Le Refettorio Paris
Le Refettorio Paris is a non-profit community kitchen in the crypt of La Madeleine, Paris, founded 2018 by Food for Soul. It transforms ~130 kg of surplus food daily into ~100 three-course evening meals served to people in social vulnerability, delivered by 100+ volunteer guest chefs and funded by major French corporate and foundation sponsors.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersParis, France
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Le Refettorio Paris does
Le Refettorio Paris is a non-profit community kitchen located in the crypt of the Church of La Madeleine at Place de la Madeleine, 75008 Paris, operating since March 2018. It was created by Food for Soul — a non-profit founded by chef Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore in 2015 — in cooperation with Le Foyer de la Madeleine, a separate social restaurant sharing the same premises. The project's core product is an evening dinner service that transforms approximately 130 kg of surplus food per day into ~100 three-course meals served at table to guests in situations of social vulnerability. The associated Le Foyer de la Madeleine operation runs a parallel lunch service of more than 250 meals daily to elderly people, neighborhood workers, and people in need (subsidized at 1 EUR via Ozanam Madeleine).
The operating model is built on zero-waste cooking and a layered partner ecosystem rather than conventional revenue mechanics. Surplus food is sourced through partnerships with Phenix (food-waste marketplace), Banque Alimentaire (food bank), Carrefour food donations, and Metro wholesale supply. Meal production is delivered by more than 100 rotating volunteer guest chefs — including Alain Ducasse, Yannick Alléno, Pierre Hermé, Dominique Crenn, and Olivier Roellinger — coordinated by co-presidents Jean-François Rial (CEO, Voyageurs du Monde) and Marc(o) Berrebi. The space was designed by artists JR and Prune Nourry with architects Encore Heureux and RF Studio to create a culturally distinctive, dignified dining environment.
Operating budget is funded by a concentrated set of flagship corporate and foundation sponsors — Accor, BNP Paribas Foundation, Nestlé France Foundation, Carrefour Foundation, Salesforce, Kering Group, Voyageurs du Monde, Société Générale/Matmut, and Terre & Fils — plus in-kind contributions from equipment and supply partners (Bernardaud, Chef&Sommelier, Flos, Pavoni, Pentole Agnelli, Felicetti, Cacao Barry, Giblor's). A commercial Zero Waste Cookbook with 37 recipes is sold via maisoncf.fr as an ancillary product. The organization has 1–10 employees, does not charge beneficiaries for evening meals, and has no disclosed revenue, funding rounds, or financial statements in the source material.
Le Refettorio Paris firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Le Refettorio Paris
- Legal name
- Food For Soul
- Website
- https://refettorioparis.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Le Refettorio Paris is a non-profit community kitchen in the crypt of La Madeleine, Paris, founded 2018 by Food for Soul. It transforms ~130 kg of surplus food daily into ~100 three-course evening meals served to people in social vulnerability, delivered by 100+ volunteer guest chefs and funded by major French corporate and foundation sponsors.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Le Refettorio Paris industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Community Kitchen / Social Restaurant Services
- NAICS
- Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Special Food Services (7223)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Chef’s Table & Tasting Menu Restaurants (THAFACAG)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- In-House Cafeteria Operations & Meal Preparation (EDAEAEAA)
Keywords
Where Le Refettorio Paris is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Paris
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Le Refettorio Paris business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels2 records
Le Refettorio Paris product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Le Refettorio Paris operates a community kitchen dinner service in the crypt of the Church of La Madeleine that transforms approximately 130 kg of surplus food ingredients per day into healthy three-course meals served free of charge to people in situations of social vulnerability. The kitchen is staffed by volunteer guest chefs from around the world invited by chef Massimo Bottura, with meals served at table by a dedicated volunteer team. The organization also distributes a Zero Waste Cookbook featuring 37 recipes that demonstrate how imperfect ingredients can be transformed into dignified meals.
Product overview
Le Refettorio Paris is a cultural community kitchen project, not a traditional technology product. Its core offering is a dinner service that transforms surplus food ingredients into three-course meals served to guests in social vulnerability situations. The organization also offers a zero waste cookbook containing 37 recipes. The kitchen engages guest chefs from around the world who volunteer to prepare meals, and the space is enhanced through artistic installations by internationally recognized artists.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Community Kitchen Dinner Service A welcoming dinnertime food service that transforms surplus food ingredients into healthy three-course meals, targeting 100 meals per day using approximately 130 kg of recovered food, for people in situations of social vulnerability in Paris. Meals are prepared by volunteer guest chefs and served at table by a dedicated volunteer team.
- Zero Waste Cookbook A cookbook featuring 37 inspiring zero-waste recipes that demonstrate the art of transforming imperfect ingredients into nourishment with dignity, empathy and love, symbolizing the conviviality and compassion shared in the Refettorio kitchen.
Quantifiable outcome
- 100 meals served per day using 130 kg of recovered food
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Le Refettorio Paris
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Le Refettorio Paris technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Le Refettorio Paris partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Food for SoulcoreNon-profit organization founded by chef Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore that conceived the Refettorio Paris concept. Coordinates the global network of Refettorio projects and invites guest chefs to volunteer.
