Georgette Farkas, who owns the restaurant Rôtisserie Georgette in New York City, prepared an alfresco luncheon for friends on the grounds of her cousin’s estate in North Haven.
The inspiration for her déjeuner d’été came from “the cooking I grew up with while summering in the South of France,” she says, and “the beautiful seasonal produce from the Hamptons’ farmstands. They truly have sunshine in them.”
Farkas welcomed her guests on the terrace. Enjoying the libation are Farkas’s brother Benjamin Sears.
She served her signature Pink Pussycat cocktail created with a blood orange–infused rosé made by her friend sommelier Olivier Flosse. “Well before rosé season begins,” she says, “we taste myriad bottles at the restaurant to make our selections for the wine list—hard work, I know! Olivier’s Blood Orange Rosé Grande Réserve became the starting point for our most beloved summer cocktail.”
The Biot glasses and plates by Verrerie du Val de Pôme are from Farkas’s own collection; the napkins are from Sferra. The table was accentuated with flower arrangements by Olivier Guigni.
The view from the luncheon.
Tonia D’Angelo Slade is also enjoying a Pink Pussycat cocktail.
After cocktails, the guests moved to a French pebble garden fragrant with peonies,
Farkas served petits farcis (center of buffet), based on the baked stuffed vegetables she has eaten in the food stalls in Nice’s old town, which she often visited as a child with her mother.
Farkas’s version of pissaladière, the popular Niçoise savory tart of caramelized onions, olives, and anchovy on a foccacia base, is topped off with a grace note of local arugula. Rather than traditional ground lamb, she stuffs hers with a pesto-laced quinoa. (opposite) The lunch table in the French-style pebble garden. The tablecloth is made from Festin Blou, a classic toile de Jouy by the French company Stof, and the bistro chairs are from Maison Gatti. See Resources.
The ingredients in the main dish, lobster and corn salad, are “very Hamptons,” Farkas says, but they get a très French boost from a lemon-tarragon aioli.
Proust had nothing on these savory rosemary and Parmesan madeleines, an ideal counterpart to the slightly sweet Pink Pussycat.
The essence of summer, an aubergine piperade comprises an elegant fan of thinly sliced seared eggplant garnished with julienned roasted red peppers. Rather than traditional ground lamb, she stuffs hers with a pesto-laced quinoa.
The tablecloth is made from Festin Blou, a classic toile de Jouy by the French company Stof, and the bistro chairs are from Maison Gatti.
Guests Ted Farris, Sylvia Channing, John Seelye, Lois Nesbitt, Benjamin Sears, and Tonia D’Angelo Slade, all yoga practitioners, toasted Farkas on a succès fou.
Dessert was a summery lo-cal affair with a special twist: a peach tarte tatin. “My restaurant is most known for—and most proud of—its caramelized apple tarte tatin for dessert,” Farkas says. “But since apples aren’t a summer fruit, I decided to use peaches instead. It’s less traditional, but there’s no reason not to do it.” Gluten haters, rejoice: Farkas’s version skips the crust, and is finished off with heady blackberries and crème fraîche.
For the granité:
½ bottle rosé de Provence
½ bottle Blood Orange Rosé Grande Réserve*
2 oz. pomegranate liqueur
1 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 oz. fresh strawberry purée, well strained
1 oz. POM pomegranate juice
1 oz. Vanille de Madagascare liqueur (optional)
1 oz. simple syrup
* (if not available, substitute with another half bottle of rosé de Provence)
For the garnish:
1 thinly sliced lime (8 slices)
Pomegranate seeds (optional)
To make the granité, stir all ingredients together in a bowl, pour into a shallow flat-bottomed container, and place in the freezer. Every half hour, scrape and stir the mixture gently as the liquid crystallizes, repeating the process until the granité develops a snow cone texture. For a faster alternative, place mixture in an ice cream machine and process according to manufacturer’s directions. Store in freezer and remove approximately 15 minutes prior to serving. Spoon mixture into chilled martini glasses and garnish with lime slices and pomegranate seeds. Serves 8.
