Last week, I did something ambitious. I took a completely raw space and transformed it into an intimate dining experience, crafting every single detail from scratch. Atelier Code Noir became our canvas, and with the incredible Lelani Lewis at the helm of the kitchen, we built a night where food, art, and connection intertwined.
But let me be honest, it was a lot of damn work.
The two of us brought in everything….tables, chairs, glassware….all up a steep 22-step staircase. The stunning brown linen tablecloths and napkins by OURY Home? Custom-made for this very evening. The cabbage & eggplant installation that took center stage? A idea of mine that required an unreasonable number of cabbages & eggplants, a bit of trial and error, and a whole lot of faith. The drinks? shaken by the newly branded Élala paired with each course for the night. The menu’s? beautifully drawn from oceans away by Kerri Brown. The photography you keep looking at?? Linde. But when it all came together, the art, the textures, the deep purples and browns - it felt like the kind of magic that makes this work worthwhile.
And then there was the food. Lelani’s dishes weren’t just beautiful; they told a story of her heritage, her upbringing, and her love of flavors that bring people together. Each plate felt like a little bit of her passed on, a moment in time plated before us.
And as the women entered & gathered around those tables, the theme for the night set the tone: Your Life’s Crossroads.
We talked about the choices that changed everything. The career leaps we weren’t sure we were ready for. The unexpected moves across an ocean. The relationships that shifted our path, for better or for growth. We all have those moments, some conscious, some forced on us & some that seemed small at the time but ended up defining everything. What’s a decision you made not knowing how pivotal it would be to your life’s path? How did it unfold? That was the question on the table, and as always, the most powerful thing about these nights is how quickly women go there—into the heart of their stories, into the places where life took a turn and led them somewhere unexpected.
Through it all, there were a few things I learned
Your team is everything. I’ve known this, but last week was the first time I had a solid crew of five women by my side for the evening, working together to pull it off. These nights only happen because we build them together.
Women will cancel last minute, and they will think they don’t need to pay….and yes, we have a 72-cancellation policy that was communicated not only in the event details but over email the week prior because of us building everything up. This was disappointing, and a hard lesson, but it’s clear: moving forward, every guest pays in advance. Not the night of. No exceptions.
I feel everything - I’m taking what I can from each guest’s form to carefully curate them at a table with women I feel they will connect with. 95% of the time that works out super well but sometimes it doesn’t. Whether that’s because women don’t write enough on their form, they are actually different in real life, I missed something or I interpreted something wrong - I can feel it right away if a table is not clicking & it eats at me. I shouldn’t let it get to me but it does. Just something I need to work on.
Compression socks are a necessity. If you see me in a sleek dinner outfit from now on, just know—there’s a high probability that underneath it all, I’m wearing them.
Balance is key. Moving forward, we’ll do 2-3 fully built-out supper clubs a year, pouring ourselves into them. But I also want more Collective Tables at restaurants, where the energy is still there, but the labor isn’t as intense. There’s space for both, and I love that.
For everyone who joined, who stayed late, who helped carry their chairs down a flight of stairs—thank you. These tables wouldn’t exist without the women who show up.
And if you biked home with a cabbage in your tote bag…..well, I hope you put it to good use.
Until the next table
xx Sam