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Studio-H co-hosted Li Edelkoort’s Trend Talk with House and Leisure magazine at Babylonstoren. After a few years’ absence, it was so good to welcome Li Edelkoort and her long-time business partner Philip Fimmano back to South Africa. Studio H produced the event and food installations with Juwan Beyers Food Design. Tickets sold out within hours, confirming the appetite for thoughtful, future-facing dialogue.
Thank you:
Goeters Event Design
AKJP
Studio-H co-hosted Li Edelkoort’s Trend Talk with House and Leisure magazine at Babylonstoren. After a few years’ absence, it was so good to welcome Li Edelkoort and her long-time business partner Philip Fimmano back to South Africa. Studio H produced the event and food installations with Juwan Beyers Food Design. Tickets sold out within hours, confirming the appetite for thoughtful, future-facing dialogue.
Thank you:
Goeters Event Design
AKJP
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As a food design studio, we’re in our element when we get to translate material narratives into edible experiences. For the Art Party hosted by House and Leisure, Viviers Studio and Soho House, Studio H, in collaboration with Juwan Beyers, designed a menu inspired by the natural fibres explored in Lamb of Hope – the exhibition by Viviers Studio and Philip Fimano that formed the backdrop to the evening.
Drawing from the tactility and integrity of raw fibre, we approached each ingredient in its simplest, most honest form and then treated it as material. Pulled. Braided. Woven. Stitched.
On the table:
Turkish delight, delicately structured and hand-finished.
Fruit leather, hand-sewn by Juwan Beyers Food Design.
Braided fior di latté.
Hand-woven cracker breads.
Forelle pears in their natural blush.
A savoury mosbolletjie cake layered with lamb jam.
Each element became a study in texture and craft, exploring tension, pliability, repetition and form through food. The menu echoed the exhibition’s meditation on fibre, transforming softness into structure and nourishment into narrative.
A sensory extension of the installation. Design you can taste.
As a food design studio, we’re in our element when we get to translate material narratives into edible experiences. For the Art Party hosted by House and Leisure, Viviers Studio and Soho House, Studio H, in collaboration with Juwan Beyers, designed a menu inspired by the natural fibres explored in Lamb of Hope – the exhibition by Viviers Studio and Philip Fimano that formed the backdrop to the evening.
Drawing from the tactility and integrity of raw fibre, we approached each ingredient in its simplest, most honest form and then treated it as material. Pulled. Braided. Woven. Stitched.
On the table:
Turkish delight, delicately structured and hand-finished.
Fruit leather, hand-sewn by Juwan Beyers Food Design.
Braided fior di latté.
Hand-woven cracker breads.
Forelle pears in their natural blush.
A savoury mosbolletjie cake layered with lamb jam.
Each element became a study in texture and craft, exploring tension, pliability, repetition and form through food. The menu echoed the exhibition’s meditation on fibre, transforming softness into structure and nourishment into narrative.
A sensory extension of the installation. Design you can taste.
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
Laphroaig
Create a media drop for Laphroaig.
Eau de Laphroaig – Studio H conceptualised and developed Eau de Laphroaig, a bespoke fragrance that is an ode to the peaty shores of Islay, home of Laphroaig whisky. For the bottles, we collaborated with Cape Town-based ceramicists Vorster & Braye to design a hand-crafted ceramic decanter that complements the gentle earthy notes of the perfume, and we worked with Spook design on the linen-covered packaging.
Voster and Braye
Juwan Beyers
JC Landman
Retha Ericsson
Casper Schutte, Spook
Photos and videos: Daniela Zondagh, Juwan Beyers
Laphroaig
Create a media drop for Laphroaig.
Eau de Laphroaig – Studio H conceptualised and developed Eau de Laphroaig, a bespoke fragrance that is an ode to the peaty shores of Islay, home of Laphroaig whisky. For the bottles, we collaborated with Cape Town-based ceramicists Vorster & Braye to design a hand-crafted ceramic decanter that complements the gentle earthy notes of the perfume, and we worked with Spook design on the linen-covered packaging.
