The Savory Spice Shop

“A stranger is just a friend I haven’t met yet.”

Will Rogers

For those of us who like to cook and more importantly, eat, there’s a gem on Galisteo Street.

Good fortune visited one day by my simply being downwind of The Savory Spice Shop. The aroma greeted me well before I made it to door. Complex, rich, pungent, aromatic, it was all there, a world of smells. What is this? My sensory horizon shifted in an intriguing way. Stepping inside, I saw row upon row, jars of spices of all description. Owner Kate Wheeler greeted me in her friendly Scot manner, with a gleam suggesting she’s always on the verge of some kind of mischief.

I’d been tweaking a recipe for gingerbread cake and was looking for powdered and candied ginger with some kick. The woman helping me asked, “what will you be making with the ginger?”

“Gingerbread cake,” I said.

“Well,” she said matter-of-factly, “you better bring some for us!”

“I might just do that,” I said.

This little tease was all I needed. A few hours later I reappeared with two big chunks of the cake, still warm, with the zest I was looking for. The expressions on everyone’s faces were priceless, and I’ve practically been family ever since. Tremendous fun! Since then I’ve had a chance to get to know Kate and the Spicettes a little bit.

Kate has a Culinary Arts degree from Johnson & Wales University, has cheffed for a number of restaurants, and one of her sidekicks, Lydia, is a chocolatier. Of particular note, for seven months Kate did the cooking at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, “In the summer,” she says, “yeah, not crazy. A little crazy, not a lot crazy.” With an average low in the mid-twenties, below zero, winter in Antarctica has to be a lot crazy.

About ten years ago, “I stumbled onto Savory on a first date with my now husband Drew,” says Kate. “I fell in love with both and a week later had the job and had the man.” Kate became employee #3 at store #1 in Denver as a Grinder and Blender which is another way of saying she started at the ground level (no pun intended), and has worked her way up. A little over a year ago, says Kate, “it was time to start my own dream.” They moved to Santa Fe and opened the current location.

Since my initial foray into gingerbread I’ve moved on to other savory treats, and found cinnamon, poppy seeds, cayenne and sage, cardamom and I can’t remember how many others, more aromatic, more flavorful, and more interesting than anything from the shelf at the grocery store. Now I’m on to making my own garam masala and curry from scratch. Like, wake up those taste buds!

Kate and crew also teach cooking classes for up to fourteen students, everything from Spice 101 to Sauce Class to Sephardic Moroccan. “It’s a demonstration class,” says Kate, “so I cook for them and feed them, because that’s one of my favorite things to do.” With Kate at the helm these classes have to be a lot of fun; one of these days I have to take one. Heck, I just want to eat.

Gordon Bunker