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    Taste Club, a Luxury Concierge Dining & Travel Membership Club Showcasing Megastar Chefs to Launch

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    Taste Club, a first-of-its-kind national dining & global luxury travel club supported by an internal, best-in-class concierge team, is poised to launch in May 2023. Benefiting nonprofits in the hospitality industry, and committed to championing independent restaurants, Taste Club is partnering with a Who’s Who collection of celebrated chefs across the country.Memberships provide access to exclusive dining experiences curated for them by each of the celebrated chefs/restaurant partners. In addition, members will enjoy access to bespoke luxury travel experiences: a blending of effortless travel, transportation, insider access to premier events, stunning accommodations, and unforgettable culinary experiences. From the moment a membership is approved, members will have direct access to the Taste Club concierge platform to book their first dining or travel experience.
    Taste Club utilizes state-of-the-art technology to offer transferable memberships, granting members the ability to instantly share their membership benefits with friends, family, and colleagues, while giving them full access to Taste Club’s suite of services. Memberships are priced at $7,500 for a one-time initiation fee, with monthly dues of $300. Due to the high-touch, personalized nature of the Taste Club offering, enrollment is limited and requires a selection process to determine eligibility. Taste Club has launched an online application process for those interested in the opportunity to purchase a membership.
    Taste Club was conceptualized by Baton Rouge, LA-born and bred hospitality veteran Joshua Kopel. Kopel, formerly the President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the California Restaurant Association, is keenly aware of the challenges that face independent restaurants and has dedicated himself to connecting those looking for boundless culinary and travel experiences with the chefs and travel experts that have always dreamed of offering them. Curated by the tastemakers that have defined their industry, Taste Club was created to take the stress and guesswork out of planning, providing an effortless path to luxury and leisure.
    “Taste Club was designed to offer an unparalleled experience and exceptional value to our membership base, our restaurant and travel partners, and the non-profit organizations we support,” said Kopel who was inspired to create a massive impact within the hospitality industry. “We’re investing in the future of our industry by building a one-of-a-kind service that will create a more sustainable model for the hospitality industry.”
    Said Yangban co-owner Katianna Hong, “We’re super excited to be a part of Taste Club. To be able to create without limits and just go for it is so fun and something that we’ve missed.”ADVERTISEMENTChef Partners
    Taste Club members will have preferred access to an ever-expanding portfolio of acclaimed chefs and restaurants across the country.  Taste Club chefs are not only celebrated by the Michelin Guide and the James Beard Foundation, but are leaders in their culinary specialties and communities, and are eager to utilize their partnership with Taste Club to create one-of-a-kind experiences for their guests. Today, Taste Club announced their 12 founding chef partners:
    José Andrés / é by José Andrés / Las VegasMichael Anthony / Gramercy Tavern / New YorkRick Bayless / Topolobampo / ChicagoDavid Barzelay / Lazy Bear / San FranciscoKatianna Hong & John Hong / Yangban / Los AngelesAisha Ibrahim / Canlis / SeattleBrandon Jew / Mister Jiu’s / San FranciscoJordan Kahn / Meteora / Los AngelesWalter Manzke & Margarita Manzke/ Mankze / Los AngelesWolfgang Puck / Spago / Beverly HillsMelissa Rodriguez / Al Coro / New YorkJeremiah Stone & Fabián von Hauske Valtierra / Contra / New YorkTravel Tastemakers
    Kopel and Taste Club have assembled a dream team of luxury travel experts to add unparalleled value to memberships. Understanding how integral dining and culinary experiences are to travel, the team has designed an ever-evolving collection of on-demand travel experiences as well as insider access to premier events across the globe. Featured Tastemakers include:
    Hans & Maureen Paap / Co-Founder & Director of Hospitality at AOH TravelLeigh Rowan / Former COO of The Points Guy & Founder of Savanti TravelMichael Shane Stephens / Founder and Global Director of Curated Global TravelTaste Club’s travel experts have curated one-of-a-kind luxury travel experiences, providing insider access to major sporting events, arts and culinary festivals, New York Fashion Week, and international events. Experiences range from four nights in New York for the US Tennis Open men’s and women’s finals, a Broadway show with a private cast reception, and an after-hours tour and dinner at MoMA, to a members-only buyout of the exclusive five-star Hacienda AltaGracia inclusive of daily activities with acclaimed Taste Club chefs, spa and wellness treatments, and an insider’s tour of local gems.
    Between Taste Club’s Travel Tastemakers and in-house team, every event and travel experience will have a Taste Club representative on-site to ensure a seamless experience.
    Non Profit Donations
    The mission of Taste Club is to invest in the future of the hospitality industry through financial contributions to both non-profit organizations and restaurateurs that exemplify Taste Club’s core values of service to the industry and its communities. Taste Club has committed to donating over $1,000,000 to organizations that support the hospitality industry and unite people through food, the principal beneficiary being the James Beard Foundation.
    “We are grateful to the Taste Club team for believing in our Good Food for Good mission and supporting our work through this very generous donation,” said Clare Reichenbach, CEO of the James Beard Foundation. “The funds will be directed towards our entire slate of impact programs—initiatives which provide critical support to the independent restaurant community, and which champion a more sustainable, equitable, and vital future for the food and beverage industry.”
    Sustainability Partner Zero Foodprint
    As the Taste Club network expands geographically, Kopel is mindful of the impact that the organization has on the environment. Taste Club is a sustainable enterprise working to mitigate 100% of their carbon footprint. Said Kopel, “We intend to mitigate our carbon footprint by engaging with a sustainability partner who’s not only working to support the environment, but the restaurant industry as well.”
    To that end, Taste Club has chosen the nonprofit organization Zero Foodprint as that partner. In support of ZFP’s mission to mobilize the food world around agricultural climate solutions, Taste Club will donate $50,000 to the organization who will supply those funds as grants to farmers using regenerative farming practices—proven to be the most impactful initiative yet towards solving global warming.

