How to order corporate catering in Paris when you don't speak French

Can you order catering in Paris without making a phone call?

Yes. The whole catalogue is online in English: each menu has its own page with the composition, the price per guest, the allergens and the notice period. You enter the headcount, pick a date and a two-hour delivery slot, and pay by secure card payment. Payment confirms the order; there is no quote to sign and nobody to call back.

If you do need to ask something, write. Enquiries in English are answered in English, by email or through the WhatsApp button on the site. The phone line is in French, so a written message is simply faster for everyone. For a bespoke event, the costed proposal arrives within 2 hours during the day, between 9 am and 6 pm.

Whoever receives the delivery does not need French either. Everything the driver needs is written in the order: floor, room, contact name and mobile number.

What do the French words on a catering menu mean?

Even on an English page, a few French words survive, because they name things that have no exact English equivalent. Here are the ones you will meet most often in Paris, on our pages and on everyone else's.

Diet labels are the other place where French matters, especially if you forward a French menu to a colleague with an allergy. Végétarien means vegetarian, végétalien means vegan, sans gluten is gluten-free, sans porc is pork-free, and fruits à coque are tree nuts. On our English pages, all of it is already translated, including the fourteen regulated allergens.

How much does it cost for a team of 20?

Prices are net and per guest; the total appears before you pay. The table gives four common orders for 20 people, default menu. Delivery is free across Paris and Île-de-France, except Seine-et-Marne (€90). Still and sparkling water, napkins and disposable tableware come with the menus.

The minimum order is €300 per delivery. A Continental Breakfast for 20 comes to €228, so at that size a fuller breakfast, or a second item on the same delivery, is the simpler way to reach it.

What should you write in the delivery details?

This is where orders from international offices go wrong, and it has nothing to do with language. Paris buildings have a code on the street door (the digicode), a reception desk or a guard, sometimes a separate goods entrance. Write all of it: street code, floor, company name on the door, room name, and the name and mobile number of the person receiving the order.

In a tower at La Défense or a shared business centre, add the badge procedure and whether deliveries go through the loading bay. Choose a slot that ends before your meeting starts: for a 12:30 lunch, the 9 to 11 am slot leaves time to put everything in the fridge.

Diets go in the order too: the number of vegetarian guests, and anything pork-free, gluten-free, vegan or halal. Allergens are listed in English on every menu page, so you can forward the link to your team before you order.

How do payment, invoices and purchase orders work?

Most orders are paid by card at checkout. Above a certain amount, you can secure the order with a deposit by card of €300. You then sign the purchase order online straight away and pay the balance by bank transfer against the signed purchase order, or by card, before the due date. Invoices show the SIRET number and, when you give it, your own purchase order number, which is usually what a finance team abroad asks for.

Prices are net: VAT is not applicable under the French small-business scheme, so there is no VAT line to reclaim and no surprise at the bottom. Menus stay adjustable, headcount, items and options, up to 72 hours before delivery.

Our advice for a first order from abroad: order a few days early, even though 24 hours is enough. It gives your finance team time to approve the card payment or the purchase order, and you can still change the headcount once your colleagues have confirmed.