Concierge Tips
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When putting together walking tours in cities around the world, Context Travel works with a variety of guides, from art historians and archeologists to yogis and shopping experts. Now, the company has added a fragrance master to their roster. This month they will host three “scent dinners” with Chandler Burr, author of Emperor of Scent and The Perfect Scent: A Year Inside the Perfume Industry in Paris & New York. The first and most elaborate will be held June 5 in Paris at the Lapérouse, a historic bistro-style restaurant, where in-house chef Samuel Benne will prepare an extensive eight-course meal for the event. The second, a more informal, five-course meal, is scheduled for June 10 in Rome’s Casa Bleve, an enoteca located in a 16th-century palazzo (during this meal, Burr will share the tales of perfumes and scents that evoke the Italian landscape). Florence is the setting for the third and final dinner, a seven-course extravaganza scheduled for June 11. The setting is appropriately grand: Palazzo Tornabuoni, a private residence club set in a former Medici Palace. The Scent Dinners will include a lecture on the history of perfume in each place, and the Paris and Florence events will also feature culinary perfumes made from edible sources. Burr, the New York Times first-ever perfume critic (his column, Scent Notes, appears in T), explains how scents are created and elaborates on the idea that fragrance, just like fashion and architecture, is a product of high-minded design. Rome: €200 ($310) per person; Florence: €235 ($365) per person; Paris: €280 ($435) per person. For more information and to book, contact Context Travel at 212-392-0303 or email info@contexttravel.com.
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