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      The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is proud to publish the Food and Plastic Waste Reduction Standard for Tourism Businesses as part of its commitment to the European Union (EU)-funded TourLink project, under the EU SWITCH-ASIA Programme.
      TourLink aims to drive Thai tour operators and suppliers, from hotels to transport companies and activity providers, towards sustainability. Under the project, PATA collaborates with members of the Thai-EU tourism supply chain to develop a series of capacity-building initiatives that promote best practices for sustainable tourism growth. PATA takes on a crucial role in developing new standards, toolkits and trainings that empower Thai tourism professionals to embrace sustainability in their operations as the industry recovers from COVID-19.
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      Following the success of PATA’s BUFFET Toolkit and Plastic Free Toolkit for Tour Operators (which are also available in Thai), PATA recently published the Food and Plastic Waste Reduction Standard for Tourism Businesses. The standards act as a guide for all tourism businesses, professionals and communities to reduce food waste and plastic waste in their operations. According to Peter Richards, “The standards were developed through thorough research on food and plastic waste reduction strategies in tourism along with consultations with experts and partner organisations”.ADVERTISEMENTAs Fernanda Rodak, PATA Project Coordinator of Sustainability and Social Responsibility and lead author, adds, “The standards can be applied as a checklist, a step-by-step guide as well as a training tool for waste prevention in the tourism and hospitality sector”. Underpinned by the circular economy framework and the hierarchy of waste reduction strategies, the document encompasses best practices across the industry on sustainability management and tools and resources for practitioners to advance their food and plastic waste reduction efforts.

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      The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) has honoured Paola Crow, veteran concierge at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, with its Hospitality Heroes award during its board of directors meeting. The recognition programme shines a spotlight on the top talent in Southern Nevada’s most important industry, celebrating exemplary hospitality workers who help make Las Vegas the number one tourist destination.
      Crow started her career as a concierge in 1999 and was part of the opening teams at a number of Las Vegas resorts before joining The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas in 2010. She was nominated for the award by a colleague for her knowledge, expertise, and her outstanding customer service skills. Crow is also a member of the esteemed Les Clefs d’Or, an international association of hotel concierges representing extraordinary concierge professionals.
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      Nominations for the second quarter will be accepted through April 29. Visit www.LVCVA.com/HospitalityHeroes to nominate an outstanding hospitality worker.

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