At the 2022 Food XX Awards, we honoured a group of 19 women from across South Africa - and beyond - for their outstanding contributions to the food and hospitality industry. For this event, the Studio H team designed a neutral canvas that would represent our equality-themed Awards breakfast ceremony. We collaborated with some of our favourite women in food to produce the all-neutral breakfast spread of Wild Yeast edible sourdough cracker plates, Sweet LionHeart regal cakes (bright pink on the inside) and Studio H’s souttert cakes decorated by the SLH team with cream cheese frosting and gold glitter olives, soetkoekie forks and of course Krone Cap Classique to toast our winners.

THE TEAM

Programme MC: Khanya Mzongwana

Ayurvedic tea and meditation ceremony: Michele Mistry, Indikaap

Imphepho installation and intention setting: Ukutya

Keynote speech: Mmabatho Molefe, Emazulwini

Continental Connections: Anna Trapido

Thank you to our sponsors:

Event sponsor: Spekko Rice

Venue sponsor: Makers Landing

Awards sponsors: Spekko Rice, Krone, Nando's

Trophy plates: The Detailsmith

Publicity team: Ten X Collective

Social media team: Star Shongwe, Zanie Nxa

Production design: JC Landman

Culinary design: Juwan Beyers

Photos: Daniela Zondagh

Floral design: Mr Munro‍

“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

THE CLIENT

Ten X Collective for Amazon Prime

THE BRIEF

To celebrate the premiere of Amazon Prime’s Last One Laughing in South Africa, we were asked to design and execute a menu for a South African street food village.

THE RESULT

Embracing the opportunity to be boldly innovative with an added element of heritage and humour, we created a menu that came alive with the vibrant and energetic spirit of Amazon’s iconic blue. Canapés were elevated, flavourful treats with a nostalgic twist, packaged as tuckshop snacks – think spiced biltong zoo biscuits and Nik Naks flavoured skhokho crisps. Guests got to co-create their own kotas with a selection of toppings, and choose thick or thin, long or short at the self-service “boerie bar”. The evening ended on a sweet note with “guess the flavour”" soft serve, candy floss a 10-meter-long skopas treat. Everything in bright blue!

THE TEAM

Concept, menu design, culinary curation: Studio H

Head chef: Jenny Ward

Food collaborators: Fifi Kusotera, Strone Henry, Charming Chef

Graphic design: Spook Design Co.

FOH Manager: Angelique Smith

Service: Blackjack Events

Event production: Until Until Events

THE CLIENT

WCellar (Woolworths)

THE BRIEF

Create an immersive in-store display for the redesigned WCellar store in Hout Bay.

THE RESULT

An interactive, tactile Masterclass detailing the process of champagne making – from grapes to bubbles, accompanied by an olfactory flavour pairing station.

THE TEAM

Concept, Design and Creative Direction: Studio H

Props and styling: Studio H

Basic structure build: Happinest

Installation: Studio H and Happinest

Graphic design: Casper Schutte, Spook

Special thanks: Hendrik Coetzee

By far one of our favourite toys, we use our 3D food printer to create future food menus for clients for a range of activations from intimate dinners to large-scale expos and banquets. Our 3D food printer, the only of its kind in Africa, is a great way to amplify a future-forward strategy.

In the near future, 3D food printing could allow consumers to print food with customised nutritional content, tailored specifically to their individual dietary needs. So, instead of eating something mass-produced, a person could soon consume something designed for their particular needs and tastes, on demand.

Imagine the next ‘ready-to-eat’ meals as cartridges of food printed into shapes determined by downloadable designs.

THE CLIENT

V&A Waterfront

THE RESULT

Studio H designed a residency programme and pop-up space at Makers Landing, introducing the next generation of chefs with a popup restaurant concept which invites rising stars to take up residency in a bigger restaurant space, giving them an opportunity to get a taste of running a full-scale restaurant.

