Viva Tequila Festival Mexico Experience Tour Honored by the TASTE AWARDS

Atlanta’s Viva Tequila Festival was honored at this year’s TASTE AWARDS (aka, the TASTY Awards). Often called the “Oscars of Food, Fashion and Lifestyle Media,” this edition of the Taste Awards highlighted Viva Tequila Mexico Experience under the category of OUTSTANDING CULINARY & TRAVEL EXPERIENCE. This year, as for many awards shows, the Taste Awards had a virtual broadcast that reached viewers across the globe, from Japan and South Africa to England, Poland and Italy, and from New Zealand to Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.

Hosted by wine, beer and spirits purveyor Juan Bonilla, dubbed “Mr. Tequila,” the Viva Tequila Festival Mexico Experience tour takes participants on an exclusive trip down the historic timeline of Mexico’s Tequila Trail, providing in-depth understanding of the different regions that cultivate Tequila, the history of this iconic Mexican spirit and its importance in local, national and international economies.

The Viva Tequila Festival Mexico Experience tour visits several cities, including Tlaquepaque, Tequila, Atotonilco and Guadalajara to provide a local perspective of the manufacturing of Tequila. Participants are able to mingle with locals and admire and shop for unique Mexican works of art, both folk and fine, all while sipping limited edition craft Tequilas from distilleries that embody traditional to modern styles of manufacturing.

Highlights includes visits to the Fortaleza and Don Nacho craft distilleries as well as hacienda of José Cuervo, where participants bottle their own Reserva de la Familia, and enjoy a tasting in the property’s private cellar and then dinner at the Tienda de Raya, both opened exclusively for Viva Tequila Festival.

Tour participants are treated to stays in centuries-old haciendas that were once home to some of Mexico’s wealthiest people. They can enjoy a morning horseback ride at the historic, 17th century Hacienda Labor de Rivera or disconnect and relax with a spa treatment at Hacienda El Carmen Hotel & Spa.

Other winners at this year’s Taste Awards included recipients of the new ANDREW ZIMMERN DISCOVERY AWARD. This award honors the mission to discover new cultures, flavors or talent. The inaugural honorees of this new award are noted chefs Andrew Zimmern and Tyler Florence.

Other well-known personalities who won or were honored at the Taste Awards include Ming Tsai, Selena Gomez, Idris Elba, Dylan Dreyer, Chef John Folse and Lidi Bastianich, along with Bravo’s Top Chef, America’s Test Kitchen, NHK, the Africa Channel and New Soul Kitchen.

The Taste Awards have included appearances by stars, celebrities, producers and executives from networks and platforms such as the Food Network, the Style Network, Bravo, the Cooking Channel, TLC, Discovery, Lifetime, E! Entertainment Television, PBS, Create TV, APT, NBC, ABC, the CW, HGTV, the Travel Channel, HD Net, Hulu, YouTube, Dreamworks, Esquire Network, FYI Network, The History Channel, Bio, iHeart Radio, Sony Pictures, APT, Myx TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime and more. See them at www.TheTasteAwards.com.


For more information on Viva Tequila Festival’s tours, visit www.vivatequilafestival.com.

12th Annual TASTE AWARDS Winners Announced


The TASTE AWARDS announced this year’s Award Winners and additional Honorees for its 12th Anniversary Year during a stylish and exciting virtual broadcast that reached viewers across the globe, from Japan and England to Poland, Italy and South Africa, and from New Zealand to Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.

Winners include the new ANDREW ZIMMERN DISCOVERY AWARD. This award honors the mission to discover new cultures, new flavors, or new talent. The inaugural honorees of this new award are Andrew Zimmern and Tyler Florence.

 

Other well known personalities who won or were honored include Ming Tsai, Selena Gomez, Idris Elba, Dylan Dreyer, Chef John Folse, and Lidi Bastianich, along with Bravo’s Top Chef, America’s Test Kitchen, NHK, the Africa Channel, and New Soul Kitchen. See all of the winners and additional honorees below.

