Decorex / FOOD XX / Studio H
Design a stand for Studio H at Decorex
In a bid to celebrate women in food, we created an interactive jar swop initiative with donations that went to Ladles of Love, a feeding scheme in Cape Town. The food jar exchange contained donated preserved foods, personal stories and recipes. We wanted to show that a small gesture can make a big difference because donating one jar of food can help alleviate hunger in our immediate community.
The FOOD XX Jar Exxchange also paid homage to traditions of food preservation. For centuries, women have preserved food and their cultural heritage through the age-old tradition of canning, jamming and pickling.
The stand became an exchange hub where anyone – not just women – from all over the peninsula could come to swop a jar of their preserves with a card attached sharing the story and recipe of the food in the jar. Each donor received an empty jar, to keep paying the action forward.
We were overwhelmed by donations from brands such as Bergsoom Pure Foods, who donate 1 000 jars to the project.
Photos: Paris Brummer
Styling: Juwan Beyers
Decorex / FOOD XX / Studio H
Design a stand for Studio H at Decorex
In a bid to celebrate women in food, we created an interactive jar swop initiative with donations that went to Ladles of Love, a feeding scheme in Cape Town. The food jar exchange contained donated preserved foods, personal stories and recipes. We wanted to show that a small gesture can make a big difference because donating one jar of food can help alleviate hunger in our immediate community.
The FOOD XX Jar Exxchange also paid homage to traditions of food preservation. For centuries, women have preserved food and their cultural heritage through the age-old tradition of canning, jamming and pickling.
The stand became an exchange hub where anyone – not just women – from all over the peninsula could come to swop a jar of their preserves with a card attached sharing the story and recipe of the food in the jar. Each donor received an empty jar, to keep paying the action forward.
We were overwhelmed by donations from brands such as Bergsoom Pure Foods, who donate 1 000 jars to the project.
Photos: Paris Brummer
Styling: Juwan Beyers
In December 2023, we at Studio H were thrilled to unveil our 2024/5 Future Food Report during a series of presentations at our Tiny Empire office. As aspiring leaders in culinary innovation, these sessions provided a detailed exploration of upcoming gastronomic trends. Our approach involved comprehensive research, data analysis, and expert insights, all of which were shared with enthusiasm and great OPTIMISM - one of the very prominent themes. The presentations were not only informative but interactive, featuring a flavour museum, a pop-up shop, in-session tastings and a hot sauce workshop. This event underscored our commitment to staying ahead of culinary trends and showcased the dedication we bring to the intricate world of food design.
The team
Concept, experience design, menu design, culinary curation: Studio H
Food collaborators: Ever Peckish, The Fermentary by Sepial, Sweet Lionheart, Two in a Bush, Vinehugger, Lebanese Bakery
Graphic design: Spook Design Co.
Venue: Tiny Empire
In December 2023, we at Studio H were thrilled to unveil our 2024/5 Future Food Report during a series of presentations at our Tiny Empire office. As aspiring leaders in culinary innovation, these sessions provided a detailed exploration of upcoming gastronomic trends. Our approach involved comprehensive research, data analysis, and expert insights, all of which were shared with enthusiasm and great OPTIMISM - one of the very prominent themes. The presentations were not only informative but interactive, featuring a flavour museum, a pop-up shop, in-session tastings and a hot sauce workshop. This event underscored our commitment to staying ahead of culinary trends and showcased the dedication we bring to the intricate world of food design.
The team
Concept, experience design, menu design, culinary curation: Studio H
Food collaborators: Ever Peckish, The Fermentary by Sepial, Sweet Lionheart, Two in a Bush, Vinehugger, Lebanese Bakery
Graphic design: Spook Design Co.
Venue: Tiny Empire
Atmosphere for BBC Lifestyle
When Atmosphere Communications sent a brief with all our favourite things: 🎂 + 📺 + Siba = Bake Off!
Ready Steady Bake!
Casper Schutte, Spook Design Co. helped us turn Siba Mtongana and Paul Hartmann into iced cookies
Sweet Lionheart baked the cookies and curated the baking kits
Naeema Page, The Cookie Chef designed and iced the cookies of dreams (she also has the steadiest hands in the business)
Atmosphere for BBC Lifestyle
When Atmosphere Communications sent a brief with all our favourite things: 🎂 + 📺 + Siba = Bake Off!
Ready Steady Bake!
Casper Schutte, Spook Design Co. helped us turn Siba Mtongana and Paul Hartmann into iced cookies
Sweet Lionheart baked the cookies and curated the baking kits
Naeema Page, The Cookie Chef designed and iced the cookies of dreams (she also has the steadiest hands in the business)
By Holly Beaton
Studio H always has something intriguing in the works, and for their birthday celebration, they unveiled an extraordinary pop-up experience; characterised by their distinct attention to detail and generosity. On arrival, we were ushered into a room housing a dream realised for those of us who favour savoury delights as our first choice: a massive birthday cake adorned with hundreds of candles. Could I have ever imagined experiencing such a colossal cake, drawn from flavours inspired by South Africa's diverse culinary repertoire, and for it to be savoury nogal? The cake featured a half-half combination of 'braai snoek pâté terrine with apricot jam' and 'fior di latte layered braaibroodjie' with cream cheese icing – the perfect introduction for our palates of what was ahead.
Once guests had tucked into a piece of savoury cake, we were guided upstairs – to a dining space, where we were welcomed by a table-scape showcasing the colour-blocking, diversity of objects and proportions signature to Studio H’s bold design-vision. Guided by the number 12 dotted all over – from a stackable, 12-piece bread thread on a needle, to a centre piece in their signature primary colours of blue, red and yellow – with oversized tomatoes and edible menus hanging overhead – the centre-piece continued to delight us all as we uncovered each new, surprising detail.
This is Studio H’s liminal world of merging the fantastical with the realistic, the deliberate with the playful, and in collaboration with Chef Jen, the menu was an exploration rooted in the number 12, with time serving as the guiding principle. Each dish during their mindful dinner was temporally-rooted across technique, ingredient, and presentation – underpinned by the intangible force of nostalgia and ultimately; the joy and wonder that serves as the basis for all their endeavours.