Voster and Braye
Juwan Beyers
JC Landman
Retha Ericsson
Casper Schutte, Spook
Photos and videos: Daniela Zondagh, Juwan Beyers
Caesarstone
Design a dinner and awards ceremony for the annual Caesarstone Student Designer Competition that ties into the theme ‘From the Ashes We Rise’, a re-imagining and rebuilding of the home of the South African democracy, the National Assembly, that was destroyed in a fire.
We conceptualised an interactive dinner experience and awards ceremony that truly encapsulated the theme. This inspired live charcoal illustration, a fynbos-infused and fire-cooked meal and an interactive flower installation.
Concept, experience design, menu design, culinary curation: Studio H
Flower installation: Mr Munro
Interactive food installation collaborators: Wild Yeast, The Bread Bar , Charm’s Kitchen, Pienaar and Son, Ukhamba Beerworx
Pre-dessert performance collaborator: Mondvol Soet
Main course and dessert: Eike by Bertus Basson
Live illustration: Spook Design Co, Little Latsky
Photography: Daniela Zondagh
Caesarstone
Design a dinner and awards ceremony for the annual Caesarstone Student Designer Competition that ties into the theme ‘From the Ashes We Rise’, a re-imagining and rebuilding of the home of the South African democracy, the National Assembly, that was destroyed in a fire.
We conceptualised an interactive dinner experience and awards ceremony that truly encapsulated the theme. This inspired live charcoal illustration, a fynbos-infused and fire-cooked meal and an interactive flower installation.
Concept, experience design, menu design, culinary curation: Studio H
Flower installation: Mr Munro
Interactive food installation collaborators: Wild Yeast, The Bread Bar , Charm’s Kitchen, Pienaar and Son, Ukhamba Beerworx
Pre-dessert performance collaborator: Mondvol Soet
Main course and dessert: Eike by Bertus Basson
Live illustration: Spook Design Co, Little Latsky
Photography: Daniela Zondagh
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THE BRIEF
We teamed up with 2 Stories to create an internal communications experience for Standard Bank.
THE BRIEF
Turnconversations about global creativity, internal comms and the future of AI at work into something sensory.
THE RESULT
The overarching theme was connection. We translated this into a physical language using string as a core decorative element – threaded through every touchpoint of the day, linking spaces, moments and interactions. A simple material, used deliberately, became a quiet but constant reminder of how ideas, people and systems intertwine.
When you turn ideas into experiences, you create space for connection, curiosity and collaboration in a way content alone can’t.
For the lunch, we designed an interactive menu:
SALAD: A Study in Connection
Breaded whole chicken
Whole lettuce heads
Vine tomatoes
Parmesan wedges
Connected cucumbers
Pain d'épi
Caesar dressing
Participants had to disconnect the connected elements to create their lunch — a deconstructed salad inspired by the elements of a chicken Caesar.
Alongside the menu, Juwan Beyers and Studio H hosted a collaborative cookie-making workshop, while Hannerie led an interactive food-play exercise, that included sonic seasoning tastings and some of South Africa’s favourite treats reimagined as jello shots (think jello rusks, cream soda float and Hertzoggies).
THE BRIEF
We teamed up with 2 Stories to create an internal communications experience for Standard Bank.
THE BRIEF
Turnconversations about global creativity, internal comms and the future of AI at work into something sensory.
THE RESULT
The overarching theme was connection. We translated this into a physical language using string as a core decorative element – threaded through every touchpoint of the day, linking spaces, moments and interactions. A simple material, used deliberately, became a quiet but constant reminder of how ideas, people and systems intertwine.
When you turn ideas into experiences, you create space for connection, curiosity and collaboration in a way content alone can’t.
