TAVOLI TURNS ONE

On April 20th, Tavoli turned one. And while there wasn’t a big celebration, I found myself reflecting on how far it, and I, have come. Not just in the past year, but in the years leading up to its creation.

Because the truth is, Tavoli isn’t just a food blog. It’s the story of how my life changed in the most unexpected, beautiful way…

The first concept of Tavoli’s homepage

My Journey To Albania

Seven years ago, I couldn’t have told you where Albania was on a map. I didn’t know anything about its food or culture. But then I met someone. And as these stories often go, everything changed. I fell in love with an Albanian man and, slowly but surely, with Albania itself.

When we first met, Çesk and I didn’t speak the same language. Communication was clumsy, especially during emotional moments, like when he missed home and I didn’t have the words to comfort him. 

Back then, my life was messy. I was maxed out on two overdrafts, stuck in a job that drained me, and was reeling from a few tough personal years. But the one thing I always had, even in my lowest moments, was a deep, grounding love for food.

2017 - Cooking & Creating

I started experimenting with Mediterranean ingredients after moving to London in 2017. I kept passing these bustling independent supermarkets near my flat in Shepherd’s Bush, West London; their displays of ruby pomegranates, soft figs, and fresh herbs kept catching my eye on my commute every day. Until one day, curiosity got the better of me and led me through their doors. Little did I know that moment would change everything.

I immersed myself in the flavours and ingredients of the Mediterranean and Middle East, exploring new markets and finding inspirational chefs on social media. I would spend hours sifting through the cookbooks in the huge bookstores in central London but couldn’t afford to buy them. So I signed up for a library card and would go after work on a Friday, carrying home as many as I could take out in one go, in a giant Ikea bag. I’d stay up late into the night; reading, writing, and dreaming up dishes. When payday came, I’d head straight to the shops or the local market for ingredients. Slowly, something was growing inside me, something that felt a lot like purpose.

Our first meal when Cesk & I moved in together - Complete with a suitcase for a dining table

By the time I met my husband, I’d already started a tiny Instagram called The Food Edit to document my cooking. It had maybe a dozen followers, but I didn’t care. I was in love with the food I was making. And when I started exploring Albanian cuisine, something clicked. The flavours were familiar, deeply Mediterranean, yet with their own unique soul. It felt like all the recipes I’d been experimenting with in the past year had been leading me here. It felt like fate. 

Travelling to Albania sealed it for me. To sit at an Albanian dining table is to experience a kind of magic you’ll never feel anywhere else; unmatched hospitality, warmth, and connection. Meals are a celebration of togetherness, of family, of life. I knew I had to share that with others.

My first trip to Albania in 2019

Finding Myself Again

But life has a way of pulling you off track. I focused on my career, and cooking became something I did just for me. 

Until 2023, when I landed what I thought was my dream job. It was everything I had worked toward, or so I thought. Within months, I realized the creative part of me was being slowly extinguished in favour of target chasing. And while a part of me thrived in that, there was this burning desire to create, that I couldn’t quite fulfill. 

One day during my lunchbreak, I pulled up a Canva board and decided I needed to put this compacted creativity out onto something. So I created a moodboard of exactly the person I knew I was, but wasn’t being. As the hour came to an end, I closed the tab and then, as these things often go, that was that. Just another closed tab that gets forgotten in favour of chasing targets, busy schedules and trying to balance the conflicting demands of daily life. 

Then I lost that job. Overnight, it was gone. And for the first time in my life, I felt truly lost. The confidence I’d once had disappeared. I stopped talking, stopped sharing, stopped dreaming. I had done all I could to succeed in that role yet, for circumstances out of my control, there was no space for me anymore. Looking back, I realise that it’s just the nature of small businesses and that it wasn’t my path, but at the time, it felt like my world was falling apart. 