The culinary journey began with a reimagined ‘Salad Valley’, a throwback to the Waldorf salad – perennially refreshing and nostalgic. Featuring stacked baby gem lettuce leaves, 12-minute smoked grapes, 12-hour pickled apples, a 12-spice pecan nut crunch, alongside celeriac, celery, green beans, and a creamy dressing whipped up in just 12 seconds; served in diner-style baskets. Incredible.
Then, custom ‘KFC’ buckets arrived at the table – filled with NikNaks beer brined buttermilk fried chicken and chips, served with melrose sauce in wax sealed mini-pots; a throwback that centred one of the best snacks tucked into the memory-bank of every South African.
Next, we were treated to a whiskey-glazed, pressed beef rib slow-cooked for a diligent 100 hours, accompanied by charred creamy corn and a tangy fermented carrot pickle. For this course, we were invited to use Githan Coopoo’s custom cutlery – silverware that had been moulded by the heft of clay, adding a weight to the eating experience which invited us to eat slowly, while the dish itself was served on Studio H’s Mindful Eating Plate by The Detailsmith, featuring cheeky anecdotes revealed with each mouthful; inviting each of our conscience to the fore.
For dessert, ‘Honey Honey’ was an homage to one of the most iconic ageing processes; cheese, an ingredient that gets better with the guiding hand of time. This course was a delightful gingerbread sourdough cookie sandwich filled with fynbos honey brûlée, with shaved 12-month-aged Klein River cheese and a honeycomb crunch.
With bellies full and conversations still rumbling, we were invited to return downstairs; to a communal 5-metre-long Moerkoffie swirl fudge, served with giant Koffie Cookies, coffee – and the option to take home tin-foil swans as mementos. Lasty, a delightful ‘Thyme For Bed’ palate cleanser – resting on wooden toothbrushes waited for us at the exit, with a dollop of thyme and lemon marshmallow tonic. A final, tart and herbaceous mouthful before heading home with our foil swans tucked under our arms.
Studio H gifted us, on their birthday – and I think this sums up the Studio’s essence. Each aspect of the experience was a demonstration of their instinctive understanding of food as a communal experience, in which the senses, memory and emotions work together to evoke new perspectives on how we can engage with the world around us. What will they dream up next? It's hard to conceive; but they’ll need more than another twelve years – to many, many more.
The menu and wine pairing
Course 1
Birthday cake: half-and-half (braai snoek pâte terrine with pickled apricot jam) + (fior di latte layered braaibroodjie) topped with cream cheese
Ambeloui MCC 2012
Course 2
Waldorf inspired stack salad, served inside an iceberg lettuce bowl, with 12 min smoked grapes, 12 hour pickled apple, 12 spice pecan nut crunch and 12 sec creamy dressing
Sijnn White 2012
A dozen micro Marmite crouton loaves, served with micro butter
Course 3
NikNaks bucket: NikNaks beer brined buttermilk fried chicken served with Melrose sauce
Course 4
Super slow beef: Aged 100-hour braised whisky/balsamic glazed beef rib with creamy corn and fermented carrot pickle
Crystallum Bona Fide 2012
Course 5
Honey, honey: Gingerbread sourdough cookie sandwich with fynbos honey brûlée, shaved 12 month Klein River cheese and honeycomb crunch
Course 6
Moerkoffie fudge: 5m long moerkoffie swirl fudge with oversized koffiekoekies
Thank you:
Mindful cutlery: Githan Coopoo
Mindful crockery: The Detailsmith
Birthday candles: Okra Candle
Chef: Jenny Ward
Kitchen Team: Fifi Kusotera, Kabelo Luhle Tala, Ntomboxolo Sidoda, Anake Ngagela
Studio H: JC Landman, Eviwe Qubelo
Event creative director: Nikki Symons
Photos: Daniela Zondagh
Music: Andy Aichison (A11)
Wine curation: Matthew Freemantle, Leo's
Birthday cake: Sweet LionHeart x Chef Jen
Fudge: Afrikoa
Butter: Cream of the Crop
Graphic design: Hoick
Concept: Hannerie Visser, JC Landman
By Holly Beaton
Studio H always has something intriguing in the works, and for their birthday celebration, they unveiled an extraordinary pop-up experience; characterised by their distinct attention to detail and generosity. On arrival, we were ushered into a room housing a dream realised for those of us who favour savoury delights as our first choice: a massive birthday cake adorned with hundreds of candles. Could I have ever imagined experiencing such a colossal cake, drawn from flavours inspired by South Africa's diverse culinary repertoire, and for it to be savoury nogal? The cake featured a half-half combination of 'braai snoek pâté terrine with apricot jam' and 'fior di latte layered braaibroodjie' with cream cheese icing – the perfect introduction for our palates of what was ahead.
Once guests had tucked into a piece of savoury cake, we were guided upstairs – to a dining space, where we were welcomed by a table-scape showcasing the colour-blocking, diversity of objects and proportions signature to Studio H’s bold design-vision. Guided by the number 12 dotted all over – from a stackable, 12-piece bread thread on a needle, to a centre piece in their signature primary colours of blue, red and yellow – with oversized tomatoes and edible menus hanging overhead – the centre-piece continued to delight us all as we uncovered each new, surprising detail.
This is Studio H’s liminal world of merging the fantastical with the realistic, the deliberate with the playful, and in collaboration with Chef Jen, the menu was an exploration rooted in the number 12, with time serving as the guiding principle. Each dish during their mindful dinner was temporally-rooted across technique, ingredient, and presentation – underpinned by the intangible force of nostalgia and ultimately; the joy and wonder that serves as the basis for all their endeavours.
The culinary journey began with a reimagined ‘Salad Valley’, a throwback to the Waldorf salad – perennially refreshing and nostalgic. Featuring stacked baby gem lettuce leaves, 12-minute smoked grapes, 12-hour pickled apples, a 12-spice pecan nut crunch, alongside celeriac, celery, green beans, and a creamy dressing whipped up in just 12 seconds; served in diner-style baskets. Incredible.
