4 days ago
SAVIENNE Club Launches: Unique Chef Dinners And Wish-List Destinations
The interior of a kasbah outside of Marrakesh, the site of a five day/four night experience in October created by the new dining club SAVIENNE. Courtesy of SAVIENNE
With gastronomic travel surging, overtourism in certain culinary hotspots has often been the result as well, making it harder to have a special experience in those coveted destinations. But a new destination dining members club, SAVIENNE, aims to solve that problem by offering private, bespoke, unique experiences with famous chefs in singular settings.
'Many of our most valued memories in life involve food and travel,' explains Stephen Werther, the co-founder of SAVIENNE. 'However, it has become increasingly challenging to find destinations that are not overrun with tourists and are still welcoming. Barcelona, Lisbon, and Mexico City are all examples of wonderful cities that are now pushing back against over-tourism.'
The club's approach is to identify extraordinary villas, chateaux and estates in special destinations, renting them exclusively and bringing in local artists, poets, musicians, writers, winemakers, and arbiters of culture as tablemates for interesting conversations. Founding chefs then create unique meals in collaborations with local chefs. 'We want to create meals that you will have only once in your lifetime,' Werther says. 'Collaborations between chefs from opposite ends of the culinary spectrum. Imagine the dishes that Indian Chef Chintan Pandya will create in collaboration with a local Provencal chef, or unleashing chef Ludo Lefebvre on tagines, couscous, pastilla, and more while partnering with some of the most renowned chefs in Marrakesh.'
The villa on 17 acres overlooking the Gulf of Saint-Tropez, the site of SAVIENNE's first chef experience which takes place in September. Courtesy of SAVIENNE
The founding chefs set to participate in the events were chosen in collaboration with the James Beard Foundation, the New York-based institution that awards the culinary world's Oscars in addition to a number of community and education-based initiatives. And every one of the chefs asked said yes, according to Werther. The list is impressive: apart from James Beard Award winning chef Pandya of New York's Semma and Dhamaka and the Los Angeles-based French born Beard Award finalist Lefebvre, the founding chefs include New York-based eight time Beard Award winner Marcus Samuelsson, Miami-based Best Chef Award winner Michelle Bernstein, New Orleans-based Best Chef Award winner Nina Compton and Asheville-based Outstanding Chef semifinalist William Dissen.
The setting in Burgundy for the October SAVIENNE experience. Courtesy of SAVIENNE
The places chosen to stage the events include regular wish list destinations such as villas in Tuscany, French wine country chateaux, 12th-century kasbahs in Marrakesh and villas on the edge of a Costa Rica rain forest. The programs begin on September 18 with a four day, three night experience on a secluded 17 acre estate in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region with chef Pandya collaborating with Provencal chefs; possible extensions arranged by the program's concierge include a yacht charter in the Côte d'Azur, a truffle hunting excursion in the Luberon and a private perfume creation session in Grasse.
The kasbah outside of Marrakesh that is the setting of the October SAVIENNE experience with chef Ludo Lefebvre. Courtesy of SAVIENNE
The planned experiences for this year, all containing possible extension options, continue in October with a stay in a cliffside chateau in the middle of the vineyards of Burgundy and dinners with Mexican star chef Daniela Soto-Innes on October 9-13, with Ludo Lefebvre on October 23-27 staying in a private estate outside of Marrakesh, with William Dissen on November 13-17 staying in an oceanfront estate in the Dominican Republic and with Marcus Samuelsson on December 4-8 in a hillside villa in Ocho Rios in Jamaica. Planned trips for 2026 so far include Panama, Costa Rica and a return to Tuscany with dozens of others currently in the planning process.
The setting of the November SAVIENNE experience in the Dominican Republic. Tanveer Badal Photography / TANV
One particularly special event scheduled for September 26-29 in Valencia, Spain is a fundraiser for José Andrés' World Central Kitchen. Led by Chef Rob Rudd and set just outside the city of Valencia in a private finca, he will collaborate with both globally recognized chefs traveling in for the event and Michelin starred chefs from Valencia. All proceeds will benefit WCK and its humanitarian initiatives. The Philanthropic Aspect
That focus on charity aligns with the group's overall commitment to donate proceeds to promote sustainability and help alleviate food insecurity around the world. 'It is essential to us that we compensate everyone involved fairly (in an industry that notoriously does not), support the local vendors and makers of our destinations, and give back by making substantial donations from our events to alleviate some of the food insecurity that pervades the world,' Werther explains. 'No one in this country or the world should go to bed hungry. While you don't need to feel guilty for eating lobster pasta and doing caviar bumps, it doesn't hurt to wash all that down with a healthy dose of charitable giving.' A portion of ticket sales and membership fees will also be directed to the James Beard Foundation to support its work. And each chef will select a nonprofit to direct some of the proceeds from his or her dinners.
Memberships are limited to 500 globally with 100 more slated to open every year. Founding memberships are available for $2500 with individual experiences ranging from $3900 to $8900 per person, airfare excluded. MORE FROM FORBES Forbes Wildlife, Maasai Culture And Local Food On A New Kenya Culinary Safari By Laurie Werner Forbes Exciting New Flavors And An Atmospheric Inn Open In New Orleans By Laurie Werner Forbes Exploring New, Enticing Hotels, Restaurants And Sights In Dublin By Laurie Werner Forbes Where To Go In Vienna Now: New Hotels, Restaurants And Sights By Laurie Werner
