I met Atef, the owner of the gorgeous spice shop in the East Village famously known as SOS Chefs, earlier this year while visiting her shop, seeking I don’t remember what, maybe it was a peppercorn or something ordinary. The shop sits on the same street as my apartment, and though I’d been going for some time, we hadn’t met.

And yet, some months ago, I walked in on a quiet day at the shop, which might often be packed with tourists, regulars, and neighbors alike, and Atef and I hit it off immediately. As I came into the shop over the coming months, we got to know each other little by little, and then, suddenly, it was last Tuesday, and we found ourselves talking up a short, fun project with her creative vision leading the way.

We met up again on Thursday for a quick afternoon session as the sun set outside the shop on a frigidly cold Manhattan evening.

We have similar ‘get it done’ energy, which is something that is the throughline for many of the different kinds of relationships in my life.

Atef had a vision, and I tried my best to create it. Though I won’t share her secret project here, I will share some images I took for fun alongside the main ting.

Here are some pictures from the time <3

What I got the last time I was there:

• Grey sea salt
• Fermented green peppercorn
• A lovely blood orange, peeled by Atef
• Water with basil seeds

SOS Chefs

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