Then, custom ‘KFC’ buckets arrived at the table – filled with NikNaks beer brined buttermilk fried chicken and chips, served with melrose sauce in wax sealed mini-pots; a throwback that centred one of the best snacks tucked into the memory-bank of every South African.
Next, we were treated to a whiskey-glazed, pressed beef rib slow-cooked for a diligent 100 hours, accompanied by charred creamy corn and a tangy fermented carrot pickle. For this course, we were invited to use Githan Coopoo’s custom cutlery – silverware that had been moulded by the heft of clay, adding a weight to the eating experience which invited us to eat slowly, while the dish itself was served on Studio H’s Mindful Eating Plate by The Detailsmith, featuring cheeky anecdotes revealed with each mouthful; inviting each of our conscience to the fore.
For dessert, ‘Honey Honey’ was an homage to one of the most iconic ageing processes; cheese, an ingredient that gets better with the guiding hand of time. This course was a delightful gingerbread sourdough cookie sandwich filled with fynbos honey brûlée, with shaved 12-month-aged Klein River cheese and a honeycomb crunch.
With bellies full and conversations still rumbling, we were invited to return downstairs; to a communal 5-metre-long Moerkoffie swirl fudge, served with giant Koffie Cookies, coffee – and the option to take home tin-foil swans as mementos. Lasty, a delightful ‘Thyme For Bed’ palate cleanser – resting on wooden toothbrushes waited for us at the exit, with a dollop of thyme and lemon marshmallow tonic. A final, tart and herbaceous mouthful before heading home with our foil swans tucked under our arms.
Studio H gifted us, on their birthday – and I think this sums up the Studio’s essence. Each aspect of the experience was a demonstration of their instinctive understanding of food as a communal experience, in which the senses, memory and emotions work together to evoke new perspectives on how we can engage with the world around us. What will they dream up next? It's hard to conceive; but they’ll need more than another twelve years – to many, many more.
The menu and wine pairing
Course 1
Birthday cake: half-and-half (braai snoek pâte terrine with pickled apricot jam) + (fior di latte layered braaibroodjie) topped with cream cheese
Ambeloui MCC 2012
Course 2
Waldorf inspired stack salad, served inside an iceberg lettuce bowl, with 12 min smoked grapes, 12 hour pickled apple, 12 spice pecan nut crunch and 12 sec creamy dressing
Sijnn White 2012
A dozen micro Marmite crouton loaves, served with micro butter
Course 3
NikNaks bucket: NikNaks beer brined buttermilk fried chicken served with Melrose sauce
Course 4
Super slow beef: Aged 100-hour braised whisky/balsamic glazed beef rib with creamy corn and fermented carrot pickle
Crystallum Bona Fide 2012
Course 5
Honey, honey: Gingerbread sourdough cookie sandwich with fynbos honey brûlée, shaved 12 month Klein River cheese and honeycomb crunch
Course 6
Moerkoffie fudge: 5m long moerkoffie swirl fudge with oversized koffiekoekies
Thank you:
Mindful cutlery: Githan Coopoo
Mindful crockery: The Detailsmith
Birthday candles: Okra Candle
Chef: Jenny Ward
Kitchen Team: Fifi Kusotera, Kabelo Luhle Tala, Ntomboxolo Sidoda, Anake Ngagela
Studio H: JC Landman, Eviwe Qubelo
Event creative director: Nikki Symons
Photos: Daniela Zondagh
Music: Andy Aichison (A11)
Wine curation: Matthew Freemantle, Leo's
Birthday cake: Sweet LionHeart x Chef Jen
Fudge: Afrikoa
Butter: Cream of the Crop
Graphic design: Hoick
Concept: Hannerie Visser, JC Landman
Clockwork Media, for Disney+
For the launch of season 3, create an opportunity for the world of The Bear to come to life through an immersive activation that captures the essence of the show’s themes.
A three-day fine dining pop-up restaurant where guests were immersed in the world of The Bear. The exterior mimicked the original sandwich shop in downtown Chicago (with arcade machines, a yellow cab, smoking grate and all), while the interior transported guests to Carmy's dream restaurant as featured in season 3. The menu, designed and executed by Michelin-trained chef Gregory Czarnecki, was carefully crafted to reflect the show's core themes.
Lead agency: Clockwork Media
Design and event production: Studio H
Culinary consultation and live activation management: Studio H
Chef: Gregory Czarnecki
Kitchen team: Louise Wessels, Bianca Strydom, Cheri Kustner, Vuyo Makoba
Setbuilder and designer: Klara van Wyngaarden
Art department: Tiaan Schutte, Wolf Britz, Savannah Caster
Staffing: BlackJack Events
Logistics: DPK
Audio visual: Easy Agency
Collateral design and illustrations: Clockwork Media, Nikki Symons
Venue: Acid Food & Wine Bar
Photos: Mighty Fine for Clockwork Media, Marijke Willems
Clockwork Media, for Disney+
For the launch of season 3, create an opportunity for the world of The Bear to come to life through an immersive activation that captures the essence of the show’s themes.
A three-day fine dining pop-up restaurant where guests were immersed in the world of The Bear. The exterior mimicked the original sandwich shop in downtown Chicago (with arcade machines, a yellow cab, smoking grate and all), while the interior transported guests to Carmy's dream restaurant as featured in season 3. The menu, designed and executed by Michelin-trained chef Gregory Czarnecki, was carefully crafted to reflect the show's core themes.
Lead agency: Clockwork Media
Design and event production: Studio H
Culinary consultation and live activation management: Studio H
Chef: Gregory Czarnecki
Kitchen team: Louise Wessels, Bianca Strydom, Cheri Kustner, Vuyo Makoba
Setbuilder and designer: Klara van Wyngaarden
Art department: Tiaan Schutte, Wolf Britz, Savannah Caster
Staffing: BlackJack Events
Logistics: DPK
Audio visual: Easy Agency
Collateral design and illustrations: Clockwork Media, Nikki Symons
Venue: Acid Food & Wine Bar
Photos: Mighty Fine for Clockwork Media, Marijke Willems
Cherry Time
Create a disruptive activation for Cherry Time.
