We are a small team of cooks and preservers based in South Africa, working with local growers to turn seasonal produce into pantry staples that hold real flavor. Every jar we seal comes with a tested cooking guide, written for home kitchens where time is short and ingredients should stay simple.
Nonocuis To Food started as a small kitchen project in the Western Cape, testing fermentation times and spice ratios on a single stove. Today the studio is run by four cooks and preservers who still taste every batch before it ships.
Visit the studioJuan spent eight years running restaurant kitchens before turning to small-batch preserving. He oversees every fermentation, from the first chili harvest to the final pH check, and writes most of the cooking guides that ship with each jar.
Lesego grew up around braai fires in Gauteng and learned spice blending from his grandmother. He sources whole seeds and dried chilies directly from local farmers, then stone-grinds them in batches small enough to keep the aroma intact.
Veronica tests every recipe in a standard home oven and gas stove, not a professional kitchen. She rewrites each guide until the steps are clear enough for a first-time cook, and she handles the seasonal substitution notes that appear on the recipe cards.
Thabo manages the preserved citrus line, from selecting firm lemons and oranges to tracking the salt-curing process. He keeps the batch logs that tell us exactly when each jar is ready, and he checks every seal before a box leaves the studio.
Nonocuis To Food started with a simple frustration: pantry staples that tasted like they were made for warehouses, not kitchens. We began fermenting hot sauce in small batches and grinding spices by hand, then wrote down exactly how to use them. That first jar of preserved lemon changed how we braai, and we have not stopped since.
Every batch starts with produce from local farms within a few hours of our studio. When the chilies are smaller than expected, we adjust the recipe rather than force a uniform jar. The result is a condiment that tastes like the season it came from.
Each jar comes with a short cooking guide that explains how to layer flavors in everyday meals. We test every recipe on a standard home stove, with no special equipment and no ingredients that require a specialty shop. If a step needs patience, we say so plainly.
Our fermented hot sauces sit for weeks, not days. We check them daily, taste them weekly, and bottle them only when the acidity and heat settle into balance. It is slower than commercial production, but the depth of flavor is worth the wait.
The stone-ground spice blends we make for braai are based on recipes our families have used for generations. We toast the spices in small batches and grind them just before packing, so the aroma hits you the moment you open the jar.
Every guide includes storage notes based on how we keep our own pantry. Some sauces live in the fridge, others on a cool shelf. We tell you which is which, and how long each jar stays at its best, so nothing goes to waste.
Kitchens we cook with
Klein Karoo Braai Co. — uses our smoked chilli blend in their lamb marinade.
Oranjezicht Farmers Market — regular stallholder since 2021, featuring our preserved lemons.
Hout Bay Pantry — a neighbourhood shop that carries our full range of ferments and spice mixes.
Franschhoek Cooking School — includes our stone-ground spices in their weekend braai classes.
Karoo Meat Co. — pairs our peri-peri salt with their free-range roasts.