THE TEAM

Restaurant design: CLOUT

Interior architect: Walter Train, Tracy-Lee Lynch

Photos: Paris Brummer

INGREDIENTS

• 2 large Kissabel apples, cored and very thinly sliced
• 60 ml cup white sugar
• ⁠1t ground cinnamon
• 1 roll frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 60 ml melted butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 t confectioners' sugar (for garnishing)

METHOD

• Preheat the oven to 160°C.
• Place apple slices in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high until slices are slightly softened, about 45 seconds. Cover the plate with plastic wrap.
• Mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
• Roll puff pastry sheet slightly. Using a pizza cutter or knife, cut 6 rectangles. Reserve remaining pieces for another use.
• Spread melted butter over dough, and sprinkle with a generous amount of cinnamon sugar. Place apple slices along one long edge of dough, overlapping slices slightly. Fold the bottom half of dough over apple slices to form a long "folder" of dough with rounded edges of apple slices exposed. Roll from end to end to form a rose.
• Beat egg in small bowl. Brush surface of dough with egg wash. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
• Bake on the middle rack in the preheated oven until well browned, about 20-25minutes until the bottom of the rose is fully cooked. Remove apple roses from oven and finish cooling on a wire rack.
• Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Recipe by Mmabatho Molefe.

THE CLIENT

Moët & Chandon

THE BRIEF

Studio H has been the lead agency on the Moët & Chandon Golden Tree project for a number of years, driving the structure design and launch events.

THE RESULT

In 2017, 2018 and 2019 the tree consisted of 1680 empty champagne bottles that were collected from across the country and carefully re-used to make a 10-meter-high tree by 15 people over 17 days. 15 300 LED lights were used in 26 concentric rows to create the light.

Most recently, in 2021, a new tree design was launched at Nelson Mandela Square. It was an evening as memorable as it was celebratory in the City of Gold, as Moët & Chandon brought its unique savoir-fête to open South Africa’s festive season in style at the Moët & Chandon Golden Tree opening celebration at Tang Restaurant, attended by the country’s leading celebrities and dignitaries.

Festivities began with a musical performance by SAMA winning artist Simmy who entertained guests with her hit song Sonini. As is custom, Moët & Chandon included iconic South Africans in the experience – this year with Zozibini Tunzi, global humanitarian and Miss Universe 2019, alongside SA cricket captain Temba Bavuma. Black Coffee’s brilliant surprise performance ended the evening with an atmosphere few will forget.

The new Moët & Chandon Golden Tree, poised to offer perfect golden reflections of the Sandton skyline, is a sight to behold. Golden baubles adorn the tree’s gleaming metal exterior, while (for the first time) the interior opens to offer guests a truly immersive experience. Expect a show-stopping chandelier, crafted from 1,400 Moët & Chandon bottles, hanging delicately over a custom-designed champagne cork floor.

THE TEAM

Concept: Studio H

Architect: Stephen Hitchcock, Stretch Architects

Studio H: Hannerie Visser, JC Landman, Hendrik Coetzee, Elena Schutte

Styling: Klara van Wyngaarden

Logistics: Dirkie van der Merwe, Henk van der Schyf

Reveal moment: Tiaan Schutte

Venues: TANG Sandton, Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton City Mall

Staffing: Holla’

Travel: JetSet-Go

THE CLIENT
YPO

THE JOB
YPO and Private Clients by Old Mutual Wealth Art Fair VIP Cocktail event

THE BRIEF
Design a cocktail event at 21 Nettleton for VIP clients attending the Art Fair

THE MENU
In an ongoing commitment and in alignment with the Zeitz Mocaa VIP Gala Collateral Programme’s manifesto, we celebrated women-owned and women-led businesses with this menu by using only ingredients and products from suppliers that fit these criteria.

• Interactive salad with herb dressing by Studio H
• Cheese tower and Studio H waterblommetjie pickles
• Savoury smoked cheese by The Real Cheese Project and mebos choux
• Mini Xigugu Royalty chicken sosaties
• Corn and Charm's Kitchen pickle and chakalaka bread squares
• Stokbrood with Weskusmandjie bokkom butter
• Lettuce cups with Ocean Jewel Fish yellow tail and spekboom salsa verde
• Mini Grey Bird Desserts lamingtons

Food prepared by Chef Mmabatho Molefe

Bar and setup by Angelique Smith

Concept and production by Studio H

Staffing by Hero Events

Piano by Leah Patterson-Jones

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Thank you

Amy Ellenbogen

Hamseh

Photos x @danielazondagh

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.

THE CLIENT

Adidas

THE BRIEF

We were briefed, alongside six other artists, to re-imagine sustainable footwear for the future for the new adidas concept store in the Waterfront.

THE RESULT

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.

THE TEAM

Concept, micro mushroom farm and laces: Studio H

Exterior design: Sweet LionHeart (Nikki Symons)

THE CLIENT

Narrative PR

THE BRIEF

Design a menu for the opening of Belgian artist Koen Vanmechelen’s Cosmopolitan Renaissance exhibition in Cape Town.