At Studio H, we are committed to designing experiences that reveal the intricate connections between food systems and the natural world. One such project, created in collaboration with our client Cherry Time, highlights the essential role of bees in agriculture.
This installation captured live audio recordings of bee activity directly from the hives within Cherry Time’s orchards. Paired with video footage and presented in a custom-designed installation box, the result is an immersive sensory experience that invites participants to engage with the symbiotic relationship between pollinators and food production.
By bringing the soundscape of Cherry Time’s orchards to life, this sonic installation offers a unique opportunity to deepen the connection between consumers and the ecological systems that underpin sustainable agriculture. It serves as a reminder of the critical balance required to maintain both biodiversity and the resilience of our food supply.
This collaboration with Cherry Time reflects Studio H’s commitment to creating thoughtful and impactful design interventions that tell the stories of those working to protect and enhance the environments that sustain us all.
Concept: Studio H
Creative direction: Studio H
Video and sound: Jeffrey Moffat
Art direction: Creative Revolt
Vinyls: Signbomb
Collaborators and activation venues: Paul's Homemade Ice-cream and Oranjezicht City Farm Market
Cherry Time
Create a disruptive activation for Cherry Time.
At Studio H, we are committed to designing experiences that reveal the intricate connections between food systems and the natural world. One such project, created in collaboration with our client Cherry Time, highlights the essential role of bees in agriculture.
This installation captured live audio recordings of bee activity directly from the hives within Cherry Time’s orchards. Paired with video footage and presented in a custom-designed installation box, the result is an immersive sensory experience that invites participants to engage with the symbiotic relationship between pollinators and food production.
By bringing the soundscape of Cherry Time’s orchards to life, this sonic installation offers a unique opportunity to deepen the connection between consumers and the ecological systems that underpin sustainable agriculture. It serves as a reminder of the critical balance required to maintain both biodiversity and the resilience of our food supply.
This collaboration with Cherry Time reflects Studio H’s commitment to creating thoughtful and impactful design interventions that tell the stories of those working to protect and enhance the environments that sustain us all.
Concept: Studio H
Creative direction: Studio H
Video and sound: Jeffrey Moffat
Art direction: Creative Revolt
Vinyls: Signbomb
Collaborators and activation venues: Paul's Homemade Ice-cream and Oranjezicht City Farm Market
Pedersen + Lennard
Conceptualise and prepare a lunch menu for a team of designers participating in the Design Week Challenge with a focus on sustainability, recycling and/or up-cycling that captures the essence of collaboration.
STARTER
3D-printed food waste dip served with ‘plastic’ veggie chips and crackers.
MAINS
Collaborative Sosatie: We asked the design team a few fun questions prior to the event to help us create giant sosaties that represent everyone’s favourite ingredients and flavours — one of the highlights included goat meat. These were braaied on site to perfection by Chef Thabisho Sechogela.
Cricket Flour Irostile: Larger-than-usual irostile infused with cricket flour accompanied by cultured butter.
Shake and Rake Salad: Inspired by Fluxus artist Alison Knowles, we recreated her performance ‘Make A Salad’ which was first performed back in 1962. We got the design team involved and hands-on in ‘shaking’ and ‘raking’ (again) a larger-than-life coleslaw.
DESSERT
DIY Trifle: A next gen dessert giving new life to cake off-cuts donated by our baker friends from Crumb Boutique Bakery and Sweet Lion Heart.
DRINK
G&Sea: In collaboration with Pienaar & Son, a reimagined gin and seawater sourced right from the Atlantic Ocean.
Studio H
Chef: Thabisho Sechogela
G&Sea: Pienaar & Son
iRostile: Ou Meul Botrivier
Cultured Butter: Cream of the Crop
Cake Offcuts: Crumb Boutique Bakery and Sweet Lionheart
Photos: Samuel Jordan @samsamsamesam
Thank you Pedersen + Lennard for the inspiring brief and the opportunity to work with your incredible team!
Pedersen + Lennard
Conceptualise and prepare a lunch menu for a team of designers participating in the Design Week Challenge with a focus on sustainability, recycling and/or up-cycling that captures the essence of collaboration.
STARTER
3D-printed food waste dip served with ‘plastic’ veggie chips and crackers.
MAINS
Collaborative Sosatie: We asked the design team a few fun questions prior to the event to help us create giant sosaties that represent everyone’s favourite ingredients and flavours — one of the highlights included goat meat. These were braaied on site to perfection by Chef Thabisho Sechogela.
Cricket Flour Irostile: Larger-than-usual irostile infused with cricket flour accompanied by cultured butter.
Shake and Rake Salad: Inspired by Fluxus artist Alison Knowles, we recreated her performance ‘Make A Salad’ which was first performed back in 1962. We got the design team involved and hands-on in ‘shaking’ and ‘raking’ (again) a larger-than-life coleslaw.
DESSERT
DIY Trifle: A next gen dessert giving new life to cake off-cuts donated by our baker friends from Crumb Boutique Bakery and Sweet Lion Heart.
DRINK
G&Sea: In collaboration with Pienaar & Son, a reimagined gin and seawater sourced right from the Atlantic Ocean.
Studio H
Chef: Thabisho Sechogela
G&Sea: Pienaar & Son
iRostile: Ou Meul Botrivier
Cultured Butter: Cream of the Crop
Cake Offcuts: Crumb Boutique Bakery and Sweet Lionheart
Photos: Samuel Jordan @samsamsamesam
Thank you Pedersen + Lennard for the inspiring brief and the opportunity to work with your incredible team!
For the Only One Ingredient lunch presented by Studio H in Venice, as part of Littlegig Homofaber, we served a six course water-themed menu. This lunch was prepared in collaboration with Hotel Il Palazzo Experimental and their Head Chef, Denis Begiqi.
ARRIVAL DRINKS by Experimental Cocktail Club
Alcohol-free Cocai Cola (Venezianos refer to seagulls as cocai)
COURSE 1: VENICE TAP WATER
The first course was water sourced by Studio H and the Littlegig team from 126 water fountains that provide safe drinking water for the city of Venice. In an effort to minimise the environmental impact of tourists, the team at Venice Tap Water compiled a map of water fountains to encourage visitors to access clean water from these sources instead of using plastic water bottles.
