Soft Serves is a Berlin-based culinary studio creating food experiences through gastronomy and design. Founded by Lea and Carolin, the studio develops events, installations, and brand collaborations, approaching food as a creative practice. In our conversation, we discuss about the studio origins, as well as the importance of collaboration and support between the two of them.

Repose: How would you describe what you do?

Lea & Carolin: We work in a creative culinary field. Our background is quite mixed, marketing, communication,  kitchen experience. What we do today is more about creating food concepts and experiences, not just cooking. It’s about combining different cultural influences, aesthetics, and storytelling through food.

Repose: What led you to start your personal project?

Lea & Carolin: We both knew at some point that we needed to change something professionally. One of us was studying and didn’t like it, the other was in a full-time job and didn’t feel right either. We also both knew we didn’t want to work alone. When we met and started working together, it became clear that this could be something. It felt very natural and very organic.

Repose: How did the idea for this project come about?

Lea & Carolin: It really developed step by step. We met at an event, stayed in touch, and then worked together on a yoga retreat. We spent a lot of time together in a small kitchen, and it worked very well. After that, we started helping each other on projects, and it just evolved into what it is today. There wasn’t one moment, it was more like building something organically over time.

Repose: What challenges did you face when starting or trying to make a living from your project?

Lea & Carolin: At the beginning, we didn’t even know this could be a full-time job. The idea of a culinary studio wasn’t so common yet. We built everything ourselves, step by step, creating our own niche. Also, adapting to freelance life was a challenge, there’s a lot of structure, organization, and responsibility behind the scenes that people don’t see.

Repose: Do you feel your project has evolved since you started?

Lea & Carolin: Yes, constantly. We didn’t follow a strict plan, so everything evolves naturally. In the beginning, we did more finger food and classic catering, and now it has shifted more towards full experiences and concept-driven work. The requests we get have changed as well, and we adapt while staying true to our identity.

Repose: Do you mostly work on commissions?

Lea & Carolin: Yes, most of our work is commission-based. Clients come to us with an idea or an occasion, and we create something tailored for them. From the beginning, we considered every request, but now we are more selective. We prefer projects where we can be more creative, especially working with brands rather than private events.

Repose: How do you structure your work between the two of you?

Lea & Carolin: In the beginning, we did everything together, writing emails, brainstorming, creating concepts. It helped us find a shared voice. Now we have a bit more structure: one focuses more on concept and presentation, the other more on recipes and execution. But everything is still very collaborative, we constantly exchange ideas and feedback.

Repose: What makes working together special for you?

Lea & Carolin: We really support and encourage each other. It’s about creating something that fits both of us. We elevate each other’s work, and that’s something we never experienced before. It makes the process very unique, and we think people can feel that in what we create.

Repose: Do you face any challenges when communicating your project?

Lea & Carolin: Yes, sometimes. Not everyone immediately understands what we do. Some people approach us expecting a standard catering service, while we are more of a concept-driven culinary studio. It can be challenging to communicate that our work is custom, detailed, and comes with a different level of involvement and cost.

Repose: Do you feel that people understand the value behind your work?

Lea & Carolin: Some do, especially those who follow our work or come with a clear intention. Others don’t fully understand at first, especially when it comes to pricing or the level of detail we put into each project. But that’s part of the process, finding the right clients who align with our approach.

Repose: What excites you most about your current project and the future?

Lea & Carolin: We’re very happy with how things are now. We would love to have our own studio space, a place where we can create, host, and invite people. We also want to travel more with the project, maybe do pop-ups or residencies in different cities. But overall, we want to keep growing organically.

Repose: Do you want to scale the project or keep it as it is?

Lea & Carolin: That’s something we think about. What we do is very tailored and intuitive, so it’s not easy to scale without losing its essence. For now, we prefer to grow in a way that feels right rather than forcing expansion.

Repose: How was the transition from a traditional job to building your own structure?

Lea & Carolin: It was a big change. You realize that the work is not just the creative part, there’s a lot of organization, communication, and administrative work. It’s also hard to separate personal life and work as a freelancer. But working together helped a lot, it brings structure and support.

Repose: Where do you find inspiration?

Lea & Carolin: It’s a balance between both. Sometimes ideas come from things we see while traveling, at another event, while scrolling, or just from our own thoughts. We write them down and keep them for later. And then often a project or a brand gives us a feeling or a red thread, and that becomes the starting point for the concept. We really love that stage of the project, the ideation, even when the ideas feel unrealistic at first. It’s exciting to build everything around one element and see how it opens many possibilities.

Repose: Do you also have personal projects on the side?

Lea: Yes, I have a small ceramic project, Studio Beurre, making hand-built vases and candle holders. Caro has a background in jewelry and goldsmithing. But both of these are more personal side practices, not our main focus.

But it’s important that they stay joyful. There is no pressure to earn money from them, and that is a privilege. Sometimes when you try to turn every creative hobby into a business, you lose interest or lose the joy of making. Keeping them personal helps us protect that freedom.

Repose: Does that also help your main work?

Lea & Carolin: Yes, definitely. Those side practices are another creative outlet. They help us use our hands in a different way and give balance to the work we do in the kitchen and in our heads. It feeds the main project instead of competing with it.

Repose: How do you keep that balance with your work?

Lea & Carolin: We try to protect it consciously. For example, we took long breaks over winter, and it felt so rewarding to notice that after some rest, we were excited to cook again. That was a very good sign. We never want to lose the joy in what we do, so breaks are important too.

Repose: Is there anything else you would tell the people you were when you started?

Lea & Carolin: Just do it. You’re never really ready. You can prepare, but you will never feel fully ready. At some point, you just have to start. And also, go where your passion is. If you are passionate about something, you will probably be good at it, and you will find your own way.

Also to talk about what you’re doing with people. That really helped us from the beginning. When you share your ideas, you start to gather the right people around them. You don’t have to do everything alone. Of course there is luck involved too, but you also have to notice opportunities when they appear and be open to them.

Repose Archive is a creative direction journal documenting processes and projects across art, design, architecture, and hospitality. As designers, we interview creative minds and explore their creations. 
Photography credits: Jaqui Dresen and Johanna Berghorn for Soft Serves.