LE CHEF PLC

What LE CHEF PLC does

Le Chef PLC (formerly Le Chef Ltd T/A Chef Online) is a UK public limited company founded in 2014 by Mohammed Munim and headquartered at 218A Brick Lane, London. The company commercialises ChefOnline, an online restaurant ordering and marketing platform serving small restaurant and takeaway establishments across the UK, with an initial vertical focus on the UK's 18,000 Indian and South Asian restaurants. The platform combines a national consumer-facing marketplace (chefonline.co.uk) with individually hosted websites for each subscribing restaurant, enabling both discovery through the national portal and direct customer relationships via restaurant-specific URLs.

The product is a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core ChefOnline system provides online ordering and table reservation software, integrated with a cloud-based EPoS module, payment processing (centralised online merchant services), iOS and Android mobile apps, print media services, and SEO/marketing. Each subscribing restaurant receives a hosted website with CMS capabilities, automatically linked back to the national portal. The underlying technology stack is described as cloud-based web and mobile applications with integrated payment processing; no patents, proprietary AI/ML components, or developer APIs are disclosed.

Le Chef PLC generates revenue primarily through a fixed monthly subscription fee of £62.83 for the core restaurant website and ordering platform - explicitly positioned as an alternative to the 14-15% per-order commissions charged by aggregator-style competitors. Additional recurring revenue comes from optional add-on modules (EPoS, print media, mobile apps, SEO). The customer base comprises over 500 (and up to 600, per some sources) SMB restaurant clients, serving 500,000+ active consumers, all within England. The company has raised £2 million via HMRC-approved Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) in 2016 alongside a £2 million crowdfunding initiative, and is governed by a board including the founder-CEO, a chairman connected to the Partex Group industrial conglomerate, a director linked to ATN Bangla UK, and a chartered accountant secretary.

Name

LE CHEF PLC

Legal name

Le Chef Plc

Website

https://lechefplc.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Le Chef PLC operates ChefOnline, a UK online restaurant ordering and marketing platform providing individual hosted websites, EPoS, payments, and mobile apps to 500+ small restaurants and takeaways on a fixed monthly subscription.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Restaurant Ordering Platform

NAICS

Limited-Service Restaurants (722513)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

CPO (Central Production/Commissary) + Satellite Ghost Kitchens (THAFAJAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Restaurant & Commercial Kitchen Equipment Wholesale (AFAIALAB)

Keywords

• Online food ordering
• Restaurant platform
• Ecommerce ordering
• Takeaway marketplace
• Cloud EPoS system

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Monthly Subscription Fees: Fixed monthly fee model where restaurants pay a competitive monthly subscription for their individual website, online ordering system, and access to the ChefOnline platform. This replaces the commission-based model (up to 14%) charged by competitors.
2. Optional Services (EPoS, Print Media, Apps, SEO): Additional ancillary services offered to restaurant clients including EPoS systems, print media, mobile apps for iPhone and Android, and SEO services at competitive prices

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Le Chef PLC operates ChefOnline, an online restaurant ordering and marketing platform that provides small restaurants and takeaways with individual websites linked to a national consumer portal. The company also offers optional integrated services including cloud-based EPoS systems, payment processing, mobile apps, print media, and SEO marketing, sold via a fixed monthly subscription model rather than per-order commissions.

Product overview

Le Chef PLC operates as a unified platform-plus-modules architecture centered on ChefOnline, its core online restaurant ordering system. The platform provides a national portal where customers can search for restaurants, place orders, and make reservations. Restaurant clients receive individual websites integrated with the platform. Additional modules include EPoS (Electronic Point of Sale) systems, Print Media services, Online Merchant Services for payment processing, Mobile Apps for iOS and Android, and SEO/Marketing services. The company targets small restaurant and takeaway establishments with a competitive fixed monthly fee model rather than commission-based pricing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ChefOnline Online restaurant ordering and marketing platform where customers can search for restaurants and takeaways, place orders for delivery or collection, and book tables. Provides subscribing restaurants with their own individual websites that are automatically linked to the national portal for discovery.
• EPoS Systems

Quantifiable outcome

• Restaurants save significantly: at £5,000 turnover, 14% commission equals £700 vs ChefOnline's fixed £62.83 monthly fee
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Asian Restaurant & Takeaway Awards (ARTA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2018ARTA is known as the 'Oscars of the curry industry' and is the UK's pinnacle annual ceremony recognising the best of South Asian cuisine. ChefOnline partnered with ARTA to galvanise leading restaurants for the National Curry Week for Health Heroes initiative, leveraging ARTA's nationwide network of industry leaders and award-winning restaurants.
• CityRoad CommunicationsminorOthersPR and communications agency used by ChefOnline for media relations and press inquiries.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Just Eat Takeaway.com: Just Eat is the UK's leading takeaway marketplace, connecting consumers with restaurants for online ordering. It is a broad incumbent in the same UK food-ordering space as ChefOnline but operates on a commission-based model and at vastly greater scale, including its own delivery logistics.
• Deliveroo: Deliveroo is a major UK food delivery marketplace operating its own rider network and restaurant SaaS tools (Deliveroo Editions, Restaurant Hub). It competes with ChefOnline for UK restaurant partnerships but at much larger scale and with a commission + delivery-fee model.
• Square (Block): Square provides POS hardware, payment processing, online ordering, and restaurant management tools for small businesses. It is a broad incumbent in restaurant commerce technology and overlaps directly with ChefOnline's EPoS and merchant-services modules.

Direct peers

• Toast: Toast is a US-based restaurant technology platform providing POS systems, online ordering, payments, and marketing tools on an integrated SaaS subscription model. It is the most direct analogue to ChefOnline's combined EPoS + online ordering + payment offering, though operating at much larger scale.
• OpenTable: OpenTable is a restaurant reservation and management platform offering online booking, ordering integrations, and guest-management tools to restaurants globally. It is directly comparable to ChefOnline's online ordering and reservation offering, though focused on dine-in rather than takeaway.
• Lightspeed Restaurant: Lightspeed Restaurant provides cloud-based POS, online ordering, and payments for small and mid-market restaurants globally. It directly competes with ChefOnline's EPoS and online ordering modules for the same SMB restaurant customer base.
• Zomato: Zomato is a restaurant discovery, table reservation, and online ordering platform with deep coverage in India and expanding internationally. It is comparable to ChefOnline's marketplace + ordering model but operates at consumer-app scale across multiple cuisine verticals.
• TheFork (Tripadvisor): TheFork is a restaurant online reservation and discovery platform owned by Tripadvisor, serving restaurants across Europe. It competes with ChefOnline's reservation and restaurant-discovery functionality, though weighted toward dine-in rather than takeaway.
• TouchBistro: TouchBistro offers iPad-based POS systems with integrated online ordering, reservations, and payments for restaurants. It targets the same small-to-mid-market restaurant segment as ChefOnline with a comparable subscription model.

Emerging players

• Resy (American Express): Resy is a restaurant reservation and guest-management platform owned by American Express, focused primarily on premium and independent US restaurants. It overlaps with ChefOnline's online reservation offering and serves similar independent restaurant clients.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/chefonlineuk
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCiuWjkTLdvJQ6EJECQa-7Zw
• Facebookfacebook.com/ChefOnlineUK
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/le-chef-plc
• Instagraminstagram.com/chefonlineuk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

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 LE CHEF PLC