From door handles to designer lighting and now cookware, Buster + Punch’s latest collaboration with legacy French brand Staub aims to celebrate and elevate a cultural icon – the full English breakfast
Photography courtesy of Buster + Punch
Words by Sonia Zhuravlyova
‘I love cooking,’ says Massimo Minale, architect and founder of Buster + Punch. ‘Two of my most prized possessions are my pizza oven and my collection of cocottes by Staub.’ The design studio was born in East London in 2013 out of Minale’s love of making custom motorbikes, which soon turned into a specialism in refined homeware accessories produced in solid metal and featuring patented cross knurling.
‘We wanted to get into cookware. It was a space that had been undisrupted for decades,’ he says. ‘There was no one looking at not just how cookware performs, but what it looks like, and how it can appeal to interior lovers.’
To that end, Minale reached out to Staub, a legacy French brand of cookware founded in Alsace 50 years ago and now part of the Zwilling Group. ‘I wanted to work with someone with serious heritage and tradition,’ he says. ‘And I love cast iron cookware. So that’s how the conversation started.’
Photography courtesy of Buster + Punch
Despite Staub being deeply rooted in traditional French cuisine, while plucky Buster + Punch is largely informed by London’s sub-cultures, the two companies soon found something in common: a strong belief in the idea that food and cooking can bring people together. Buster + Punch reworked a Staub cocotte and frying pan, which come in black cast iron with embossed Buster + Punch insignia. To elevate the pieces, each has Buster + Punch handles in solid metal and the label’s signature precision knurling.
‘We honoured the tradition of Staub’s cast iron cookware, and essentially tacked on what we do best, which is metal knurled handles. It was a perfect coming together because not only does our hardware look great, it also appeals to a younger interior lover,’ says Minale. ‘And having knurled handles on its cookware, especially the T bar on the cocotte, was really exciting to Staub. We wanted to make something that felt much nicer when you’ve got oven gloves or when you’re using a tea towel. Our new T bar handle has an aesthetic appeal but actually, ergonomically, works a lot better too.’
Buster + Punch prides itself on being a detailed-focused company. ‘We are obsessed with all the bits you touch in the home: light switches and door handles and kitchen pulls, so for us, it was very much about tactility. We want it to feel great underhand and have loads of grip. And the cross knurl is an ode to our heritage as bike builders,’ explains Minale. The pieces come in two finishes: either in brass or stainless steel, ‘so between the two you’ll find a finish that matches your kitchen or the appliances you have around,’ he adds.
Photography courtesy of Buster + Punch
Staub was delighted with Buster + Punch’s approach and youthful energy and gave them creative freedom to design components that would complement its cookware. ‘It was a collaborative effort, and we were thrilled to see how they interpreted our products and elevated them with their unique touch,’ says Beatrix Biren, global brand lead at Staub.
Staub was also drawn to Buster + Punch’s campaign and marketing ideas to reach a young, upwardly mobile audience. ‘Our partnership opens up exciting opportunities to reinvigorate a passion for cooking by accessing design enthusiasts who are also conscious of the products that they engage with in the kitchen,’ adds Biren.
The collaboration is accompanied by a campaign video voiced by English rapper Professor Green, in which two Michelin-starred chef Tom Sellers cooks a full English breakfast in a greasy spoon for several generations of Londoners. ‘We wanted to base the whole concept around a greasy spoon and the full English breakfast, and tell the story of what this breakfast actually means to British people,’ says Minale, who shot the video in one of London’s last remaining greasy spoons in West Norwood.
Photography courtesy of Buster + Punch
‘In the past we’ve done music videos with rappers and other interesting stuff that’s not necessarily on the warmer side of promotion. So, we really wanted this piece to be about food, warmth and community. And we thought that there’s no better way than to have two of London’s best talents, Professor Green from the music world, and Tom Sellers from the food world, tell this story in a really authentic way.’
The campaign also speaks to the timelessness and longevity of cast iron cookware, which is often passed down from generation to generation, much like in Minale’s own family. ‘That’s why we wanted this video to be a snapshot through the ages, because we hope that the cookware – and the message of the full English breakfast – will resonate with everyone from young renters to old pensioners. With everyone.’
The story originally appeared in ICON 215, Spring/Summer 2024. Get a curated collection of design and architecture news in your inbox by signing up to our ICON Weekly newsletter
