A Tavola, in Florence by Way of New York

For our second A Tavola dinner series event, we had the rare privilege of gathering inside the New York showroom of Kathy Kuo Home in celebration of her newly unveiled Florentine Collection. The space was filled with exquisite pieces from the launch, rich with old world romance, ornate carvings, antiques, woven textures, and gentle candlelight. What is typically a showroom softened into something far more intimate. It felt less like retail and more like a beloved friend’s home in Tuscany, layered, warm, and welcoming.

This collaboration feels especially meaningful to both of us because it is rooted in years of shared vision and trust. Kathy and I have worked together for the past seven years across so many chapters of our home life, from designing our backyard at the Brownstone to creating Lucy’s nursery, spaces that marked real milestones for our family. Through each project, she and her team have been extraordinary. Her interior design services are truly next level, thoughtful, elevated, and remarkably seamless. She has an ability to translate feeling into form, to take the way you want a space to live and breathe and turn it into something tangible and lasting.

This evening felt like a culmination of that journey together. Not just another collaboration, but a coming together of everything we have built over the years. A shared love of layered interiors, soulful details, and homes that feel deeply lived in. To now gather around a table within the world she created, celebrating Florence through both design and cuisine, felt full circle in the most beautiful way.

For both Kathy and myself, having visited Florence many times over, we share a deep understanding that the city has a way of reminding you that beauty does not need to be perfect to be lasting. That sentiment sits at the very heart of this collection. Florence teaches you to appreciate the worn stone beneath your feet, the quiet glow cast across centuries old facades, the way elegance there is never precious or performative, but deeply lived in.

That ethos was palpable in every detail of the room that evening. Hand carved woods that felt storied rather than styled. Richly textured finishes that invited touch. Limestone creams and sun warmed terracottas layered effortlessly beside olive greens that drifted through the space like the Tuscan countryside itself. Nothing felt sharp or overly polished. Everything felt softened by time. It was honest craftsmanship designed to grow more soulful with age, and it created the most natural setting for our time honored provisions, a table where tradition, texture, and taste could exist in beautiful harmony.

It’s no secret that there is a certain rhythm to Italian life that we try to honor at every A Tavola, a tempo defined by slow pasta, shared wine, and conversation that deepens as the evening unfolds. But this night felt especially aligned with that spirit, as if we were not just recreating a taste of Italy, but actually stepping into it through the world Kathy so eloquently creates with her clear and grounded design point of view.

A Menu That Felt Like Home

We began with Cucina Cipoletti olive oil martinis, herbaceous, bright, unexpected to some, an invitation to slow down and savor the first moment of the night. There was laughter immediately. Glasses lifted in greeting. That unmistakable hum that forms when a room opens its heart. From there, the menu unfolded thoughtfully curated by Freddie in collaboration with the evening’s head chef. Together they shaped a progression that felt true to Florence, honoring tradition while allowing the ingredients to speak clearly, cleanly and simply.

Warm bowls of Cucina Cipoletti pasta arrived first, bronze cut and slow dried, its texture a testament to patience and craft. What makes this pasta special is where it comes from, the golden wheat grown in Val d’Orcia, just beyond Florence, fields we have visited and fallen in love with. These are grains that speak of sun and soil and history. To see those bowls passed hand to hand in New York, just as they would be in a Tuscan farmhouse, felt full circle. Then came the bistecca alla Fiorentina, grilled simply yet perfectly, its aroma weaving through the room. Seasoned only with Sicilian sea salt, it was the kind of dish that needs no adornment because it carries its own legacy.

A Room Full of Life

What stayed with us most was the energy in the room. Friends and new faces alike gathered not just to eat, but to be present. Antique mirrors reflected candlelight. Sculptural furniture anchored the corners. The Florentine Collection quietly framed the evening, never overpowering, always grounding. Design and cuisine existing in conversation with one another. There was a cadence to the night that felt both familiar and new. The way wine lingered in glasses. The way stories unfurled even after plates were cleared. The way chairs remained pulled in close.

It reminded us that A Tavola is never just about dinner. It is about the coming together of things that feel right in the body and in the soul. Heritage and hospitality. Craft and kindness. Beauty and familiarity. It is about passing bowls and hearts alike around a table and realizing that connection, that fleeting joy when worlds align just right, is the true centerpiece.

To everyone who joined us, thank you for bringing your presence, your curiosity, your laughter. You made this evening what it was, a room full of life, warmth, and resonance.