OUR STORY

A Family of Chefs

Suzy DeYoung was born into a family of chefs, destined to follow in their culinary footsteps. Her father, Pierre Adrian, had brought fine dining and the city's first Mobil 5-star rating to Cincinnati with The Maisonette. Her maternal grandfather, Albert Schmidt, had been the chef of the Union Club in New York City, and her other grandfather, Theo Kieffer, served as the Chef of the Sherry Netherland in New York City.

Embracing her family's legacy, Suzy worked in various renowned Cincinnati restaurants, gaining experience both in the front and back of the house. Her passion for cooking led her to France, where she honed her skills in Michelin-starred restaurants.

The Post That Changed Everything

One day, everything changed when Suzy came across a distressing post on Facebook. A teacher from Oyler School in Lower Price Hill revealed the heartbreaking reality that many students went hungry over the weekends due to a lack of food resources. Suzy was deeply moved by this revelation and decided to take action.

Using the resources from her restaurant, La Soupe, she provided healthy meals to every child at the school that day. This marked the beginning of a transformative journey for Suzy and La Soupe, where their mission became to rescue food, transform it into nutritious meals, and share it with those in need. 

Returning home with a vision, Suzy, along with her sister, opened "La Petite Pierre," a bistro that paid homage to her father's French heritage. There, she catered to many Cincinnati families and even had the privilege of cooking for distinguished guests like George W. Bush, Hillary and Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, Bruce Springsteen, and Julia Child.

La Soupe Is Born

Over the course of 25 years as a restaurateur and caterer, Suzy DeYoung felt a growing desire to make a difference in her community. She realized that she could redirect the surplus catering food to help those in need. This newfound sense of purpose inspired her to take action.

In 2014, Suzy made a bold decision to sell her ownership of the company to her sister. With unwavering determination, she took a leap of faith and officially launched La Soupe, a venture dedicated to rescuing and repurposing excess food to feed those experiencing food insecurity. This marked the birth of a new chapter in Suzy's culinary journey, where she channeled her skills and passion toward a meaningful cause, La Soupe.

Among US cities, Cincinnati is ranked #5 with the highest childhood poverty rates. At the same time, 40% of all food produced worldwide is either lost or wasted each year. With this statistical information, Suzy began to bridge the gap between food waste and hunger in the greater Cincinnati area. She developed a plan that would rescue otherwise wasted produce to create delicious and highly nutritious meals for customers, nonprofits and food insecure families. 

 Since 2014, La Soupe has grown exponentially. More outreach and more programs have been created like the Bucket Brigade, Cincinnati Gives a Crock, and the Community Kitchen Program. The Share Partners and Pallet Partners have stepped up to provide La Soupe with larger amounts of rescued food; and volunteers committed more hours with the staff to transform it all into soups and meals. And soon, it became evident that La Soupe had outgrown the shack and needed a larger facility if they were to continue to fill the growing gap for the food insecure community.