COURSE 2: PICKLED WATERBLOMMETJIE
South Africa’s indigenous waterblommetjie grows naturally in ponds and dams during winter and is foraged on a large scale. The waterblommetjies we served were sourced from Babylonstoren – we pickled and then marinated them.
COURSE 3: SEA
Fish Martini with sorghum flatbreads and bokkom oil. We took sorghum flour from South Africa and asked the hotel to use that to make their famous flatbreads. Sorghum is an ancient African grain that has been cultivated in Southern Africa for at least 2000 years, is not only drought-tolerant but also extremely versatile as an ingredient. Bokkoms are a salted, sun and wind-dried fish delicacy – the ones we served were made by the women of Weskusmandjie. (Available via Abalobi). We turned the bokkoms into a powder and added it to olive oil. The oil we sourced in Modena from Massimo Bottura’s condiment collection, Villa Manodori.
COURSE 4: WATER SALAD
A tablescape salad with seasonal water-dense fruit and veg. Guests were encouraged to create their own water salad by foraging from the table scapes in front of them, using hardware tools to cut their fruit and veg and salt spray or salts provided to season their salad. The salad consisted only of fruit and veg with a very high water content, sourced from Rialto Market in Venice. We provided three types of salt. Sea lettuce salt, harvested and made by Weskusmandjie, mushroom salt from Babylonstoren, containing oyster, cloud ear, portobello and shiitake mushrooms and lastly, Baleni salt, a very special salt sourced from the hot mineral spring which was declared a Natural Heritage Site in 1999. The current Baleni Salt Project workers harvest in winter according to ancient ritualised practices and only women can work at the salt spring, all their movements governed by a secret symbolic language.
COURSE 5: MINDFUL EATING
Spaghetti pastificio felicetti with vongole clams and samphire
This course was all about mindful eating and slowing down to appreciate the food that we eat. We served Chef Denis’ vongole with clams and samphire (a coastal succulent that grows on dunes). The deliberately heavy and awkward cutlery for this course was designed for us by Cape Town artist, Githan Coopoo, with the intention to slow you down and to amplify your mindful eating experience. Experts recommend that you wait one minute between each bite of food – so we encourage you to put down the cutlery in between bites, slow down and enjoy every mouthful of Chef Denis’ dish.
COURSE 6: CAMEL MILKSHAKES WITH KOFFIEKOEKIES
We ended the lunch with a dish that the guests co-created with us: a camel milk coffee milkshake served with Babylonstoren’s koffiekoekies. The secret ingredient was a choice between something that grew in an abundance of water or in a desert. The winner? Desert, meaning that we flavoured the milkshake with Kalahari Truffle Aperitif, an extremely rare truffle that grows in the expansive deserts of Southern Africa and is only available for harvest 5-weeks a year. (Find the recipe on our website - link in bio.)
TAKEHOME SNACKS: OSTRICH EGG MARSHMALLOWS
Inspired by Hannerie’s great grand parents who were ostrich farmers, we prepared two flavours of ostrich marshmallows. The marshmallows were designed to enjoy before and after that evening’s Masked Ball. The superfood-rich baobab marshmallow was for added energy, whilst the restorative qualities of the spekboom mallow would make for a welcome snack in the morning.
THANK YOU:
Littlegig:
Georgia Black
Seth Shezi
Bielle Bellingham
Marina Gemeliaris
Homo Faber:
Hanneli Rupert
Il Palazzo Experimental:
Chef Denis Begiqi
Guillaume Pinaut
Pietro Lorefice
Venice Tap Water
Marco Capovilla
Hoick:
Claire Johnson
Adam Strong
Tiffany Schouw
Chefs:
Louise Wessels
Bianca Strydom
Collaborators:
Weskusmandjie
Babylonstoren
For the Only One Ingredient lunch presented by Studio H in Venice, as part of Littlegig Homofaber, we served a six course water-themed menu. This lunch was prepared in collaboration with Hotel Il Palazzo Experimental and their Head Chef, Denis Begiqi.
ARRIVAL DRINKS by Experimental Cocktail Club
Alcohol-free Cocai Cola (Venezianos refer to seagulls as cocai)
COURSE 1: VENICE TAP WATER
The first course was water sourced by Studio H and the Littlegig team from 126 water fountains that provide safe drinking water for the city of Venice. In an effort to minimise the environmental impact of tourists, the team at Venice Tap Water compiled a map of water fountains to encourage visitors to access clean water from these sources instead of using plastic water bottles.
COURSE 2: PICKLED WATERBLOMMETJIE
South Africa’s indigenous waterblommetjie grows naturally in ponds and dams during winter and is foraged on a large scale. The waterblommetjies we served were sourced from Babylonstoren – we pickled and then marinated them.
COURSE 3: SEA
Fish Martini with sorghum flatbreads and bokkom oil. We took sorghum flour from South Africa and asked the hotel to use that to make their famous flatbreads. Sorghum is an ancient African grain that has been cultivated in Southern Africa for at least 2000 years, is not only drought-tolerant but also extremely versatile as an ingredient. Bokkoms are a salted, sun and wind-dried fish delicacy – the ones we served were made by the women of Weskusmandjie. (Available via Abalobi). We turned the bokkoms into a powder and added it to olive oil. The oil we sourced in Modena from Massimo Bottura’s condiment collection, Villa Manodori.
COURSE 4: WATER SALAD
A tablescape salad with seasonal water-dense fruit and veg. Guests were encouraged to create their own water salad by foraging from the table scapes in front of them, using hardware tools to cut their fruit and veg and salt spray or salts provided to season their salad. The salad consisted only of fruit and veg with a very high water content, sourced from Rialto Market in Venice. We provided three types of salt. Sea lettuce salt, harvested and made by Weskusmandjie, mushroom salt from Babylonstoren, containing oyster, cloud ear, portobello and shiitake mushrooms and lastly, Baleni salt, a very special salt sourced from the hot mineral spring which was declared a Natural Heritage Site in 1999. The current Baleni Salt Project workers harvest in winter according to ancient ritualised practices and only women can work at the salt spring, all their movements governed by a secret symbolic language.