The moodboard that changed everything

Tavoli Is Born

And yet, something strange happens in those quiet, uncertain moments. You hear things more clearly, like the voice inside you whispering that it’s time to come back to what you love. For me, that whisper came while listening to a podcast and hearing someone speak about how they had drawn these three intersecting circles, to discover the thing that they should create. Something that was a blend of their expertise, their passion and what the world needed. 

I spent the walk home thinking about what my three circles were. And then later, when I pulled up my Canva to draw them out - there it was! The moodboard I created so long ago. That little hour of creative expression that had been closed, just to be forgotten about, almost as quickly as it was created. 

When I opened that file again, everything flooded back: the idea of a food platform that felt different. No clutter, no pop-ups, no stereotypical themes; just beautiful, Albanian and Mediterranean recipes, inspired by real experiences and real love. A blend of my passion for deep thinking, travel, enjoying life’s little moments, and most importantly - delicious food. 

Creating Tavoli’s colour scheme

Creating Tavoli’s colour scheme

I called it Tavoli, a blend of the Albanian word for table (tavolina) and the Italian word (tavola), representing the two cultures that had shaped my cooking most. 

It felt right. Because for me, so much of life happens around a dining table. It’s where I had worked, cried when I lost the job, gathered with family and friends, laughed with my husband, reflected over a coffee each morning, created - And it’s where Tavoli was born.

Initial photography and concepts for Tavoli’s branding

Since launching Tavoli, I’ve had to learn so much. From photography and writing, to website design, recipe development, and video editing. And I’m still learning every single day. 

Tavoli is far from perfect, and honestly, that’s exactly what makes it so special to me. It’s a journey. It’s something real, organic, evolving. Not a trend. Not a viral moment. Just a passion project rooted in love for food and culture. And with my journey to this moment woven into every element of it; the good, the bad, and everything in between. 

The first Tavoli food photography

At its very heart, I want Tavoli to be a beautiful experience - a warm, welcoming space for people who love good food and want to connect with Albanian and Mediterranean culture through delicious meals. Meals to share with loved ones, where memories are made around the table. Or even meals enjoyed solo, after a long day at work or on a quiet evening in. Because for me, treating yourself, and anyone else, to something delicious is one of life’s greatest joys.

Creating traditional Albanian recipes

Finding Myself, Again

After I started Tavoli, I found another job and lost that one too. Again, in a situation completely outside of my control. 

I’d been building up my creative confidence with Tavoli, but after everything that had happened with work, it started to feel like a mask. Two job losses in a year had left my confidence in pieces. And although I loved working on Tavoli, I didn’t want to be the person behind it. I didn’t want to show myself anywhere near it.

Until one day, I just decided to try. I reflected back on all the other times in my life where I’d been knocked back. To every single time, that had felt like a broken record, where I was back to the beginning again. And I decided that, much like every other time, I could pick myself back up. 

So I recorded my first ever voiceover. Then, not long after, I filmed a video with myself in it. It was terrifying, but it was also liberating. I realised just how much I’d lost my voice over the past year. And more importantly, how much I wanted it back.

Putting myself out there

A few months later, I came across a job advert that felt almost too fitting to be real. A communication coaching company with company values of kindness, empowerment, and authenticity. I applied, feeling more myself than I had in a long time. And I got the job.

The thing that helped me stand out? A piece of video content I’d made, the very thing I was once too afraid to do only some months before.

Talk about full circle.

Tavoli Today

Now, a year on from pressing the big publish button on Tavoli, and a few months into a job I truly love, it’s wild to think how life can change, how you can change. In a single moment, you can fall in love, lose something you thought you needed, find a new purpose, and land in a place that brings out the very best in you.

I’m nowhere near the peak of this journey, not personally, not with Tavoli. But maybe that’s the point. Maybe it’s not about the peak at all. Maybe it’s about the tiny wins along the way. The quiet moments of growth. The moments where you experience life in its entirety, all emotions included. 

Wherever this leads, I’m soaking up every second of the climb, taking it all in my stride, and enjoying every delicious meal and memory along the way.