Pan-Africa
Kitchens of the Sub-Sahara
As the sun set in Zimbabwe’s lush Honde Valley, I watched kids push car tyres up and down the street, racing each other through the village. In Africa, most often, less is more. People are used to working with what they have, and rural kitchens are a testament to this. Mix a heat source, clean water, and a few utensils with locally grown staples and a freshly butchered animal, et voilà pure, simple, resourceful culinary bliss.
These photos depict some of the kitchens I saw in 2025 during a trip through Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi for Standart. The titles are my own.
Keep reading
Become a reader—from $109/year
A membership helps us stay independent, create a whole range of stories across our different platforms, and continue to invest in creative community we work with.
Join Standart Already a reader? Log-in here.Explore more stories
Exclusive feature For the discerning coffee drinker, entering a cafe for the first time can evoke a mix of anticipation and unease. Will this be to my tast...
Venice Chloé Calonec ( text ) &Anna Adamo ( images ) Slowly sinking under the weight of more beauty than can be consumed locally, Venice i...
From Qahwa to Cafe The Evolution of Coffee Culture in Egypt Egypt’s coffee culture is layered and full of contradiction—loud and hushed, traditional and modern...
Zambia Stained glass at the Cathedral How do you regrow a stagnant coffee economy? Zambia isn’t a coffee origin on many peoples’ radars, wh...
No Eating or Drinking Rachel Naismith ( text ) &Joel Smedley ( images ) A cup of coffee and a good book can spell comfort or contravent...
Buildings in Frith Street Past & Present Joel Smedley &The London Archives London, as it was then and as it is now,...
Romain Wyndaele Standart ( interview ) &Luba Kozorezova ( images ) Romain Wyndaele is a former professional middle-distance runner who once ...
Cafe Details Timeless Light Standart ( text ) &Alessandro Bo ( images ) E l M i n u t i t o There are cafes...
Life Spilling In Might the soul of architecture reside not in spaces of permanence, but in the gaps through which we pass to get there? Peer through an architect’s eyes as sh...
A Defence of Pumpkin Spice There’s nothing that draws the ire of coffee enthusiasts quite like the onslaught of Pumpkin Spice everything once the colder months set...