 

Some participating Celebrity awards presenters include Michelle Harris (Alive and Well TV), Kim Estes (Emmy nominated actor), Jernard Wells (Food Network, Cleo TV), Mickela Mallozzi (PBS, CreateTV), Danielle Nottingham (NBC), Margaret McSweeney (Kitchen Chat), Chris Knight (Gusto TV), Andrea Feczko, Joanne Weir, Jazz and Jake Smollett, the Food Nanny (IG).

The TASTE Awards have included appearances by stars, celebrities, producers and executives from networks and platforms such as the Food Network, the Style Network, Bravo, the Cooking Channel, TLC, Discovery, Lifetime, E! Entertainment Television, PBS, Create TV, APT, NBC, ABC, the CW, HGTV, the Travel Channel, HD Net, Hulu, YouTube, Dreamworks, Esquire Network, FYI Network, The History Channel, Bio, iHeart Radio, Sony Pictures, APT, Myx TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and more. See them at http://www.TheTasteAwards.com.


12th ANNUAL TASTE AWARDS WINNERS


Best Chef in a Series

  • Bravo’s Top Chef: What Would Tom Do? [Tom Colicchio]”
  • Confucius Was a Foodie”
  • Cook Like a Chef
  • Eating In with Lidia: Back to Basics”
  • Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted
  • Joanne Weir’s Plates & Places, Season Three
  • Lidia Celebrates America: Return of the Artisans
  • New Soul Kitchen with Chef Jernard   (WINNER)
  • A Taste of Ireland: Ballyknocken Cookery School Episode Title: “Barnyard Bash”
  • Simply Ming: Ming Tsai with Andrew Zimmern   (WINNER)
  • Wolf it Down, with Tyler Florence

Best Food Program – Television

  • A Taste of Ireland: Ballyknocken Cookery School
  • America’s Test Kitchen — “Childhood Favorites for Grown Ups”
  • Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Television
  • Confucius Was a Foodie   (WINNER)
  • Flavor of Poland
  • Joanne Weir’s Plates & Places, Season Three
  • Lidia Celebrates America: Return of the Artisans
  • Moveable Feast: On the Road in Cambridge, UK
  • My Greek Table with Diane Kochilas
  • New Soul Kitchen with Chef Jernard
  • Simply Ming: Ming Tsai with Andrew Zimmern

Best Food Program – Online and Streaming

  • America’s Test Kitchen: Boot Camp   (WINNER)
  • Bravo’s Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen   (WINNER)
  • Cooks Thyme with Chef Tobias Cooks
  • Eat Travel Rock Productions Reel Featuring Beatnik Chicago
  • How To Cook That by Ann Reardon
  • Lorna With A Pinch Of Salt
  • New Soul Kitchen with Chef Jernard
  • The Trailer Park Cooking Show With Jolene Sugarbaker
  • The Wiseguy Kitchen – The Historic Kapok Tree
  • The Worlds Oldest Restaurant: 300 Year Old Sobrino de Botín

Best Food Travel Series – Online & Streaming

  • A Taste of Scotland
  • Bad Ideas
  • Cup of Joe
  • Eat Travel Rock TV
  • Kitchen Chat
  • The Wiseguy Kitchen – The Historic Kapok Tree
  • The Worlds Oldest Restaurant: 300 Year Old Sobrino de Botín   (WINNER)

Best Food Travel Series – Television

  • A Taste of Ireland: Ballyknocken Cookery School
  • A Taste of Scotland
  • Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Television
  • Confucius Was a Foodie
  • Flavor of Poland
  • Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted
  • Joanne Weir’s Plates & Places, Season Three
  • Lens of Culture
  • Lidia Celebrates America: Return of the Artisans   (WINNER)
  • Moveable Feast: On the Road in Cambridge, UK
  • My Greek Table with Diane Kochilas

Best Reality Series

  • Cup of Joe   (WINNER)
  • Family Style, Season 2
  • I’ll Have What You’re Having   (WINNER)
  • Just Eats with Chef JJ
  • New Day New Chef : Support and Feed Edition
  • Tastes Like Home – Bringing a recipe from Lusk in Ireland to Sydney Australia   (WINNER)
  • The Wiseguy Kitchen – The Historic Kapok Tree
  • What’s On the Menu with Michelle Ullmann

