ChowBella Culinary Concierge debuts

Trina Hendry

TORONTO, ON - Toronto's sizzling culinary scene is now a little spicier with the launch of ChowBella Culinary Concierge the city’s first concierge service dedicated solely to culinary tourism and all things food-related. The brainchild of Trina Hendry, whose recent background includes six years as corporate PR director for Metropolitan Hotels, it caters to visitors and locals alike by creating one-of-a-kind gastronomic adventures for those wishing to enjoy Toronto's and Ontario's culinary offerings in a personal and unique way.

And, says Hendry, hotels have a vital role to play in making this business a success.

“While my business focuses on providing culinary concierge services—restaurant recommendations, reservations and culinary itineraries—offering hotel accommodations is a necessity.

The idea behind ChowBella Culinary Concierge is that each experience is personally designed to suit the needs, budgets and desires of individual clients. “I will book accommodations, whether they be five-star, boutique, B+B, or family-oriented hotels, based on those needs and wants,” Hendry says.

“Hotel owners can work with me by keeping me up to date on their offerings and by partnering with me to offer preferred rates to my clients. As for tour operators and travel agents, because the business is just getting started, my plan is to deal directly with clients for the time being. That doesn’t mean there won’t be the opportunity to work with them in the future.”

ChowBella builds on Hendry’s experience at The Met.
 
“I oversaw the PR directive for three hotels and five restaurants. During my time there, I developed a program called Insider Gourmet Tours, offering luxury culinary packages to the hotel clientele. It was from this experience that I realized my knack and passion for planning culinary experiences.”

She definitely believes there’s a market for a service like this in Canada.

“With culinary tourism on the rise, I think travellers will welcome a company that takes care of their dinner reservations and plans the perfect culinary experience for them, especially in a city like Toronto where there is so much choice. ChowBella also caters to corporate clientele, who are limited with their time and would rather pay an expert to take care of the culinary requirements. 

“A service like ChowBella Culinary Concierge could definitely work in other Canadian cities. In fact, I know of a similar service operating in Vancouver already. The success of that business was part of my inspiration for developing ChowBella for the Toronto market.”