COURSE 5: MINDFUL EATING
Spaghetti pastificio felicetti with vongole clams and samphire
This course was all about mindful eating and slowing down to appreciate the food that we eat. We served Chef Denis’ vongole with clams and samphire (a coastal succulent that grows on dunes). The deliberately heavy and awkward cutlery for this course was designed for us by Cape Town artist, Githan Coopoo, with the intention to slow you down and to amplify your mindful eating experience. Experts recommend that you wait one minute between each bite of food – so we encourage you to put down the cutlery in between bites, slow down and enjoy every mouthful of Chef Denis’ dish.
COURSE 6: CAMEL MILKSHAKES WITH KOFFIEKOEKIES
We ended the lunch with a dish that the guests co-created with us: a camel milk coffee milkshake served with Babylonstoren’s koffiekoekies. The secret ingredient was a choice between something that grew in an abundance of water or in a desert. The winner? Desert, meaning that we flavoured the milkshake with Kalahari Truffle Aperitif, an extremely rare truffle that grows in the expansive deserts of Southern Africa and is only available for harvest 5-weeks a year. (Find the recipe on our website - link in bio.)
TAKEHOME SNACKS: OSTRICH EGG MARSHMALLOWS
Inspired by Hannerie’s great grand parents who were ostrich farmers, we prepared two flavours of ostrich marshmallows. The marshmallows were designed to enjoy before and after that evening’s Masked Ball. The superfood-rich baobab marshmallow was for added energy, whilst the restorative qualities of the spekboom mallow would make for a welcome snack in the morning.
THANK YOU:
Littlegig:
Georgia Black
Seth Shezi
Bielle Bellingham
Marina Gemeliaris
Homo Faber:
Hanneli Rupert
Il Palazzo Experimental:
Chef Denis Begiqi
Guillaume Pinaut
Pietro Lorefice
Venice Tap Water
Marco Capovilla
Hoick:
Claire Johnson
Adam Strong
Tiffany Schouw
Chefs:
Louise Wessels
Bianca Strydom
Collaborators:
Weskusmandjie
Babylonstoren
“Re-member” is our sustainable chair submission for the Decorex chari design project. A repurposed garden chair coated with precious millet flour and hand stitched millet-stuffed pillow in reused kitchen vacuum bag. Giving back millet its seat at the table.
Chair design: Juwan Beyers
“Re-member” is our sustainable chair submission for the Decorex chari design project. A repurposed garden chair coated with precious millet flour and hand stitched millet-stuffed pillow in reused kitchen vacuum bag. Giving back millet its seat at the table.
Chair design: Juwan Beyers
Studio H is aiming to collate the world's biggest database featuring women-owned and women-led food and drinks businesses from South Africa and Africa, nominated by our community and curated by us.
Nominate your favourite women in food.
Studio H is aiming to collate the world's biggest database featuring women-owned and women-led food and drinks businesses from South Africa and Africa, nominated by our community and curated by us.
Nominate your favourite women in food.
Etienne Hanekom for Babylonstoren
One of our all-time favourite designers, Etienne Hanekom, asked us to contribute to the ‘Wine Aroma’ section of the brand new Wine Museum at Babylonstoren.
We worked with Etienne and the Babylonstore wine makers to develop a range of perfumes that represent the key flavour notes of each of their wines.
Etienne Hanekom for Babylonstoren
One of our all-time favourite designers, Etienne Hanekom, asked us to contribute to the ‘Wine Aroma’ section of the brand new Wine Museum at Babylonstoren.
We worked with Etienne and the Babylonstore wine makers to develop a range of perfumes that represent the key flavour notes of each of their wines.
Adidas
We were briefed, alongside six other artists, to re-imagine sustainable footwear for the future for the new adidas concept store in the Waterfront.
As a future food design studio, our approach is deeply rooted in exploring a sustainable future. With our micro mushroom farm, we celebrate mushrooms for their ability to perform the alchemy of transforming agricultural and other organic waste into a nutritious food source. Growing mushrooms is a unique blend of recycling, science and efficacy. This powerful combination makes them one of the most sustainably produced foods in the world.
The interior of the Stan Smith shoe has been converted into a micro mushroom farm and 3-D texture was added to the exterior of the shoe by sculpting fondant and piped royal icing flavoured with dried mushroom powder. The laces are coloured with natural mushroom dye.
Concept, micro mushroom farm and laces: Studio H
Exterior design: Sweet LionHeart (Nikki Symons)
Adidas
We were briefed, alongside six other artists, to re-imagine sustainable footwear for the future for the new adidas concept store in the Waterfront.
As a future food design studio, our approach is deeply rooted in exploring a sustainable future. With our micro mushroom farm, we celebrate mushrooms for their ability to perform the alchemy of transforming agricultural and other organic waste into a nutritious food source. Growing mushrooms is a unique blend of recycling, science and efficacy. This powerful combination makes them one of the most sustainably produced foods in the world.
The interior of the Stan Smith shoe has been converted into a micro mushroom farm and 3-D texture was added to the exterior of the shoe by sculpting fondant and piped royal icing flavoured with dried mushroom powder. The laces are coloured with natural mushroom dye.
Concept, micro mushroom farm and laces: Studio H
Exterior design: Sweet LionHeart (Nikki Symons)
Studio H designed an interactive installation, Don't Feed The Birds, to launch our Millets Report in the Future of Design area at Decorex in Cape Town. We wanted to highlight that millets are mostly only available as bird feed in our supermarket aisles. Our stand navigated visitors through a collection of bird baths by Kassa Studio, that were filled with either bird seeds or millet brownies (for human consumption).
Project Manager: JC Landman
Concept: Hendrik Coetzee, Juwan Beyers
Floor vinyl design: Hoick
Bird Baths: Kassa Studio
Photos: Paris Brummer
Studio H designed an interactive installation, Don't Feed The Birds, to launch our Millets Report in the Future of Design area at Decorex in Cape Town. We wanted to highlight that millets are mostly only available as bird feed in our supermarket aisles. Our stand navigated visitors through a collection of bird baths by Kassa Studio, that were filled with either bird seeds or millet brownies (for human consumption).