THE MENU

Central to the artist’s work is the concept of bio-cultural diversity, which he investigates through exploring the themes of interconnectedness, and sustainability. The menu, inspired by the Five Kingdoms of Nature:

Animals: Red centre devilled eggs

Plants: Asparagus and edible flower skewers

Fungi: Grilled mushroom skewers

Protists: Kelp, rice paper puffs and kelp-cured fish

Monera: Mold-ripened cheese with shaped jelly on handmade crackers

THE TEAM

Concept, menu design, culinary curation: Studio H

Culinary collaborator: Mia Everson

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.

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ARRIVAL DRINKS by Experimental Cocktail Club

Alcohol-free Cocai Cola (Venezianos refer to seagulls as cocai)

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.)

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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.

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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

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

THE CLIENT

Meta Creators Dinner

THE BRIEF

Design a future food menu for the Meta Creators Dinner

THE RESULT

The starters were personalised 3D printed vegan schmear designs, based on questionnaires completed by guests before the event. Each guest received a URL version of their IRL 3D print.

The main course was a flexitarian dish with vegetables as the star and the meat as a side dish. The harissa-grilled cauliflower steak, caramelised cauliflower puree, smoked cep velouté and crispy kale was infused with rosemary smoke, served with a side of lamb noisette and lamb jus.

We intentionally designed dessert with overtly bitter notes – a fynbos soufflé with a juniper and grapefruit ice cream and grapefruit gin digestif. Guests could then sonically season their desserts to make it taste sweeter by listening to the soundtrack supplied.

THE TEAM

Commissioned by Clockwork Media

Vegan schmear: Amma’s Creamery

Ugly gin: Pienaar & Son

Graphic design: Spook Design Co.

THE CLIENT

Nando’s

THE BRIEF

Conceptualise a strategy that would celebrate the launch of two new Nando's Bag ‘n Bake flavours.

THE RESULT

The new flavours have inspired a selection of #PERiTricks recipes that puts a fresh spin on some of South Africa’s favourite foods and ingredients. And as part of the launch, customers got to discover these recipe tricks at a  popup in Braamfontein. Think super fun recipes made in a tumble dryer, air fryer or even with an iron.

As the lead creative agency on the product launch, Studio H was responsible for creating and managing the concept, developing the recipes and directing and producing the recipe video content for the project. The studio collaborated with some of the finest local talent to make this project come to life.

This project was shortlisted for the Loeries Awards 2023. See here.

THE TEAM

Concept and production: Studio H

Architect: Stretch Architects

Pattern design: Bonolo Chepape, Lulasclan

Video: Yellow Brick Media

Setbuilding: JMC

Culinary support team: Prue Leith Chefs

Location: 99 Juta

Graphic design: Spook Design Co., Sisanda Nxumalo

Interior photography: Marijke Willems

MASHED POTATO SALAD, BRAAIED TROUT AND BOEREJONGENS

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

• 400 g trout fillet
• 30 ml olive oil
• 1 T salt
• 1 T black pepper
• 1 fresh lemon
• 700 g baby potatoes
• 2 egg yolks
• 250 ml sunflower oil
• 1 T white wine vinegar
• 1 t Dijon mustard
• ½ t mild curry paste
• ½ t garlic, minced
• 1 t salt
• 1 t black pepper
• 10 g flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 10 g fresh curry leaves, deep-fried
• 1 cup boerejongens (brandy-preserved grapes)

METHOD

• Portion the trout into 4 equal pieces, rub the fillets with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
• Braai in a hinged grid for 5 minutes on each side, flesh side first.
• Before taking off the braai, squeeze a generous amount of fresh lemon juice on the fish.
• Throw the baby potatoes into the coals and bury them under the hot ashes for 15–20 minutes until soft inside.
• Take out of the coals and let cool down.
• Peel the potatoes once cooled and set aside.
• In a medium mixing bowl add the egg yolks, white wine vinegar, mustard, curry paste, garlic, salt and pepper.
• Drip the oil little by little into the mixture while whisking constantly until all the oil is incorporated and the aioli is thick.
• Mix the aioli with the baby potatoes and mix through the chopped parsley.
• Garnish with the deep-fried curry leaves.
• Place a small bed of the potato salad on a plate, place a piece of trout on top and finish off with a few cheeks of boerejongens.
• Serve as a starter or light main course.

