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Picture this: 7 luxurious nights in Mauritius, 3 yummy kosher meals daily – prepared by 5-star chefs under supervision of the Joburg Beth Din, white beaches, sparkling pools, and a travel wizard at your side every step of the way.
Now imagine you and your family can have all this at a price you can afford. Actually, this winter you can.
Because the community’s well-known Travel Wizard, aka Laura Joselowsky of Glenhazel, has spent over a year making it happen. Laura has put together a ground-breaking kosher Mauritius experience – with 5–star luxury and a kosher kitchen, manned by 5-star chefs but under the supervision of mashgichim trained by the Joburg Beth Din.
And it all happens at the super-luxurious “The Grand Mauritian” – a Luxury Collection Hotel and Spa – which is part of the huge Starwood Hotels and Resorts Group. Other members of the group include Le Meridien, Sheraton and W Resorts.
This also represents a first for the Beth Din, who will be providing the kosher supervision. The kosher food, all from top quality suppliers like Nussbaums, is being schlepped from wintery SA to sunny Mauritius.
Professional hotel chefs under supervision of Jhb Beth Din
The catering will be provided by the extraordinary and professional chefs and staff of the “The Grand Mauritian.” And all food preparation will be under the supervision of an experienced, full time Mashgiach (also being schlepped from SA) who will be assisted be a local member of the Mauritian Jewish Community. The latter has been schlepped in from Mauritius for special training by the Johannesburg Beth Din – and then schlepped back again.
The Union of Orthodox Synagogues (UOS), which is the umbrella body under which the Beth Din falls, is also excited about this development.
UOS Executive Director Darren Sevitz told MyShtetl that “working with Laura has been a pleasure. She is constantly excited, energetic and upbeat, which makes this project a pleasure.”
So, Shtetlers, that means YOU don’t have to schlepp anything!
How is this possible? Easy, it just takes 22 years of experience and 14 months of (very) hard work.
Before we take you any further, watch this short video and drool…
Laura Joselowsky has been working in the travel industry since 1989. She cut her teeth in the corporate travel arena where she gained extensive experience and a flair for driving a hard bargain for her clients.
Seeing a gap in the “personalised travel” field, Laura and started specialising mainly in leisure travel – and mainly for Jewish travellers, many of them kosher. She is on top of her market and arranges dream holidays, honeymoons and other special occasion trips. “Arranging that special holiday, which is custom-made for each client, is what makes this work so rewarding” says Laura.
When Laura moved back into the travel industry full-time in 2008, after a seven year family-making hiatus, she simply reinstated her previous trading name: The Travel Wizard. “I opened my doors to a whole new world of travel,” says Laura. “E-ticketing and the internet had completely changed the face of travel and tourism.”
Kosher travel had grown exponentially over the time
Fortunately for Laura, kosher travel had also grown exponentially over the period and so this travel wizard has been able to focus her attention on making travelling as a kosher, observant tourist accessible to everyone.
“Being kosher and keeping Shabbas does not have to restrict holidaying to local destinations and lots of canned tuna,” says Laura. Being observant herself and knowing and understanding the limitations and stringencies that kosher travel imposes on the community, our travel wizard strives to “ease the burden and open new opportunities for kosher consumers,” she says.
She doesn’t exclusively do kosher leisure travel, explains Laura, but it is the part of her work she enjoys most.
The Travel Wizard is able to book luxury kosher holidays on almost every continent, whether it is a five star luxury cruise on the Panama Canal or a six-star Pesach escape in Cancun, Mexico.
A first-of-its-kind, all-inclusive package SA consumers can afford
But Laura’s coup de grace, her personal “gem” of a kosher tour, is her first-of-its-kind all-inclusive 8-days on the magical island of Mauritius.
The Travel Wizard markets kosher travel packages of other tour operators. “We get so much interest from clients,” says Laura, “but most kosher travel packages are too expensive for the South African market.”
Being the enterprising travel wizard that she is, Laura started investigating. Surely, she posited, she could bring her skills to bear and create her own package. She found that “The Grand Mauritian” luxury hotel on the beach was willing to set aside one of their regular kitchens and dining rooms - which they would allow to be koshered for the exclusive use of her kosher group.
“PERFECT!” Laura told herself she had found the destination. After holding several discussions with the management of “The Grand Mauritian,” Laura took herself off to the hotel and sealed the deal. The first SA overseas kosher tour was in play.
No newcomer to negotiating airfares (she is using both SAA and Air Mauritius), hotel packages and the like, Laura managed to squeeze good deals everywhere. The kosher arrangements were more difficult because it was breaking new ground. But she is full of praise for the cooperation she has found. “The Beth Din was so eager to assist,” she says, “and even the kosher food suppliers have been really helpful.”
’Seasoned’ mashgiach with lots of catering experience
The UOS’ Darren Sevitz says that the Beth Din “regularly performs general kashrut inspections at various factories in Mauritius,” and that they had therefore “sent one of our Rabbis via the hotel on a recent kashrut inspection in Mauritius to ensure that everything was in order and would meet our high standards.”
Darren says that “the mashgiach being sent to supervise the operation is a seasoned mashgiach with experience working for one of our busiest caterers.”
Most importantly, she says, “everyone has understood that for this to work it has to be affordable to the community.” Laura will travel with the group to make sure that everything goes smoothly.
With prices starting from under R23,000 per person, it’s little wonder that enquiries are literally pouring in. So much so that Laura’s husband, Russel, has joined the team. The Travel Wizard has already taken more bookings than they had expected by this stage for the 5 to 12 July trip.
Laura is offering early-bird and group discounts, and special teenage and children rates apply - but these need to be tailored to each family’s needs. The Travel Wizard can be contacted at 011 440-2011 and, for personal service from the wizard at The Travel Wizard, call Laura direct on 082 715-3706 – all hours except Shabbos!
I know Choni, isn't exile
I know Choni, isn't exile wonderful? :)