Alexandra Lorraine Payard
Founder & Owner

Whether making Neapolitan specialties with her grandmother as a child or sneaking off to nearby New York City as a young adult for a fancy meal with friends, Alexandra Payard developed a taste for good eating early in life. As founder of Tastings, the catering arm of Payard, Alexandra found the perfect expression for sharing her creative menu planning skills and intuitive hospitality with others, crafting each event to suit the style and sensibilities of her clients.

“Tastings began little by little as we catered events for Payard clients and built a following of people who appreciated the personal attention and quality,” says Alexandra. “What I love about this business is that each gathering is a fresh palette to create something new, individual and memorable.”

From classic French soirees to intimate dinner parties and dinatoires (roaming dinners), Alexandra has catered events with imagination and resourcefulness, using her far reaching world travels as the source of inspiration. Together with a classically French trained Japanese chef, the world-class Payard pastry team, and an exceptionally professional, warm and accommodating service team, she offers clients uniquely crafted events since Tastings inception in 2001.

Alexandra began her studies at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), where she earned her B.S. in marketing and advertising and joined the Omnicom agency followed by Young & Rubicam after graduation. Balancing office life by day and working the front-of-the-house at Cite restaurant by night, Alexandra quickly found that hospitality was her true calling. By 1995, she left her advertising job as a media planner to work full-time in several Manhattan restaurants until the opening of Payard Patisserie & Bistro.

With Tastings, Alexandra’s mission is to cultivate special relationships with her clients, tailoring events to suit their individual needs and personalities while providing gracious service and exceptional food by chefs and a service team who are passionate about food, wine and entertaining.