This was a COVID purchase,” says designer Joan Craig of her Sagaponack residence. At the time of the pandemic, her daughter was studying at Barnard and the family was renting and quarantining in Amagansett. Afterwards, the family decided to purchase their own place because they loved being Out East so much. While the home is a personal retreat, hosting and entertaining nevertheless ensued.
“We like to cook as a family,” says Craig, “but I want it to be easy and relaxed.”
For this evening’s event, the dinner company included a mix of family and friends who hadn’t been able to attend her son’s destination wedding in Lisbon.
“I love to entertain, but I also love to have a chill weekend,” says Craig. “This was about bringing everybody together for an easy celebration at home.”
To keep it fun—and relaxed—Craig devised clever cooking competitions for company, which was a great ice breaker for those who knew each other and those who were newly acquainted. Guests were paired together to create an array of dishes, with awards given out for the top tastes. Since this was all in good fun, and there were to be no losers, runners up were treated to copies of restaurateur Keith McNally’s autobiography, I Regret Almost Everything.
“People went all out,” says Craig with a laugh, including some participants creating their own illustrated menus for the evening. “I think it’s going to become an annual thing.”
JOAN CRAIG’S ENTERTAINING ESSENTIALS
“We are great fans of The Constitutional, that archaic practice of the after-dinner walk. I grew up with this tradition: after every holiday gathering or dinner party, my father always insisted that we head out for a walk as a group, while the table was being cleared before dessert.”
“We rarely entertain at—or for that matter, eat—lunch. Our days are full at the beach, on excursions, off for a hike, and so our family and guests usually head out after breakfast and return late afternoon for cocktails.”
“For tablescapes, I like to keep everything very easy and relaxed. I’ve picked up dozens of those little colored glass vases from the flower district over the years. I’ll scatter them on a long table on the lawn and fill them with ferns from the woods, surrounding them with tons of votives, lighting some citronella torches, and setting out plates from Il Buco Vita in Amagansett.”
“Games are always a part of our entertaining evening—charades, trivia across the generations, and favorite card games usually follow dessert. Depending on the weather, we’ll either head over to the firepit to gather outside or move inside to the dining table.”