Best Drink or Beverage Program

  • Agave Road Trip
  • Beer Sessions Radio
  • Dads Drinking Bourbon
  • Eat Travel Rock TV
  • Family Style, Season 2
  • Hard Core
  • Lorna With A Pinch Of Salt
  • The 3 Julias on 30A Television
  • The Speakeasy   (WINNER)
  • Wine Soundtrack
  • Wines To Find Podcast

Best Branded Program, Native Content, Video, or Advertisement
Presented by R&B Celllars

  • BOSS EYEWEAR | Sharpen your focus |Starring Henry Cavill
  • Eat Travel Rock TV   (WINNER)
  • Exquisit Schnaps and fine Vinegar in Austria/Europe
  • Family Style, Season 2
  • Fresh Up Your Life
  • Get Away for a Day with Allyshia Renay: International Edition!
  • Kitchenside Talks
  • The Wiseguy Kitchen: The Historic Kapok Tree
  • Travelers by Nature

Best Green or Organic Program, Series or Film

  • Fresh Up Your Life   (WINNER)
  • MÁS Sano, MÁS Rico
  • Nardelli al Natural (All natural Nardelli)
  • New Day New Chef
  • New Day New Chef : Support and Feed Edition

Best New Series

  • Agave Road Trip   (WINNER)
  • Catherine’s Farmhouse Kitchen: Quarantine Edition
  • Chrissy’s Court
  • Flavor of Poland
  • Lens of Culture
  • Modern Pioneering with Georgia Pellegrini   (WINNER)
  • New Day New Chef
  • Selena + Chef
  • The Worlds Oldest Restaurant: 300 Year Old Sobrino de Botín
  • Valcooks Kitchen
  • Wines To Find Podcast

Best Single Topic Series, Presented by Gowan’s Cider

  • Agave Road Trip
  • America’s Test Kitchen — “Cooking For One” Series   (WINNER)
  • Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Radio
  • Confucius Was a Foodie
  • Dads Drinking Bourbon
  • How To Cook That by Ann Reardon
  • Opening Soon
  • Pit Bulls & Parolees
  • The Speakeasy
  • Wines To Find Podcast

Best Nature or Science Program, Film or Documentary

  • The Aquarium   (WINNER)
  • Eick on a Hike: Best Day Hikes in Lassen Volcanic National Park
  • NASA’s Incredible Discovery Machine: The Story of the Hubble Space Telescope   (WINNER)

Best Health & Fitness Program, Film or Documentary

  • Eick on a Hike: Best Day Hikes in Lassen Volcanic National Park   (WINNER)
  • Iron Sharpens Iron
  • New Day New Chef
  • New Day New Chef : Support and Feed Edition
  • The Art of Natural Healing

Best Food or Drink Podcast

  • Afros and Knives Podcast   (WINNER)
  • Agave Road Trip
  • Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Radio
  • Cooks Thyme with Chef Tobias Cooks
  • Dads Drinking Bourbon
  • Meat and Three
  • S.A.L.T. Lab Radio
  • Sips, Suds, & Smokes
  • The Bite Goes On
  • The Grape Nation
  • The Speakeasy   (WINNER)
  • Wine Road Podcast
  • Wine Soundtrack
  • Wines To Find Podcast

Best Travel Program

  • A Taste of Scotland
  • Adventure Horizon (Gorizont Priklyucheniy)
  • Confucius Was a Foodie
  • Flavor of Poland
  • Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted
  • Lens of Culture   (WINNER)
  • Los favoritos de Margarita Carrillo
  • Los Petersen en la Patagonia (Cooking the Patagonia with the Petersen’s)
  • Moveable Feast: On the Road in Cambridge, UK
  • Somebody Feed Phil
  • Tastes Like Home – Bringing a recipe from Kildare, Ireland to Jeju in South Korea
  • Weekends With Yankee: Deep Roots

Best City or Regional Program

  • Weekends With Yankee: Deep Roots (WINNER)
  • Whats On The Menu With Michelle Ullmann, Pierogies Factory
  • Wine Road Podcast   

