What is Tabl?
Tabl is the new online hub for pop-up kitchens, supper clubs and food adventures and offers unique dining experiences in unexpected, often residential places. It works by connecting the people who love to eat with the talented cooks who love to host. Tabl is a trusted community platform that provides everything each side needs to create or enjoy great sociable events around food and enables the transactions between guests and hosts to happen safely and securely.
How did the concept come about?
The team behind tabl has years of experience in creating digital communities and managing user generated content, working with clients from all corners of publishing from ITV, Sky Media, Daily Mail to The Guardian. With history in the food sector and accreditations in The Observer Food Awards and Waitrose Small Producer Awards, it was a small leap to arrive at the concept of an innovative social dining platform delivered with the latest advances in digital media and a passion for good old fashioned hospitality.
We’ve also won a national business award in February where we were ranked in the ‘Future 50’ by a panel of expert judges. That means we are rated as one of 2014’s ‘most exciting new businesses in the UK’.
Our aim is to contribute to Brighton & Hove and Sussex’s credentials as a destination for inspiring food experiences by nurturing, supporting and facilitating a burgeoning scene of pop-up dining activity and events. If we can prove the concept here – and what better place – then we aim to take Tabl to a much wider audience.
Who can get involved with Tabl?
Tabl is for anyone who enjoys food, eating it or preparing it. It’s about sharing hospitality and experiences and it’s about connecting with people. The joy of Tabl is the blurring of lines between producer and consumer and you can be both or either.
For hosts, Tabl takes away the administrative burden of running events so you get to concentrate on the part you love – the hospitality and the cooking. That means you don’t have to be a pro chef to host events. It’s like having the management infrastructure of a well-run restaurant at your fingertips, whenever you need it.
Tabl showcases your event, manages your guest list, takes care of invitations, bookings and payments and even handles waiting lists if you’re over-booked. You can build your own personal guest list on Tabl, letting people subscribe to automatic invitations every time you post a new event.
It also integrates social media so you can spread the word about your event through facebook and twitter with one simple click. Tabl gives access to host insurance, food hygiene training and many other relationships that support the host community.
For guests, you get instant easy access to a hidden world of pop-up dining from your mobile, tablet or desktop. It’s so simple to use, you can explore local events, see pictures and menus, review the host’s background and who else you’ll meet there. The exact venue remains a secret just until you book your place. And you get easy options to feed back after the event so you can see which hosts are popular.
Are there any up-coming events over the summer?
There are loads of great events happening around Brighton & Hove and wider Sussex, the way to access them is to browse and book online at www.tabl.com. Events on Tabl range from swanky 7 course feasts and experimental menus by accomplished chefs to comforting homely roasts by enthusiastic home cooks.
Some have themes around literature, art or interests other than the food. They are typically unique or infrequent and there are always more and more being added. Whether you fancy dining with famous writers (Julie Burchill and Julia Crouch http://tabl.com/events/29 ), in a Grand Designs House with a chef to celebrities http://tabl.com/events/87 or your mood is more for a homely roast supper club http://tabl.com/events/83 there’s plenty to tempt you.
How do you get in touch?
You can find us at www.tabl.com, facebook/tablHQ and @popuptabl on twitter and you can email us at hello@tabl.com to get added to our newsletter. If there are particular events that interest you, you can go online and subscribe to individual pop-ups on Tabl and find out first whenever they run a new event.
Do you have to be a member?
It’s completely free to use Tabl and you can browse events or run a pop-up and showcase as many events as you like. You do have to be a member to list or book events but it’s simple to join and there are no charges or commitments to worry about. Tabl covers its costs by making a small booking fee to guests when they book onto an event and a small payment processing fee to hosts to cover the costs of handling payments.