February 2022, Mexico City.

Under the warming rays of a winter sun, a mix of friends and family gather around a restaurant table. The meal is done, the plates are cleared and the scattered salt and pepper flakes are brushed aside with a sweeping gesture. Hints of rosemary and sage linger in the air. The table is reset with freshly-starched cotton linens for the sobremesa, a sacred tradition in Mexico to talk, drink, welcome new and old friends and linger over conversation. 

Developed with Nicole Mancini.

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-In the Mediterranean and in Latin America, life revolves around food. Holidays are celebrated with it. Loss is mourned with it. There is no major occasion in life that isn’t centered around a shared meal. One of the most significant customs is that of the sobremesa.

- Sobremesa literally means 'over the table'. It's the time you spend in meaningful conversation, relaxing together, sometimes for hours, well after dessert has been served.

- As EATER says: "In Mexico City, the best part of the meal comes long after dessert. The Spanish tradition of sobremesa requires lounging for hours after dessert while diners talk, drink, and enjoy the moment.

-Our candle was inspired by long lunches at Mexico City restaurants like Contramar, where waiters with white jackets and bowties reset tables with freshly-starched cotton linens and a revolving roster of friends drops by to chat, joke and linger over coffee, carajillos and sipping tequila.