Best Ethnic Lifestyle Series, Program or Film

  • Confucius Was a Foodie   (WINNER)
  • Felicitas Parrillera (Felicitas’ BBQ)
  • Get Away for a Day with Allyshia Renay: International Edition!
  • Lens of Culture
  • Los favoritos de Margarita Carrillo
  • Los Fogones Tradicionales: MÉXICO (Ancient fires: Mexico)
  • New Soul Kitchen with Chef Jernard
  • Simply Ming: Ming Tsai with Andrew Zimmern   (WINNER)

Best International Program

  • A Taste of Ireland: Ballyknocken Cookery School
  • Christmas with Bonacini
  • Confucius Was a Foodie   (WINNER)
  • Cook Like a Chef
  • Crikey! It’s the Irwins: Bindi’s Wedding
  • Felicitas Parrillera (Felicitas’ BBQ)
  • Flavor of Poland
  • Great Getaways: Cologne, Germany
  • Los Fogones Tradicionales: MÉXICO (Ancient fires: Mexico)
  • Los Petersen en la Patagonia (Cooking the Patagonia with the Petersen’s)
  • Maestros del Ceviche (Ceviche Masters)
  • Parrilla a la mexicana
  • Tastes Like Home – Bringing a recipe from Kildare, Ireland to Jeju in South Korea
  • Watts on the Grill

Best Foreign Language Program, Series or Film

  • Exquisit Schnaps and fine Vinegar in Austria/Europe
  • Los favoritos de Margarita Carrillo
  • Los Fogones Tradicionales: MÉXICO (Ancient fires: Mexico)
  • Los Petersen en la Patagonia (Cooking the Patagonia with the Petersen’s)   (WINNER)
  • MÁS Sano, MÁS Rico
  • Nardelli al Natural (All natural Nardelli)
  • Parrilla a la mexicana
  • Supera Esto (Chef’s showdown)
  • Wine Crush (Vas-y Coupe!)
  • Wine Soundtrack

BEST MINI FILM OR DOCUMENTARY (5-10 MINUTES)

  • 541: A Place For The Community
  • Eat Travel Rock Productions Reel Featuring Beatnik Chicago
  • Eick on a Hike: Best Day Hikes in Lassen Volcanic National Park
  • Exquisit Schnaps and fine Vinegar in Austria/Europe
  • Master Artcraft Perfumer
  • The Biodynamical Way
  • The Worlds Oldest Restaurant: 300 Year Old Sobrino de Botín   (WINNER)

BEST SHORT FILM OR DOCUMENTARY (10-40 MINUTES)

  • Chronicles of Gnarnia: The Rex Chadwick Story
  • Get Away for a Day with Allyshia Renay: International Edition!
  • In the Desert of Eternity
  • Italy In Bocca   (WINNER)
  • NO SINGLE ORIGIN
  • QUẬN 13
  • Russia through the Eyes of Foreigners. While Moscow was the Capital

BEST FEATURE-LENGTH FILM OR DOCUMENTARY

  • Alaska Long Hunters
  • Lidia Celebrates America: Return of the Artisans
  • Weed & Wine   (WINNER)
  • Wine Crush (Vas-y Coupe!)

BEST FASHION FILM

  • Alex
  • Behind the Curtain   (WINNER)
  • fashion inspiration nature
  • Human Library

BEST ACTION SPORTS, ADVENTURE, OR OUTDOORS FILM

  • Eick on a Hike: Best Day Hikes in Lassen Volcanic National Park   
  • Elba vs. Block (WINNER)
  • Iron Sharpens Iron
  • Life Size Toys
  • SKRRT with Offset 

Best Social Media Short Video

  • America’s Test Kitchen — “Cooking For One” Series   (VIEWERS CHOICE WINNER)
  • Eat Travel Rock Productions Reel Featuring Beatnik Chicago
  • Fresh Up Your Life
  • Koo 80th Birthday Video Campaign
  • The Food Nanny
  • Valcooks Kitchen

Best Lifestyle Podcast

  • S.A.L.T. Lab Radio
  • Sips, Suds, & Smokes
  • The Swirl Suite Podcast
  • Wine Road Podcast   (VIEWERS CHOICE WINNER)