- BernardaudcorePremium French porcelain manufacturer providing tableware for the Refettorio.
- Chef&SommeliercoreProfessional tableware and glassware partner for the kitchen.
- FloscorePremium lighting manufacturer contributing to the atmospheric design of the space.
- PhenixcoreFood waste reduction technology company supporting surplus food recovery operations.
- Banque AlimentairecoreFood bank providing recovered food surplus for meal preparation.
- MetrocoreFood wholesale distributor providing supplies for the kitchen.
- JR and Prune NourrycoreInternationally known French artists who created installations specifically for Refettorio Paris and led the artistic team for the transformation of the space.
- Nicola Delon (Encore Heureux) and Ramy Fischler (RF Studio)coreArchitecture firm Encore Heureux and design agency RF Studio worked on the renovation of the Foyer de la Madeleine, designing a warm environment using recycled materials.
- Laure Dezeuze (Studio Bloomer)minorArchitect-scenographer and founder of Studio Bloomer who was part of the renovation team.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Le Refettorio Paris competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- Restos du Coeur: France's largest food charity distributing meals and groceries to people in poverty; comparable social-welfare feeding mission and French footprint, but operates large-scale distribution rather than dine-in cultural dining.
- Caritas Paris: French Catholic charitable network running social-services and food aid including through parish venues; comparable on parish-based community support in France, but broader welfare scope rather than curated sit-down dining.
Direct peers
- Le Foyer de la Madeleine: The on-site social restaurant at La Madeleine that runs the lunch service next to the Refettorio evening service; they share the same kitchen, beneficiary catchment, and operational partnership, functioning as a complementary peer rather than an external peer.
- Refettorio Ambrosiano: The original Food for Soul community kitchen in Milan (2015), operating the same three-course surplus-meal, guest-chef, cultural-space concept that Paris was modeled on; the most structurally comparable Refettorio sibling.
- Food for Soul: The non-profit founded by chef Massimo Bottura and Lara Gilmore that operates the global Refettorio network (Ambrosiano, Paris, Modena, and others) using the same surplus-food-to-community-meal model; it is Refettorio Paris's parent and the most directly comparable organization operationally and strategically.
Emerging players
- REfOOD Portugal: Portuguese volunteer-led community-kitchen network rescuing surplus food to serve cooked meals to those in need; structurally similar community-kitchen, volunteer-chef model to Refettorio Paris, though region-specific.
- Too Good To Go: Surplus-meal marketplace connecting restaurants to consumers; shares the waste-recovery and surplus-meal concept but operates as a commercial marketplace rather than a community kitchen.
- OzHarvest: Australia's leading food-rescue charity, redistributing surplus food to vulnerable communities and restaurants; comparable mission (food waste + social inclusion) though operating at far larger scale and with broader logistics.
Others
- Phenix: European food-waste tech company and named partner of Refettorio Paris that connects retailers to recipients of surplus food; comparable on the surplus-recovery input chain, though it is a technology/operator rather than a community dining service.
Broad incumbents
- Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation: Major institutional caterer's CSR arm running community-feeding programs globally; overlaps with Refettorio on feeding vulnerable populations through food service, but operates at much larger institutional scale and via traditional cafeteria models.
Market position
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Le Refettorio Paris social profiles
Digital presenceLe Refettorio Paris financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Le Refettorio Paris leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Le Refettorio Paris funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Le Refettorio Paris M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Le Refettorio Paris
What does Le Refettorio Paris do?
Le Refettorio Paris operates a community kitchen dinner service in the crypt of the Church of La Madeleine that transforms approximately 130 kg of surplus food ingredients per day into healthy three-course meals served free of charge to people in situations of social vulnerability. The kitchen is staffed by volunteer guest chefs from around the world invited by chef Massimo Bottura, with meals served at table by a dedicated volunteer team. The organization also distributes a Zero Waste Cookbook featuring 37 recipes that demonstrate how imperfect ingredients can be transformed into dignified meals.
Is Le Refettorio Paris a public or private company?
Le Refettorio Paris is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Le Refettorio Paris founded?
Le Refettorio Paris was founded in 2018. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Le Refettorio Paris based?
Le Refettorio Paris is headquartered in Paris, France, in the Europe region.
Who are Le Refettorio Paris's main competitors?
Regional players on record are Restos du Coeur and Caritas Paris. Direct peers are Le Foyer de la Madeleine, Refettorio Ambrosiano and Food for Soul. Emerging players are REfOOD Portugal, Too Good To Go and OzHarvest. Phenix is listed as an others. Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Le Refettorio Paris have an API?
No public API is recorded for Le Refettorio Paris.
What industry is Le Refettorio Paris in?
Le Refettorio Paris's product category is Community Kitchen / Social Restaurant Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFACAG, Chef’s Table & Tasting Menu Restaurants, with a secondary code of EDAEAEAA, In-House Cafeteria Operations & Meal Preparation. Its NAICS code is 722511 and its SIC code is 5810.