Feast Studio is the creation of a couple-turned-collaborators, Ayush and Nat. The two have been obsessed with food for as long as they can remember, being both diners, food nerds, and, in Ayush’s case, a chef for 12 years. After throwing countless dinner parties and receiving the right amount of encouragement from close friends, they decided to dive in and start Feast Studio. This experiential catering service has been making waves in Sydney’s hardcore foodie circles. In the past, they’ve served up cassava crackers with Szechuan marmalade, slabs of roast pork and fennel, and Thai tea panna cotta, to diners from Cabramatta to Darlinghurst.
For the duo, the act of eating shouldn’t only be enjoyed between the partitions of darkness on islands of tables in stiff dining room floors. Instead, they emphasise the aspect of feasting, where food tastes better when shared shoulder to shoulder with a fellow patron and soon-to-be new friend.
How did you guys meet and what made you decide to collaborate together to create ‘Feast Studio’?
We are married! We’ve been together for 10 years, married for one. From day one food has been our common area of interest and we spend our days off eating, cooking, shopping for food and consuming food-related content. We both love to come up with new dish ideas especially when we eat out and get inspired.
A couple of years back we started hosting more elaborate dinner parties for our friend group to test out these dishes – with beautifully plated food, designed menus and table settings. We found that it is an opportunity to combine our technical skills together. And we have so much fun doing it. So we started Feast Studio last year to expand on this passion.
For Ayush, what drew you to the kitchen? What has been your biggest takeaway from working in famous Sydney cornerstones like Mr Wong and Establishment?
Ayush: Food has always been a big part of my life. At 4-5 years old back in Nepal I remember telling my mum to roll the puri dough “just twice” like I’d seen at a corner puri shop, or sitting and watching food shows for hours.
I initially entered a professional kitchen as a way to support myself while I was doing my postgrad degree, but I fell in love with it almost immediately. I’ve tried to step away a couple of times because of how demanding the work can be, but I always find myself pulled back to it.
I’ve worked in 10+ kitchens over 13 years in Sydney. My time at Mr Wong especially has really shaped me. Those environments are intense, but they teach you what it really means to be consistent at the highest level. You learn discipline, respect for produce and your team, and the importance of maintaining standards. You understand that even the smallest details matter when you’re operating at that level.
Every kitchen has shaped not only how I cook, but how I think, and work. Not that allows me to find the balance when creating dishes to make it feels both considered and personal.
For Nat, were you always interested in design? What inspired you to step into the kitchen?
Nat: I’ve always had one hand on creating things for visual aesthetics. I’ve worked in brand design, UI, visual merchandising, events, and that has always been my first passion and my bread and butter. A close second passion is food. Cooking and eating is my therapeutic escape when I’m stressed or feeling down.
Do you remember your first ‘Supper Club’? What was that experience like?
It was last year! We were hoping to start small with maybe 12-16 guests at first as we didn’t know how far our Instagram ads could reach. We ended up selling 22 seats and became utterly overwhelmed with the amount of ‘stuff’ we had to bring with us on the day. Everything miraculously fit into our Mazda 2, except Nat..who had to take a separate Uber to the venue. (Minivans are hired now and we are much better at packing.) The evening went quite smoothly and we had extremely kind guests who gave us a huge boost of confidence.
We’re about to host our 6th event in a couple of weeks. We have regular diners who have come to every single event since the first. Super grateful for them.
What is the process like of putting together the menu(s)?
We come up with one or two core dishes first. These are the dishes that are completely new and we haven’t sold before. We’d test that then we build the rest of the menu around that, thinking about completing the ‘feast’ and filling out gaps in the visual / flavour combo for each course. E.g. a carb dish to balance, a fresh side dish to cut through richness, or a way to feature strong colours from beetroot or pumpkin on the table to draw your eyes.
Going through your site, I love the term “creative catering”. How do you make sure to stay inspired?
We go out to eat! Nothing is more inspiring to us than exceptional flavours (or potential for flavours). We try to order dishes is new to us and that we can’t imagine what it would taste like. We have a page on Notion that we write down our ideas on, which usually happens mid-bite. We’d nerd out together to dissect about what’s in it…and how we can replicate, improve, or combine it with something else.
Not to give away all your secrets, but where are some of the best IYKYK spots to source ingredients?
Nothing top secret. Pontip in Thaitown is our go-to for anything Thai. Australia Meat Emporium for our protein. We also shop our freshest herbs and veg from Marrickville. Ayush also orders fresh pasta directly from a supplier around that area who are kind enough to let us buy in smaller batches rather than wholesale so things stay fresh.
What do you think resonates with each of you so much about the act of hosting and service?
For both of us, feeding our loved ones has always been our preferred act of service. We feel immense satisfaction when people enjoy our food and the environment we put up.
Food brings a lot of joy for us, so hosting supper clubs or entering our clients’ kitchens are our ways to create an opportunity to share that joy with our diners.
Are there any future plans for Feast Studio that you can share with us?
We are looking to do more brand collabs in the future (hit us up :D) and bringing our style of feasting to more tables around Sydney…and maybe beyond, stay tuned!
Thanks to Ayush and Nat from Feast Studio for taking the time to chat. Make sure to follow them on Instagram and check out there website for everything Feast Studio. Their next ‘Supper Club’ is the 4th of April. Find details below.