Best Home Decor and Design Program

  • Barkitecture
  • Living By Design
  • La recicladora de muebles   (VIEWERS CHOICE WINNER)
  • Murder House Flip

Best Comedy or Humor

  • Bad Ideas
  • Chrissy’s Court
  • Gayme Show
  • Gone Mental with Lior
  • Kirby Jenner
  • Memory Hole
  • Nice One!
  • Nikki Fre$h
  • Punk’d
  • Somebody Feed Phil
  • The 3 Julias on 30A Television
  • The CORONA DIALOGUES
  • The Trailer Park Cooking Show With Jolene Sugarbaker   (VIEWERS CHOICE WINNER)
  • What’s On the Menu with Michelle Ullmann

Best Filmed at Home Episodes or Film

  • America’s Test Kitchen: Boot Camp  
  • Catherine’s Farmhouse Kitchen: Quarantine Edition
  • Crikey! It’s the Irwins: Bindi’s Wedding
  • Eat Travel Rock TV
  • Family Style, Season 2
  • Italy In Bocca
  • Meat and Three
  • Modern Pioneering with Georgia Pellegrini
  • New Day New Chef : Support and Feed Edition   (VIEWERS CHOICE WINNER)
  • Opening Soon
  • Selena + Chef
  • The Speakeasy

Best Series Pilot

  • Catherine’s Farmhouse Kitchen: Quarantine Edition
  • Cook Like a Chef
  • Hard Core
  • ILLVILLE
  • Living By Design
  • Mind Exchange Music Presents: Layne Marie Williams The Adventures of Ms Glitch Live Film Score
  • Modern Pioneering with Georgia Pellegrini
  • New Day New Chef   (VIEWERS CHOICE WINNER)
  • Wolf it Down, with Tyler Florence

Best Instructional Web Series

  • America’s Test Kitchen — “Cooking For One” Series
  • America’s Test Kitchen: Boot Camp
  • Chef Schulz’s “How To”    (VIEWERS CHOICE WINNER)
  • Cooking Issues
  • Fresh Up Your Life
  • The Trailer Park Cooking Show With Jolene Sugarbaker

Best Food or Drink Radio Broadcast

  • All in the Industry
  • Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Radio
  • Sips, Suds, & Smokes   (VIEWERS CHOICE WINNER)
  • Take Away Only
  • The Grape Nation
  • The Swirl Suite Podcast
  • Wine Road Podcast

Best Home Chef in a Series

  • Cooks Thyme with Chef Tobias Cooks
  • Living By Design
  • Selena + Chef   (VIEWERS CHOICE WINNER)
  • Tastes Like Home – Bringing a recipe from Lusk in Ireland to Sydney Australia
  • The 3 Julias on 30A Television
  • The Trailer Park Cooking Show With Jolene Sugarbaker
  • Valcooks Kitchen


ADDITIONAL SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD HONOREES ANNOUNCED


 

BEST OF CANADA AWARD

  • Cook Like a Chef

BEST OF EUROPE AWARD

  • Flavor of Poland
  • Great Getaways: Cologne, Germany 

BEST OF OCEANIA AWARD

  • How To Cook That by Ann Reardon

BEST OF AFRICA AWARD

  • Lorna With A Pinch Of Salt

OUTSTANDING ANIMATION

  • Ryori  (Brian Yulo Ng, Director)

OUTSTANDING KIDS PROGRAMMING

  • A Taste of Scotland (Twice as Good Show)

A FULL LIST OF ALL HONOREES AND HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES CAN BE SEEN HERE


TASTE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED


  • April McClure – Southern California Piers
  • Bozena Garbinska – Grapes
  • Devin DePamphilis – Jumping in Ice Cream
  • Dilip Khatri – Cactus Lane
  • Matt Armendariz – Abalone Carpaccio, Jordan Winery.jpg
  • Michelle Ullmann – Girl and Her Wolf
  • Peter Irgens, Charlotte Andersen – Nutcracker twenty20
  • Wendy Bednarz – Surma, ARTifice Traces Suri in Present
  • Xu Han – Food 

Devin DePamphilis – Jumping in Ice Cream


 

Watch the 2021 TASTE AWARDS Show HERE


WATCH THE 2021 TASTE AWARDS

The TASTE AWARDS Show is coming to a screen near you, and viewable on Facebook and on the TASTE AWARDS website**.