DRIED BRAAI SNOEK, BRAAIED COS LETTUCE AND PLUM SALAD WITH KAAIMANSGAT VINAIGRETTE

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

• 1 wind-dried snoek
• ½ cup butter, melted
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 T quince jelly
• ½ lemon, juiced and zested
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4 small cos lettuce heads, halved
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 T Maldon salt
• Black pepper
• 4 ripe plums, halved
• 2 T honey, melted
• ¼ cup pecan nuts, roasted and chopped
• ½ cup labneh
• 10 g chopped coriander
• 1 t cumin seeds, toasted
• 1 T extra virgin olive oil
• 2 T Kaaimansagat Blanc de Blancs
• 2 t white wine vinegar
• 2 t Dijon mustard
• ½ t garlic, minced
• 1 t salt
• 4 T extra virgin olive oil
• 2 T sunflower oil

METHOD

• In a small saucepan melt the butter over the fire, add the garlic and let sizzle for one minute, mix through the quince jelly, lemon juice, zest, salt and pepper.
• Cut the dried snoek into manageable pieces, and place over the hot coals on the braai.
• Braai until golden and crispy on each side, lather with the butter sauce on both sides, cooking for 1 min on each side after.
• Remove from braai and place on a big platter and brush over the rest of the butter sauce to soak into the snoek.
• While the coals are still medium hot, place the halved cos lettuce heads on the grill and cook until they are golden brown and caramelised, do the same with the plums and brush them with the melted honey just before they are done.
• Place the labneh into a small mixing bowl, mix through the chopped coriander and olive oil.
• In a measuring jug, place the Kaaimansgat, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, and salt and mix together.
• In another measuring jug, mix the olive oil and sunflower oil.
• Pour the oil into the mustard mixture while whisking constantly, and until thick and emulsified.
• Assemble the salad by layering the cos at the bottom, scatter the plum halves and dollop the labneh.
• Serve the snoek and salad together.

CONDENSED MILK STOKBROOD WITH MATURE CHEDDAR AND MOSKONFYT

Serves: 4 - 6

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup lukewarm water
• ½ cup condensed milk
• 35 g yeast / 10 g instant yeast
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 t salt
• 45 g butter, melted
• 600 g bread flour
• 100 g farm butter
• 1 block (200 g) mature cheddar
• ½ cup moskonfyt

METHOD

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in lukewarm water.
• Add the condensed milk, salt, egg and cooled butter.
• Gradually add flour until a kneadable dough forms.
• Turn out on surface and knead until smooth and elastic (±8–10 minutes).
• Place in lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean towel, leave to stand in a warm place until doubled in size.
• Knead the dough again for 1–2 minutes and divide into 6 equal size sausages.
• Wrap the dough sausages around sturdy vine branches.
• Allow to rest and proof until puffy.
• Cook the stokbrood over the coals, turning constantly until golden brown and cooked through.
• Serve the warm stokbrood with farm butter, mature cheddar and moskonfyt as a cheese course dessert.

THE CLIENT

Atmosphere for BBC Lifestyle

THE BRIEF

When Atmosphere Communications sent a brief with all our favourite things: 🎂 + 📺 + Siba = Bake Off!

THE RESULT

Ready Steady Bake!

THE TEAM

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)

THE BRIEF

Design and create the most spectacular edible sculptures for FOOD XX Week and our Oranjezicht City Farm takeover weekend.

THE RESULT

Breathtaking edible art that exceeded our expectations and wowed the crowds!

Florist: Cameron Munro, Mr Munro Flowers and Tina Cloete, Tina's Floristry

Photos: Christopher James Chandler

THE WORK

My work "Visnetten” was on show at in The Hague until the end of January 2022 as part of the show “Food For Thought” curated by Diana Wind. Recipe cards attached to embroidered fishing nets tell the story of a broken food system and the invisible people, often women, in that system. Visitors are encouraged to remove the cards with family recipes to expose the embroidery. Also on exhibition is my grandmother and great grandmother’s recipe book that’s been in our family for more than 100 years. Fishing net bags made by Weskusmandjie were for sale in the museum shop.

THANK YOU

This project could not have been possible without: Hilda Adams and the women whose story inspired this work.

Embroidery by Keiskamma Art Project: Veronica Betani, Nombulelo Paliso, Bonelwa Paliso, Setyenzwa Mangwana, Esethu Makubalo, Nokuzola Mvaphants, Thabisa Gusha, Fikiswa Madlingozi, Sanela Maxengana

Graphic design: Casper Schutte

Special thanks to: Michaela Howse, Tracy Lee Lynch, Hendrik Coetzee

Museum Rijswijk: DianaArnault, Astrid, Anneke and the rest of the most wonderful, helpful and passionate team of people.