When I started Studio Bumi, I never thought of myself as a “great” cook. I knew how to cook, sure—but my real passion was in community-building and, well chatting. I noticed that while pop-ups brought amazing food to the table, they didn’t always create lasting interactions between the cooks and the people eating. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I felt like food could do more—it could start a relationship. And I knew I had to be part of the experience to make that happen.

I envisioned Studio Bumi as a “food experience studio”—a place where people don’t just eat together, but figure things out together. Why an experience? Because food is only 50% of the equation. The rest is about the person cooking—sharing their voice, their perspective, their story. And why a studio? Because it’s more fun together. It can’t just be my project. It has to be ours. So these are the people who helped build and continue building the Studio ◡̈

  • Bagus Ruswandi

    Founder • Always down to chat, it’s actually frightening. Will ask to add MSG.

  • Jason Soekarno

    Head of Food Ops • Able to replicate and improve any TikTok recipes on demand in under 10 minutes.

  • Emir Ikhsan

    Head of Floor Ops • Running the dining room like it’s Sephora.

  • Richard Giang

    Food Ops, Team • Will gently tell Jason there’s a more fun way to cook it.

  • Kanisha Zahrah

    Strategy, Team • Down to plan the marketing calendar for Q2.

  • Monica Kraeger

    Research, Ops, Friend • She’s to blame for this communal dining stuff. Also a crazy fun hang.

  • Jackson Bailey

    Design, Friend • Drinks maybe 6 cups of coffee a day. Real.

  • Sophie Chen

    Writer, Editor, Friend • Took the first photos of the dinners and then ran to Barcelona. Wtf.

  • Ben Morrow

    Design, Merch, Friend • “yeah, we can do that.”

  • Siyana Tabita

    Design, Strategy, Friend • Always leaves NYC for the entire winter cause it’s cold.

  • Amanda Kwong

    Music, Friend • She got us our very first catering gig and now I can’t escape her.

  • Paul McNulty

    Science, Nature, Friend • Drove me around in his green car until I drove him crazy.

  • Cindy Hong

    Strategy, Friend • Literal brainpower behind our first dinners. Powerful stuff.

  • Gusti Cakramurti

    Ops, Friend • Goes to grad school on weekends so he could hang on the weekdays. Real.

  • Rendy Wicaksana

    Journalism, Friend • Asked if he could interview us like it’s not a weird thing to ask.

  • Shirley Lim

    Community, Design, Friend • and the “let’s do it!!!” Award goes to —

  • Tommy Lam

    Design, Objects, Friend • If “i got u” was a person.

  • Min Gu Kim

    Food Ops, Friend • Made hainan duck for family meal like his life depended on it.

  • Carli Gordon

    Community, Strategy, Friend • Shares my “~?&%#$(&3!” energy.

  • Omer Kaplan

    Photo, Friend • Made me a model for about 20 mins.

  • Jess Eng

    Writer, Friend • Wrote about me and then went to my hood for a coffee. We love friendships.

  • Shanta Tran

    Duck, Friend • i love when a strong woman showed up in my life and shook it.

  • Juan Carlos Rodriguez

    Duck, Wine, Friend • if flowing river was a person.

  • Jovita Putri

    Baking, Friend • Will chat and serve foods. It’s like watching a dance.

  • Kevin Li

    Photo, Friend • Brought a big boy flash to a dinner and has since changed the game.

  • Carrie Hsu

    Food Ops, Friend • If there’s one thing she’ll do is make sauce.

  • Sabrina Hwang

    Food Ops, Friend • Just when you thought you don’t need a big sis energy in the kitchen.

  • Zion Brown

    Coffee, Friend • Literally a star, esp when he invited me to make desserts for a coffee event.

  • Anna Letson

    Baking, Photo, Friend • Brought really nice vermouth to dinner like it’s not gonna make me fall in love.

  • Tanya Mayta

    Floor Ops, Friend • Walking Yelp and Beli for the best Thai in the city.

  • Shannon Lu

    Photo, Friend • She really liked my jacket at dinner and I was like, ok, you’re obsessed.

  • Jeremy Kesten

    Food Ops, Friend • “You just gotta tell me and I’ll be on it.”

  • Angela Liang

    Floor Ops, Friend • she ran the dining room like it’s her home. she was dancing.

  • Don Eim

    Video, Friend • dude was also dancing in the dining room, with flashes. these people be dancing.

Join the Studio!