Come watch it and see who wins, celebrate some of the most exciting and creative food, fashion and lifestyle programs, videos, films, series, podcasts and radio.

This year’s TASTE AWARDS all digital and all virtual awards show features a star-studded lineup of food and fashion TV, Film and Video celebrities, including winners, nominees and presenters. Some participating Celebrity awards presenters include Michelle Harris (Alive and Well TV), Kim Estes (Emmy nominated actor), Jernard Wells (Food Network, Cleo TV), Mickela Mallozzi (PBS, CreateTV), Danielle Nottingham (NBC), Margaret McSweeney (Kitchen Chat), Chris Knight (Gusto TV), Andrea Feczko, Joanne Weir, Jazz and Jake Smollett, the Food Nanny (IG).

WHEN: April 12, 5:30 PM Pacific Time (LA/SF Time Zone)
WHERE: On the Awards Site and Facebook
HOW: Go to www.TheTasteAwards.com and www.facebook.com/tastyawards

** As with most awards shows this year (Critics Choice, SAG, WGA, the Gothams, Emmys, Grammys, BET, Music Video Awards, etc), the 2021 TASTE AWARDS in Beverly Hills will also be virtual this year.

The TASTE AWARDS in Hollywood & Beverly Hills are the premier awards celebrating the year’s best in Food, Fashion, Health, Travel, and Lifestyle programs in Film, Television, Online & Streaming Video, Podcasts, Radio and Photography.


 

TASTE AWARDS Winner and “Bar Rescue” Star Jon Taffer Launches new Taffer’s Tavern Franchise

Long known to television audiences for saving bar owners from ruin on seven seasons of Paramount Network’s Bar Rescue, as well as TASTE AWARDS winner, renowned hospitality expert and entrepreneur Jon Taffer is bringing his famed level of standards to his own customers with the opening of the franchise Taffer’s Tavern. The first outpost of the casual-dining brand opened in the Fall of 2020 outside of Atlanta in Alpharetta, Georgia, with additional franchise locations coming soon to Boston, Washington, D.C. and other U.S. markets.

“Taffer’s Tavern truly reimagines the modern restaurant, with an emphasis on comfort and trust that spans from the ambiance to the food to the peace of mind that patrons will feel from our dedication to people’s safety”
Tweet this

Inspired by the quintessential neighborhood pub, a regular gathering place for locals and visitors alike, Taffer’s Tavern is designed with traditional Old World taverns in mind, its ambiance is inviting, warm and comfortable, distinguished by dark woods, soft leathers, copper accents and exceptional food and beverage offerings. With an emphasis on providing the highest quality products and service, the menu highlights include such selections as a 72-Hour Short Rib (slow-braised for 72 hours then topped with rich demi-glace sauce and paired with mac ‘n’ cheese), BLT (Belly, Lettuce, Tomato – slow-cooked pork belly crisped and seasoned with smoked sea salt, topped with lettuce, tomato and zesty tomato aioli) and Tot Roast Fries (an inventive Southern poutine of tater tots topped with slow-cooked shredded beef, mushroom béchamel sauce, and creamy cheese curds).

Taffer’s Tavern boasts a best-in-class beverage program that Taffer crafted with master mixologist Phil Wills of Bar Rescue, featuring a diverse selection of spirits, wines and beers, many of local and regional provenance. Its signature cocktails, employing some of the most advanced mixology techniques, include The Campfire (Taffer’s trademarked Brown Butter Rye Whiskey, bitters and simple syrup is a perfect blend of bold flavors balanced with velvet-like smoothness) and Berry-Impressive (fruit-infused vodka layered with lemon, served bursting with fresh mixed berries in a French Press).

