Anna Polonsky and Fernando Aciar met in New York City.

Anna is a Creative Director and Strategist in the food world. Growing up in Paris, her passion for hospitality and culinary has always been part of her world. Her father had a supper club in Paris, and she landed her first job at the forward-thinking gastronomic guide: Le Fooding. After venturing to create one of the first 360º creative agencies for the food world, Polonsky felt the need to contribute further. She founded Polonsky & Friends in 2019, a strategy and design advisory for those who use food as a beacon for community and change. Anna’s values and creative sensibility, enhanced by her focus on conscious-rooted initiatives is what drives her purpose: to give the right tools to people in the food space who are trying to make the world a better place.

Fernando is a chef and artist. He was born in Argentina and grew up in Jachal, Argentina’s wine countryside. Fernando’s food education began at home with his mother, a passion that led him to seven years of cooking with renowned South American chef Francis Mallmann, followed by Berkeley’s Chez Panisse restaurant and Girona’s El Celler de Can Roca. These experiences propelled him to cultivate his own style and business acumen in the food space.

The development of Fernando’s distinctive stamp started with the opening of OCAFE in 2011 in New York’s West Village. The beloved latin-influenced coffee shop has earned its place as a Village gem and a second-home to many locals, drawing in a loyal following of food insiders, family, friends and creatives. Fernando rekindled his love for clay and opened FEFOSTUDIO studio in 2014, a ceramic workshop that crafts a variety of home goods and custom pieces through special commissions for restaurants and private residences around the world.

OSTUDIO, where we visited them, is Fernando’s most recent venture, a co-working and cultural hub where the renaissance couple fuse their love for fine crafts, design and artistic collaboration.

Anna wears limited edition sweater No. 04 and Fernando wears No. 11.

@ostudiony
@polonskyandfriends