Project Manager: JC Landman
Concept: Hendrik Coetzee, Juwan Beyers
Floor vinyl design: Hoick
Bird Baths: Kassa Studio
Photos: Paris Brummer
Eskort
Create 107 extraordinary cakes for Eskort’s 107th birthday. As South Africa’s leading antibiotic-free pork producer delivering quality you can trust since 1917, we were briefed to take it a step further – the cakes had to feature pork sausages and bacon, of course!
Teaming up with Sweet LionHeart, we came up with six designs for sweet and savoury cakes that honoured the products on which Eskort’s early success was built.
“It’s not often a brand gets to celebrate a 107th birthday,” says Eskort Marketing Director Marcelle Pienaar. “And we wanted to do something epic to mark the occasion but also underpin it with a nod to who we are and where we have come from.”
Eskort was born in the small town of Estcourt in KwaZulu-Natal when nine farmers started the Farmers Cooperative Bacon Factory in 1917. It started making sausages in 1920, and they won a gold medal at that year’s Rand Easter Show.
These days, Eskort has more than 300 world-class pork products, ranging from high-end fresh cuts to convenience meals and staples. But Gold Medal pork sausages remain a favourite with South African consumers, and more than 300 of them decorated our savoury focaccia cakes, which had an onion jam base and cream cheese icing. Bacon decorations were dotted around the vanilla buttercream icing covering the sweet vanilla cakes.
The delicious creations didn’t just stay on display. Thanks to the efforts of SA Harvest, they were distributed to Salt River High School in Cape Town and the 123 Movement, a non-profit company that aims to bridge the gap between the disadvantaged and the privileged by eradicating hunger and purposelessness.
“Birthdays are a big family occasion, and these cakes were an expression of the family values that have sustained Eskort over the years,” says Pienaar. “Many people call us a ‘family corporate’, so celebrating our birthday with delicious cakes seemed very fitting. The cakes were a huge hit, and they proved that with imagination and innovation there’s really no limit to the versatility of pork.
Shoot production, concept and creative direction: Studio H
Culinary production: Studio H
Cake decoration: Sweet LionHeart
Stills shoot: Nikki Symons
Video: Jeff Moffat
Eskort
Create 107 extraordinary cakes for Eskort’s 107th birthday. As South Africa’s leading antibiotic-free pork producer delivering quality you can trust since 1917, we were briefed to take it a step further – the cakes had to feature pork sausages and bacon, of course!
Teaming up with Sweet LionHeart, we came up with six designs for sweet and savoury cakes that honoured the products on which Eskort’s early success was built.
“It’s not often a brand gets to celebrate a 107th birthday,” says Eskort Marketing Director Marcelle Pienaar. “And we wanted to do something epic to mark the occasion but also underpin it with a nod to who we are and where we have come from.”
Eskort was born in the small town of Estcourt in KwaZulu-Natal when nine farmers started the Farmers Cooperative Bacon Factory in 1917. It started making sausages in 1920, and they won a gold medal at that year’s Rand Easter Show.
These days, Eskort has more than 300 world-class pork products, ranging from high-end fresh cuts to convenience meals and staples. But Gold Medal pork sausages remain a favourite with South African consumers, and more than 300 of them decorated our savoury focaccia cakes, which had an onion jam base and cream cheese icing. Bacon decorations were dotted around the vanilla buttercream icing covering the sweet vanilla cakes.
The delicious creations didn’t just stay on display. Thanks to the efforts of SA Harvest, they were distributed to Salt River High School in Cape Town and the 123 Movement, a non-profit company that aims to bridge the gap between the disadvantaged and the privileged by eradicating hunger and purposelessness.
“Birthdays are a big family occasion, and these cakes were an expression of the family values that have sustained Eskort over the years,” says Pienaar. “Many people call us a ‘family corporate’, so celebrating our birthday with delicious cakes seemed very fitting. The cakes were a huge hit, and they proved that with imagination and innovation there’s really no limit to the versatility of pork.
Shoot production, concept and creative direction: Studio H
Culinary production: Studio H
Cake decoration: Sweet LionHeart
Stills shoot: Nikki Symons
Video: Jeff Moffat
Sensory FX
Create a mechanism for us to showcase the way in which we develop flavours.
We designed an olfactory experience for Sensory FX to showcase their flavour creation journey in a memorable way. The experience included various olfactory touchpoints and immersive moments. We based our design on research by neuroscientists, proving that stronger memories are formed the more a person participates in a particular activity and the more senses are engaged.
Studio H
Sensory FX
Create a mechanism for us to showcase the way in which we develop flavours.
We designed an olfactory experience for Sensory FX to showcase their flavour creation journey in a memorable way. The experience included various olfactory touchpoints and immersive moments. We based our design on research by neuroscientists, proving that stronger memories are formed the more a person participates in a particular activity and the more senses are engaged.
Studio H
Beam Suntory
Develop a disruptive earned media campaign aligned to The House of Suntory portfolio’s single minded messaging around Japanese craftsmanship in order to elevate awareness and accelerate meaning for The House of Suntory brands, whilst bringing the brand propositioning to life.
Studio H developed a consumer-first strategy that would increase the brand's most impactful channels to inspire action through shared passions by immersing the consumer in The House of Suntory brand world. The pop-up concept amplified the brands' alignment with Japanese craftsmanship that was further magnified through a programme of tastings and lifestyle Masterclasses.
The campaign coincided with Sakura (cherry blossom) season in Japan and invited consumers to immerse themselves in a sensory journey – capturing the essence of Japanese culture – at Hyde Park Corner, Johannesburg.
Project Lead: JC Landman
Creative Direction and Styling: Klara van Wyngaarden
Graphic Design: Spook Design Co.
Brand Ambassadors: Just Short, Steve Zylstra
Masterclass curation: WAZA
Food service: KōL
Beam Suntory
Develop a disruptive earned media campaign aligned to The House of Suntory portfolio’s single minded messaging around Japanese craftsmanship in order to elevate awareness and accelerate meaning for The House of Suntory brands, whilst bringing the brand propositioning to life.