The innovative restaurant concept, developed by Taffer long before the COVID pandemic, features the industry’s highest safety standards for both guests and staff led by the “kitchen of the future” and the latest advancements in food prep/service technology. Always ahead of the industry curve, Taffer established Taffer’s Safe Dining System™ as a signature approach that sets new safety standards for the restaurant industry. Some of these safety and hygiene measures include hand-scanning detection technology to monitor every hand wash for contaminates, advanced glass cleaning technology for all drinkware, and reduced contact through department separation. Other elements include protocols for a no-contact, third-party order pick-up system, eliminating the need for delivery drivers to come inside the restaurant, and a unique meal preparation technology where food is minimally touched to prevent cross-contamination.

Taffer’s Tavern truly reimagines the modern restaurant, with an emphasis on comfort and trust that spans from the ambiance to the food to the peace of mind that patrons will feel from our dedication to people’s safety,” stated Jon Taffer. “American urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg talked about the concept of the coveted ‘third place’ – the first place is home, the second is work, and the third is a gathering place and nexus for human interaction. That third place is Taffer’s Tavern and Alpharetta could not be a better city to open our first franchise location. After spending months there prior to opening, I have found a community that I know will embrace Tavern and the Taffer brand.”

Taffer’s Tavern will open daily at 11:00 a.m. starting October 29 through November 18 for preview and training in advance of the grand opening on November 19. For more information, to make reservations, and for franchise opportunities, please visit.

About Jon Taffer

Jon Taffer is an award-winning hospitality expert, entrepreneur and thought leader with over 35 years of success in the entertainment, hospitality and nightlife industries. He’s best-known as executive producer and star of Paramount Network’s reality TV show Bar Rescue, which just wrapped its seventh season spotlighting Jon as he saves failing bars from looming closure. In 2019, he launched Taffer’s Mixologist, a line of craft, high-quality, pre-made cocktail mixes and hard seltzers available in retail stores across the country, including Walmart. Concurrently, Jon runs Taffer Virtual Teaching, his digital teaching platform, and Taffer Dynamics, his business consulting firm. Over the years, he has consulted for a range of well-known brands, including the NFL Network, Anheuser-Bush, Ritz-Carlton, TGI Fridays, Buffalo Wild Wings, Famous Dave’s Barbecue and Fortune 500 brands such as Hyatt Hotels and Marriott International. Jon is also the author of the best-selling book Raise the Bar: An Action-Based Method for Maximum Customer Reaction and his newest book Don’t Bulls*t Yourself. For more information, visit www.jontaffer.com.

About Taffer’s Tavern

Jon Taffer, Bar Rescue star and award-winning hospitality expert, has launched his own innovative, full-service restaurant franchise concept, Taffer’s Tavern. Taffer’s Tavern is the quintessential pub, a place to gather with your old friends and make new ones along the way. The tavern will feature outstanding signature cocktails, delicious bar food, a streamlined hoodless/ventless restaurant format with small footprint, and the latest advances in food preparation technology, with partners including Cuisine Solutions, Krowne, PathSpot, and Shift4. Taffer’s Tavern will launch its first tavern in Atlanta, Georgia in 2020. For more information, visit www.tafferstavern.com/.

Tastemakers Summit Video: My Big Break, with Chef Jernard Wells and Danielle Chang

WATCH THIS GREAT VIDEO FROM the Media Tastemakers Summit on

MY BIG BREAK

In conversation with Food TV Celebs on How they Got, or Made, their Big Break, and strategies to Keep It. My Road to Celebrity and Success

Featuring Chef Jernard Wells, Host and Celebrity Chef, Food Network and Cleo TV; Danielle Chang, Executive Producer and Host, Lucky Chow television series; Moderated by Amy Sherman, Cooking with Amy



ABOUT DANIELLE CHANG

A cultural entrepreneur who builds brands across creative industries, Danielle is the founder and CEO of LUCKYRICE, a lifestyle brand that has been shining a spotlight on Asian culture through food and drink for the past decade. Under Danielle’s leadership, LUCKYRICE and its signature Festival series has expanded to eight key markets in the United States and has become the definitive voice for Asian culture today.

LUCKYRICE has also birthed two additional projects: Danielle’s first book Lucky Rice: Stories and Recipes from Night Markets, Feasts and Family Tables (Clarkson Potter) and the nationally broadcast TV show Lucky Chow, now in its fourth season, in which Danielle is the program creator and host.