Providoor reopens in Australia after luxury food delivery service collapsed owing $6.3million

A failed luxury food delivery service is being relaunched with the backing of several Australian celebrity chefs after it went bankrupt earlier this year with $6.3 million in debt.

Providoor is offering ready-made meals and frozen options in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane from 5pm on Monday.

Celebrity chef Shane Delia started Providoor in 2020 as a way for foodies to enjoy good food during the Covid lockdowns.

Customers could order meal kits designed by some of Australia’s best restaurants that they could prepare and enjoy at home.

However, some of the company’s loyal fans were fined $4.4 million after it suddenly closed six months ago in April, leaving unused gift cards in limbo.

Celebrity chef Shane Delia (above) opened Providoor in 2020 to help foodies enjoy good food at home during Covid lockdowns

This time, Providoor will provide meal kits and frozen meals made, but not cooked, by famous Australian chefs. Good food reports.

Some menu highlights include a lasagna from Silvia Colloca, a mushroom burger from Matt Preston and a white chocolate cheesecake from Anna Polyviou.

Other familiar faces include Luke Nguyen, Gary Mehigan, Manu Feildel, Justin Narayan and George Calombaris.

The Providedoor Frozen service will deliver frozen meal kits in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Meal orders will arrive in Sydney the next day if customers order before midday, while customers in Brisbane and Melbourne will face a three-day lead time.

Hot ready meals from Providoor Local are initially only available in Sydney and can be ordered via Providoor or Uber Eats.

Founder Shane Delia described Providoor’s closure in April as a ‘very sad day’, but said he was ‘proud of Providoor and what it has achieved’.

During its first period, the unique company sold more than 1 million meals.

Longtime Providoor customer Sam Benjamin, owner of Rolling Stone Australia and Brag Media, is the company’s new owner.

He hopes the service’s “more accessible” price point will pique the interest of new customers.

Providoor Frozen will deliver frozen meal kits in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, while customers in Sydney can order hot ready meals via the company’s website and Uber Eats

“For frozen, the most expensive item is probably $40, and that feeds two,” he said.

Providoor was far from the only delivery service to take a hit after the end of Covid lockdowns.

Deliveroo Australia went bankrupt last year, claiming the delivery market had become too crowded and competitive to make a profit.

Other post-Covid casualties included Delivr – a Victorian service with 200 drivers at its peak and CoLab – which offered ready-made meals from more than 150 restaurants.

Grocery service Milkrun – which offered to deliver groceries within ten minutes – also closed the store before it was bought by Woolworths.