For the lunch, we designed an interactive menu:
SALAD: A Study in Connection
Breaded whole chicken
Whole lettuce heads
Vine tomatoes
Parmesan wedges
Connected cucumbers
Pain d'épi
Caesar dressing
Participants had to disconnect the connected elements to create their lunch — a deconstructed salad inspired by the elements of a chicken Caesar.
Alongside the menu, Juwan Beyers and Studio H hosted a collaborative cookie-making workshop, while Hannerie led an interactive food-play exercise, that included sonic seasoning tastings and some of South Africa’s favourite treats reimagined as jello shots (think jello rusks, cream soda float and Hertzoggies).
A homage to the humble bread basket - a generous gesture set on tables throughout the world. Weaving our ancient relationship with wheat into a timeless tradition of giving.
Originally shot and produced by the Studio H team for Chips! and then syndicated in Jan the Journal vol. 3.
Production and styling: Hendrik Coetzee
Photos: Marloes Haarmans
A homage to the humble bread basket - a generous gesture set on tables throughout the world. Weaving our ancient relationship with wheat into a timeless tradition of giving.
Originally shot and produced by the Studio H team for Chips! and then syndicated in Jan the Journal vol. 3.
Production and styling: Hendrik Coetzee
Photos: Marloes Haarmans
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THE CLIENT
Birkenstock
THE BRIEF
Partner with Birkenstock on their Summer Story campaign, creating a food programme for a 4-day pop-up café, as well as a public-facing Sunday activation on Bree Street.
THE RESULT
A summer food programme designed to move between brand world and street energy. For the 4-day pop-up café, Studio H served as Birkenstock’s culinary partner, developing a menu that translated the campaign into flavour.
In collaboration with Tadaa Ice Cream, we created a set of custom summer ice cream flavours, anchored by Birkenstock’s iconic blue — a visual cue reworked into a sensory signature.
The week culminated in a Sunday activation on Bree Street with a hotdog bar with Kosgangsta.
Concept and culinary partners: Studio H
Culinary collaborator: Juwan Beyers Food Design
Ice cream: Tadaa Ice Cream
Sunday activation hotdog bar: Kosgangsta
THE CLIENT
Birkenstock
THE BRIEF
Partner with Birkenstock on their Summer Story campaign, creating a food programme for a 4-day pop-up café, as well as a public-facing Sunday activation on Bree Street.
THE RESULT
A summer food programme designed to move between brand world and street energy. For the 4-day pop-up café, Studio H served as Birkenstock’s culinary partner, developing a menu that translated the campaign into flavour.
In collaboration with Tadaa Ice Cream, we created a set of custom summer ice cream flavours, anchored by Birkenstock’s iconic blue — a visual cue reworked into a sensory signature.
The week culminated in a Sunday activation on Bree Street with a hotdog bar with Kosgangsta.
Concept and culinary partners: Studio H
Culinary collaborator: Juwan Beyers Food Design
Ice cream: Tadaa Ice Cream
Sunday activation hotdog bar: Kosgangsta
Shelflife
Design cement-inspired treats and drinks for the release of the Jordan 4 “Cement” sneaker at the Cape Town and Johannesburg Shelflife stores. These needed to be easy-to-eat, packaged items that are visually aligned with the sneaker’s iconic grey-and-white colour way. The food experience needed to mirror the in-store design and create a shareable moment that would resonate with sneaker culture and elevate the overall launch.
"Cement" lemonade and monochrome snacks included chocolate “cement" fudge, donuts and cupcakes.
Concept and menu design: Studio H
Chef: Strone Henry
Shelflife
Design cement-inspired treats and drinks for the release of the Jordan 4 “Cement” sneaker at the Cape Town and Johannesburg Shelflife stores. These needed to be easy-to-eat, packaged items that are visually aligned with the sneaker’s iconic grey-and-white colour way. The food experience needed to mirror the in-store design and create a shareable moment that would resonate with sneaker culture and elevate the overall launch.
"Cement" lemonade and monochrome snacks included chocolate “cement" fudge, donuts and cupcakes.
Concept and menu design: Studio H
Chef: Strone Henry
