity grocery, anti-waste restaurant, and community café); the Bocalerie Solidaire participatory preserve production line (150–300 kg of rescued produce transformed weekly into jams, sauces, ketchups, and chutneys using consigned jars from Conservor); the Repas Solidaires donation-funded meal program (€10 per meal, ~941 beneficiaries served since 2020 through partners Mamaraude, Au Tambour, Epicentre, and Agorae and partly financed via GOODEED); and a menu of paid and free services — workshops (Ateliers AntiGaspi), public animations (Démo, Expo, Marmitouille, Buffets Pédagogiques), training (Ambassadeur Citoyen and Resto Engagé, with online versions funded by DRAAF Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes), and consulting-style accompaniments delivered with Mouvement de Palier.

The core technical assets are non-digital but reproducible: a whole-product anti-gaspi cooking methodology that uses 100% of rescued produce including peels, skins, tops, and stalks; a participatory cooking engine for jar transformation with deposit/return circularity; composting and vermicomposting practices; and a set of freely downloadable pedagogical tools (AntiGaspi booklet, printable exhibition, jar conservation guide). There are no proprietary software, AI, or API assets — technology is operational know-how codified in recipes, formats, and governance.

The revenue model mixes transaction-based income (solidarity-priced restaurant menus between €4 and €15, solidarity jar sales through La Récupéria, La Melting Coop, and La Microferme des États-Unis, fees for training and accompaniment) with charitable donations (membership fees via HelloAsso, ad hoc solidarity meal donations, GOODEED media-budget conversion) and institutional grants from public bodies (Ville de Lyon, Métropole de Lyon, France Relance, DRAAF PNA) and corporate philanthropy (BNP Paribas, Fondation Biocoop, Lea Nature, 1% for the Planet, Crédit Coopératif, Fondation Innovations & Transitions, Fondation Lexcase, RDI). Customer segments include individual citizens (workshops, restaurants), restaurant and food-service professionals (accompaniment, Resto Engagé training), community structures (collective waste-reduction cycles), people in vulnerable situations (solidarity meals), and educators/facilitators (animation training). The association announced its closure in 2024 after 10 years of operation, citing that the two-restaurant expansion exposed it to economic, financial, and human challenges that were not offset by available support.

Name

Récup et Gamelles

Legal name

Association RÉCUP ET GAMELLES

Website

https://recupetgamelles.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Récup & Gamelles is a Lyon-based Loi 1901 non-profit founded in 2014 that reduced food waste through two solidarity-priced restaurants, participatory preserve production, donation-funded meals for vulnerable people, and citizen and professional training and accompaniment programs; it operated in Lyon only and announced closure in 2024 after 10 years.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Food Rescue Services

NAICS

Community Food Services (624210), Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Waste Reduction & Diversion Services (Donation, Animal Feed, Source Reduction Programs) (EUAIAEAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Reuse & Resale / Recommerce Operations (EUAIANAC), Reusable Packaging & Container Return Programs (On-site) (BPABALAJ)

Keywords

• Food waste reduction
• Community kitchens
• Solidarity restaurants
• Anti-waste training
• Food rescue

Headquarters

HQ city

Lyon

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Solidarity Meal Donations: Individual donations are converted into solidarity meals at La MESA and La Récupéria for people in vulnerable situations. Each €10 donation equals one meal. Partnerships with GOODEED enable additional meal financing through media budget conversion.
2. Restaurant Revenue: La Récupéria and La MESA generate revenue through a solidarity pricing model where menu prices range from €4 to €15 depending on the diner's financial situation, with the gap subsidized by donations and partner support.
3. Solidarity Jar Sales: Sale of preserves (jams, sauces, ketchups, chutneys) made from rescued produce, distributed through La Récupéria, La Melting Coop (Villeurbanne), and La Microferme des États-Unis (Lyon 8).
4. Training Fees: Training programs for citizens and restaurant professionals, including 'Ambassadeur Citoyen Zéro Déchet Zéro Gaspi' and 'Resto Engagé' courses. Some online courses are offered free via PNA financing from DRAAF Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
5. Membership Fees: Annual membership fees collected via HelloAsso platform, providing members access to association activities and involvement in governance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Récup & Gamelles is a French non-profit association (Loi 1901) that rescues unsold and imperfect food from waste by transforming it into gourmet meals, preserves, and educational experiences. It runs solidarity-priced café-restaurants (La Récupéria and La MESA), a participatory preserve production line (Bocalerie Solidaire), donation-funded solidarity meals for vulnerable people (Repas Solidaires), and delivers anti-waste workshops, animations, training, and consulting to citizens, restaurants, and community organizations in the Lyon area.

Product overview

Récup & Gamelles is a Lyon-based non-profit (Loi 1901) founded in 2014, operating a portfolio of interconnected food waste reduction services and community dining establishments. The core offerings include two solidarity restaurants: La Récupéria (café-restaurant launched 2022) and La MESA (food third-place launched 2022, co-built with VRAC), both serving creative anti-waste cuisine with sliding-scale pricing. Supporting services include the Bocalerie Solidaire (participatory preservation of 150-300kg/week of recovered produce into jams and sauces), Repas Solidaires (donation-funded meals for vulnerable populations), plus workshops, public animations, professional training programs, and consulting services. Educational tools (anti-gaspi booklet, printable exhibition, preservation guide) complement the hands-on activities. The organization recovered 8 tonnes of food annually with 81 volunteers and reaches 10,000 people per year through 200 interventions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• La Récupéria A solidarity-priced café-restaurant located at 95 rue Villon, Lyon 8, offering creative anti-waste cuisine made from recovered bio food. Open Wednesday to Friday for lunch with menu pricing ranging from €4 to €15 based on the diner's financial situation.
• La MESA (Maison Engagée et Solidaire de l'Alimentation) A multi-format third-place (tier-lieu) in Lyon 8 combining an organic solidarity grocery, an anti-waste solidarity restaurant, and a community café. Co-developed and co-hosted with VRAC association.
• Bocalerie Solidaire

Quantifiable outcome

• 8 tonnes of food rescued per year (including 7 tonnes of fruits and vegetables)
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered supporting, core and minor.