Studio H developed a consumer-first strategy that would increase the brand's most impactful channels to inspire action through shared passions by immersing the consumer in The House of Suntory brand world. The pop-up concept amplified the brands' alignment with Japanese craftsmanship that was further magnified through a programme of tastings and lifestyle Masterclasses.
The campaign coincided with Sakura (cherry blossom) season in Japan and invited consumers to immerse themselves in a sensory journey – capturing the essence of Japanese culture – at Hyde Park Corner, Johannesburg.
Project Lead: JC Landman
Creative Direction and Styling: Klara van Wyngaarden
Graphic Design: Spook Design Co.
Brand Ambassadors: Just Short, Steve Zylstra
Masterclass curation: WAZA
Food service: KōL
Design and curate a Dine & Design event
The inaugural Dine & Design dinner, hosted at Tiny Empire, was the opening of Design Week 2023 and a celebration of 30 years of House & Leisure and Decorex. We wanted all guests to be able to celebrate in one space, but also create a relaxed environment that felt like an intimate dinner party. So guests enjoyed starters and desserts together, and mains was served at various intimate dinner spaces, hosted and created by House & Leisure's team of editors.
Our starter course was an ode to millets. Handmade millet crisps were served in Niknaks packets, symbolising that (due to various complex reasons) maize replaced millet as a staple crop across the continent. The millet crisps were flavoured with maize chip dust made from chips that the guests brought to the dinner.
Main course was served by chef PJ Vadas and the Vadas team from Spier Wine Farm.
The dessert, prepared by the Studio H team, was a banana party - an assortment of banoffee pie, fresh bananas, banana candies, banana perfume and a banana soundtrack.
Host venue: Tiny Empire
Event hosts: House & Leisure, Decorex
Dinner party hosts: Charl Edwards, Bielle Bellingham, Sumien Brink, Karen Dudley, Tracy-Lee Lynch, Stevie Whiteman
Main course: PJ Vadas
Wine: Spier Wine Farm
Floral design: Mr Munro
Concept, starters, dessert: Studio H
Design and curate a Dine & Design event
The inaugural Dine & Design dinner, hosted at Tiny Empire, was the opening of Design Week 2023 and a celebration of 30 years of House & Leisure and Decorex. We wanted all guests to be able to celebrate in one space, but also create a relaxed environment that felt like an intimate dinner party. So guests enjoyed starters and desserts together, and mains was served at various intimate dinner spaces, hosted and created by House & Leisure's team of editors.
Our starter course was an ode to millets. Handmade millet crisps were served in Niknaks packets, symbolising that (due to various complex reasons) maize replaced millet as a staple crop across the continent. The millet crisps were flavoured with maize chip dust made from chips that the guests brought to the dinner.
Main course was served by chef PJ Vadas and the Vadas team from Spier Wine Farm.
The dessert, prepared by the Studio H team, was a banana party - an assortment of banoffee pie, fresh bananas, banana candies, banana perfume and a banana soundtrack.
Host venue: Tiny Empire
Event hosts: House & Leisure, Decorex
Dinner party hosts: Charl Edwards, Bielle Bellingham, Sumien Brink, Karen Dudley, Tracy-Lee Lynch, Stevie Whiteman
Main course: PJ Vadas
Wine: Spier Wine Farm
Floral design: Mr Munro
Concept, starters, dessert: Studio H
Embassy of Food, Dutch Design Week 2017, Curated by Marije Vogelzang
A speculative project imagining the food system in a world where we have only sea water. This project was named by Dezeen as one of 10 most sustainable future foods at DDW 2017.
Following from the installation, Studio H hosted a number of waterless dinners, which imagined the future of food if the water used for agriculture was sea water. The menu included items like fried ostrich egg, strawberry camel milk ice cream and carrot fruit loops. Paired with this were water wise beverages, such as waterless cocktails and beer brewed with sea water.
Embassy of Food, Dutch Design Week 2017, Curated by Marije Vogelzang
A speculative project imagining the food system in a world where we have only sea water. This project was named by Dezeen as one of 10 most sustainable future foods at DDW 2017.
Following from the installation, Studio H hosted a number of waterless dinners, which imagined the future of food if the water used for agriculture was sea water. The menu included items like fried ostrich egg, strawberry camel milk ice cream and carrot fruit loops. Paired with this were water wise beverages, such as waterless cocktails and beer brewed with sea water.
In a world where teaching healthy eating habits and responsible food choices to children has become more crucial than ever, we are thrilled to announce the launch of our Kids Food Studio digital recipe and activity book. This innovative and engaging document is designed to empower children aged 5 to 12, with essential skills and knowledge (from kitchen basics to the food rainbow), allowing them to foster a positive bond with food from an early age.
Kids Food Studio is more than just a resource; it's a dynamic experience that takes young learners on a food adventure.
Buy the little KIDS FOOD STUDIO recipe and activity book.
Recipes: Rowan Hackley, Kabelo Tala, Juwan Beyers
Graphic design: Casper Schutte
In a world where teaching healthy eating habits and responsible food choices to children has become more crucial than ever, we are thrilled to announce the launch of our Kids Food Studio digital recipe and activity book. This innovative and engaging document is designed to empower children aged 5 to 12, with essential skills and knowledge (from kitchen basics to the food rainbow), allowing them to foster a positive bond with food from an early age.
Kids Food Studio is more than just a resource; it's a dynamic experience that takes young learners on a food adventure.
Buy the little KIDS FOOD STUDIO recipe and activity book.
Recipes: Rowan Hackley, Kabelo Tala, Juwan Beyers
Graphic design: Casper Schutte
OOI (Only One Ingredient) embodies Studio H’s approach to event dining. A conceptual food offering, focused on one ingredient or theme, that is designed by our team and executed by our chefs — for events of any size or scale.
Event posters and concept: Hoick
OOI (Only One Ingredient) embodies Studio H’s approach to event dining. A conceptual food offering, focused on one ingredient or theme, that is designed by our team and executed by our chefs — for events of any size or scale.
Event posters and concept: Hoick
