Our story
I’m Hernan de Majo, chef, and together with my partner, Renata Brenha, we launched what was initially a supper club called Cocina Shoreditch back in 2015.
I am from Argentina and was trained as a Food Engineer, working in different food production units and restaurants in Buenos Aires. I have always had a particular interest in the alchemy of food and in working closely with local communities.
Renata is from Brazil and is a Fashion Designer. She complements my work with her extraordinary attention to flavours, textures and colours.
Creative expression and exploration played a significant role for us to eradicate animal products from our cooking practice. For us, the idea that moving to a plant-based diet could lead to compromising food experiences was far from true, and what we found out after years of experience has consolidated our expectations.
By immersing ourselves in the fascinating world of plants, we have discovered a wider diversity of flavours, textures and colours that have not only enriched our diet and cooking style, but also elevated our respect for nature and the desire to promote a cruelty-free world.
This approach permeates every dish that we design and the choice of each ingredient.
We get inspiration from the Latin American culture and cuisine that Renata and I grew up with, and we dedicate our work to the research and discovery of flavours that honour those origins and that are refreshingly contemporary and delightful to all our senses.
Our food and wines
We believe that a plant-based diet is more than a way of eating, but a choice that promotes a kinder and more compassionate way of living.
Our menus are designed to invite you to pause, enjoy food with your six senses and to celebrate life and cultural exchange.
Highly nutritional, our menus are developed with the right balance of carbs, veggies and proteins; making them pleasant in the body and easy to digest.
We strongly value using a significant amount of raw fresh ingredients to ensure proper enzyme levels.
We also design our dishes to be paired with perfect non-perfect, natural, organic or biodynamic wines that we curate with the advice of the Brazilian Sommelière Daniela Peres, acclaimed for her initiative Prosa e Vinho, an inspiring and disruptive wine bar in the heart of São Paulo.
Since its foundation, Cocina Studio has collaborated with musicians, artists, chefs, sommeliers, astrologists, yoginis, food producers, universities and charities amongst others; hosting supper clubs, food events and exhibitions across the UK, France, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
Most notably, in 2018 Cocina Studio was shortlisted finalist at the Young British Food Award in the category 'Vegetables'. It launched its first book “Project 1” combining the disciplines of food, fashion and photography at The Photographers’ Gallery in London, in February 2020.