• GOODEEDsupportingOthers · 1 January 2020Solidarity donation platform enabling advertisers to redirect media budgets to fund associative projects. Through this partnership, approximately 350 solidarity meals were funded for Récup & Gamelles beneficiaries since 2020.
• Ville de LyoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey institutional partner providing financial and political support to Récup & Gamelles throughout its 10 years of operation. The Ville de Lyon supported the association during its final difficult year before closure, as acknowledged in the association's farewell announcement.
• Métropole de LyoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey institutional partner co-supporting the association's activities and providing backing for accompaniment programs delivered in partnership with Mouvement de Palier. Referenced in the association's farewell acknowledgments.
• VRAC Lyon MétropolecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-developer of La MESA (Maison Engagée et Solidaire de l'Alimentation), a major tier-lieu food project in Lyon 8. VRAC and Récup & Gamelles co-built and co-hosted this multi-format food justice space combining an organic solidarity grocery, an anti-waste restaurant, and community programming.
• Mouvement de Palier (MDP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in delivering collective waste reduction accompaniment cycles. Mouvement de Palier trains and accompanies citizens and groups wishing to engage in collective action around waste sorting and reduction, with Récup & Gamelles providing food waste and anti-gaspi expertise.
• AremacsminorOthersReferenced as a partner organization in the farewell announcement. Aremacs is a French associative network focused on sustainable event management and the reduction of environmental impact at events.
• Territoires à VivreS Grand LyonminorOthersReferenced as a partner organization in the farewell announcement. Territoires à VivreS is a network of social landlords working on social cohesion and quality of life in housing neighborhoods in Greater Lyon.
• GrandLyon HabitatsupportingOthersSocial housing operator in Greater Lyon. One of the founding board members, Alexandra Bouchek, is associated with GrandLyon Habitat. The organization is listed among La Récupéria's partner logos.
• Les SCOP Sociétés CoopérativesminorOthersFrench cooperative network (Sociétés Coopératives et Participatives). Listed as a partner logo contributor to La Récupéria, possibly as a structural or governance inspiration partner.
• Botanic Saint PriestsupportingOthersGarden center store in Saint Priest. One of two main produce suppliers for the Bocalerie Solidaire, providing rescued fruits and vegetables for transformation into preserves.
• Bene BonosupportingOthersFood rescue platform connecting retailers with surplus produce. One of two main produce suppliers for the Bocalerie Solidaire, providing rescued fruits and vegetables for transformation into preserves.
• Conservor (Groupe Massily)supportingOthersGlass jar manufacturer based in Trévoux (01), providing in-kind support (donated glass jars) for the Bocalerie Solidaire through a patronage/mécénat arrangement.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Solaal: French association facilitating donations of agricultural produce to food aid associations. Comparable mission of bridging surplus food with vulnerable populations, but operating at the farmer-to-charity interface rather than restaurant-level transformation.
• VRAC (Vers un Réseau d'Achat en Commun): French non-profit network of solidarity grocery cooperatives in low-income neighborhoods. Récup & Gamelles' partner and co-builder of La MESA; directly comparable on solidarity food access model in priority urban districts.
• Disco Soupe: Volunteer-driven collective organizing public anti-waste cooking events to raise awareness and cook with rescued produce. Near-identical volunteer-led, participatory cooking methodology and zero-waste messaging, but operating event-based rather than via permanent restaurants.
• La Banque Alimentaire: French food bank network collecting and redistributing food to charitable partners across France. Comparable role as a food rescue/redistribution intermediary feeding vulnerable populations, but operating warehouse logistics rather than restaurant transformation.
• Les Restos du Cœur: France-wide non-profit operating solidarity restaurants and food distribution for people in precarious situations. Overlaps with Récup & Gamelles on solidarity meal distribution and dignified dining, though at vastly greater scale and with a broader food-aid mission.
• Too Good To Go: European surplus-meal marketplace connecting consumers with restaurants and retailers to rescue unsold food. Closest direct competitor in the French food waste space; differs by being a venture-backed consumer app rather than a community-led restaurant model.
• Phenix: France-headquartered social enterprise that collects unsold food from retailers and redistributes it to charities and consumers. Directly comparable mission of food surplus valorization and similar institutional/civic partner ecosystem, though operating via a tech-led B2B collection model rather than volunteer cooking.

Emerging players

• Karma: Sweden-origin app letting restaurants sell surplus meals at reduced prices. Overlaps on the anti-waste restaurant thesis but operates as a digital marketplace rather than a volunteer/transformer model.
• Olio: UK-headquartered food-sharing app connecting neighbors and businesses to redistribute surplus food. Shares the food waste reduction thesis but is consumer-to-consumer app-based rather than a community-cooking/restaurant operation.

Regional players

• FoodCycle: UK charity turning surplus food into community meals for people in food poverty. Nearly identical model combining rescued-food cooking, volunteer engagement, and shared dining, but operating in the UK market and not directly competing in France.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCuH687JMGsoVQUsZDPgBYFQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/recupetgamelles
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/r%C3%A9cup-et-gamelles
• Instagraminstagram.com/recupetgamelles

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Récup et Gamelles