The Table of Friends

Our Story

Who we are

The Table of Friends is an eclectic gastro project built around a travelling table. We set one long table in places worth the journey, invite people who have never met, and let the food, the wine and the setting do the rest.

The founder

Tuğçe Durak

Tuğçe began as a travel writer, trying to understand places through their people, their tables and their stories. Her work grew into marketing, content and brand strategy for the hospitality world, documentary production, and inspections for a renowned culinary rating platform, alongside writing for titles including GQ, Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire.

Food was never just a subject for her. It was a language. Studying Culinary Arts and Gastronomy at Le Cordon Bleu in Florence gave her an insider's understanding of the kitchen, and a way to bring travel and food together into one idea: a table that moves from place to place, and a community that grows with every stop.

Today she runs The Table of Friends from Florence, and its editorial sister, Table of Friends Magazine.

Based inFlorence, Italy

Trained atLe Cordon Bleu Florence

SpeaksTurkish, English, Italian

What we believe

Every table is built from the inside out

The place

Somewhere worth the journey

A stone quarry in Sicily, a museum by the sea, a glasshouse in Amsterdam, a lake beneath a limestone cliff in Athens. The setting is never a backdrop. It decides the menu, the light and the mood.

The table

One long table

No tables for two, no corners to hide in. Everyone shares the same view, the same plates and the same reason to start talking. Local producers and seasonal cooking do the rest.

The people

A guest list with care

Chefs, artists, founders and travellers, most of them strangers when they sit down. We bring them together for one evening, and the conversation usually carries on long after.

Where the table has been