This isΒ Slow Cooked, a collection of weekly musings, ongoing projects, and the media Iβm consuming; delivered to your inbox every Monday.
Hey there,
I'm very excited to share with you a project that Naomi and I have been working on for the past few weeks.
It all started with a conversation between a filmmaker (ππ½ββοΈ) and a graphic designer (Naomi) that led to a simple idea β what if we make salsa, package it, and share it with others? It seemed equal parts ridiculous and fun. We decided to call it, 'Wait. What?!'.
This was the easy part. Given our nature, we should have known that it would be anything but easy β in the best possible way!
Collaborating with Naomi for the first time brought out the best of our detail-oriented selves. Along with being on the same wavelength and sharing similar aesthetics, we also have skills that complement each other.
I spent the next few weeks making several batches of salsa to source the best available ingredients, test several cooking methods, and workshop the recipe to get it to a place where I was happy with it.
At the same time, we got to work on creating a holistic experience around it. Including creating packaging labels, postcards, stickers, GIFs, photographs, and videos to highlight the absurdity of it all.
Given that we take so much joy in food, this was the perfect vehicle for it. And with a surge in people making and selling products out of their homes β what would have otherwise seemed like an insurmountable challenge, felt accessible.
I've always found it hard to be objective about my work. But this is a project we're both proud of and an experience we're excited to share with you!
You're one of the first people weβve told, so thank you for reading!
You can follow @itsnaomishah and @vihanshah on Instagram, where over the next two weeks, we will be sharing updates, as well as GIFs, photographs, and videos that weβve created.
The project is limited to only 50 bottles of salsa roja over two weekends + comes with a set of two postcards and stickers. So if you're in Mumbai and interested in purchasing it, click the button below!
For those with dietary restrictions, the salsa contains onion and garlic but is vegan.
For any queries, feel free to reply to this or DM either of us.
We've got a few people we'd like to thank!
I first cooked salsa about a year and a half ago, based on a recipe from one of my favourite people, Marlene. It's a recipe I've been workshopping ever since.
Manimaran was kind enough to help us with placing our products in imagined environments, bringing our wildest ideas to life.
Lastly, Maithili and Ajay, for always lending an ear, and providing us with the support we needed for this project.
Talk soon,
Vihan Shah
Looks great!