Every person’s body has its own needs, and those needs change over time. Living with type 1 diabetes since 2009 and coeliac disease since 2012 taught me that food is never “just food”: it’s medical, social, and deeply pleasurable.

As my dietary needs became stricter, eating out safely became harder. I often found myself cooking at home and carrying my meal box everywhere, with a remarkable amount of stress. Over time, I started dreaming of becoming the cook I couldn’t find: someone who steps into the kitchen and makes carefully prepared plates feel effortless for others. That is how Taru’s Kitchen Project was born. Taru is a Finnish given name, and it also means “a tale.” In this tale, Taru is our imaginary grandmother, turning the everyday difficulty of special dietary needs into a fairy-tale kind of ease.

Rooted in the Mediterranean-Aegean food culture I grew up with, and shaped by the European kitchens I’ve lived alongside, we offer dishes designed with care, clarity, and flavour at the centre. We prioritise medical, environmental, and economic sustainability, and aim to use local, clean ingredients whenever possible.

In the kitchen, when my hands are busy with pans and vegetables, Eren will be holding the camera. We also have brilliant Elif supporting us in designing our process.

-doğa