Today we’d like to introduce you to Denise Righetti. Them and their team share their story with us below:
Denise Righetti is the Founder and CFO (Chief Foodie Officer) of Savor Our City™, a food & lifestyle brand, a go-to resource for Foodie News, Gourmet Product Reviews & Events as well as a creator of unique customized culinary experiences (food tours, cooking classes, wine tastings, craft brewery tours, mixology classes & scavenger hunts to name a few) in South Florida and beyond.
A second-generation native South Floridian, Denise grew up in Miami and upon graduating from college was fortunate to have landed her first job working on board cruise ships for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. It is here where she first began her career in Hospitality. Having worked with people from all around the globe and being exposed to a variety of cultures & cuisines, Denise is convinced that this experience is what planted the seed for what has evolved into her present day Foodie business. She truly thrives in bringing people together to enjoy an experience that she personally curated involving food, culture and camaraderie.
Prior to starting Savor Our City, Denise worked as the Marketing Manager for the largest property owner in Downtown Boca. It is here that she honed her inner foodie & started working with the large number of restaurants that were in her company’s portfolio. She began Denise’s Foodie Events, a monthly supper club which was an instant hit with the restaurants and local foodies in the community.
In 2013 Denise left her job in Corporate America to pursue her passion of starting her own boutique marketing, pr & event planning company and has never looked back. Denise works with all kinds of clients: from local companies looking for team building activities and client/employee appreciation events to DMC’s looking for activities for the clients coming into town for conventions, religious organizations, school groups, bachelorette parties to cruise lines and municipalities.
Denise is proud of her accomplishment as a small business owner who has bootstrapped her business from the start, growing it from one single experience once a week in one city to going global with her first international city (Barcelona) in 2019.
Beyond the joy she gets from curating and operating her unique culinary experiences for her clients and attending & writing about local foodie events, Denise gets fulfillment from raising funds for local charities and nonprofits through her role as a Senior Wine Advisor with Wines for Humanity, a company founded in 2007 which has raised over $6M for charities through their wine tasting program.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
With the country going into lockdown as a result of the 2020 pandemic, my business came to a complete standstill. In order to adapt and stay relevant, we pivoted to offering virtual online experiences. Now, as things are slowly getting back to “normal” at the end of 2021 we are able to offer in person experiences as well as virtual ones.
One of my most pressing obstacles is my website. It doesn’t accurately reflect our ability to do what we do in any city really… I am in the process of rebranding Savor Our City as a “Culinary Concierge” and my website will soon allow people the opportunity to select their Experience, the date/time, number of participants and the city and I will make it happen for them through our vast network of affiliates.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We specialize in curating & operating unique small group culinary experiences such as historical walking food tours, wine tastings, cooking classes, mixology classes, craft brewery tours, scavenger hunts and more. We are booked by both corporations looking for team building, client appreciation, employee recognition and holiday parties as well as cruise lines looking to offer their passengers a cultural immersion experience while in port, convention groups looking to get a taste of the city they are visiting and social groups looking for a fun outing, bachelorette party or way to celebrate a special occasion.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
My perception of Orlando for many years was that it was synonymous with Disney World. That’s because as a child, my parents would take us there and that’s all I knew. It wasn’t until I started Savor Our City and working with one of our corporate clients up there that I really got to see all the beauty that exists and surrounds the theme park. I love the cobblestone streets and historic buildings and the moss-covered trees and the water canals encountered on the scenic boat ride in Winter Park. What I like least is that it’s a bit of a hike for me to get here from South FL.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.SavorOurCity.com
- Instagram: @SavorOurCity
- Facebook: @SavorOurCity
- Youtube: @SavorOurCity
