The Hamptons season is in full swing. White tents are up from Southampton to East signaling gala parties for charitable causes. From late June through August, every weekend has at least one major white-tented event where you know you’ll greet the who’s who of the Hamptons. So, I dust off my tomato red party dresses (I have several) and buy a few more—this year a gorgeous coral Flamenco-style dress and a sexy purple silk strapless—and make my appearance under the tents enjoying drinks and dancing up a storm.
The third weekend in July is always my favorite event of the charity party circuit because of the James Beard Foundation’s Chefs and Champagne event. And because the opening match of Bridgehampton Polo is on the same afternoon, it’s always a mad dash from polo to Wölffer Estate, where the Chefs and Champagne takes place under the enormous white tent. And this year it was a perfect summer night—unlike last, when the temperature and humidity felt like Southeast Asia.
This year’s Chefs and Champagne honored Ted Allen and the judges of the Food Network’s Chopped (including Marcus Samuelsson, Scott Conant and Geoffrey Zakarian) and featured the usual 30 or more chefs who set up at tables presenting their delicacies in little tasting portions. As always, I looked around the tent at this dazzling display of plenty—with Jehangir Mehta of Mehtaphor, Jonathan Benno of Lincoln Ristorante, Claudia Fleming of The North Fork Table, Seamus Mullen of Tertulia—and didn’t know where to go first.
Well, I’m fibbing….like a heat seeking missile I always land at the Champagne table first. This year’s sponsor was Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte and if you arrive during the VIP hour, you are served the Palmes d’Or Grand Cuvée with its wonderful bouquet of brioche, hazelnut and apricot. The Champagne comes in an iconic black bottle designed to look like it’s covered with inverted Tahitian black pearls and believe me, at around $150 a bottle, it’s in demand and goes fast.
After I had my flute of vintage bubbly happily in hand, I was already hearing the buzz that I must taste the strawberry gazpacho with basil made by Chef Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park and the NoMad. It was heavenly. Humm had partnered with Mercedes- Benz and created an “On the Road” picnic menu for the event. Another great bite from that menu was squab with dehydrated blueberries and smoked corn.
When the VIP hour ended and the Palmes d’Or ran out, I continued on with the wonderful non-vintage Nicolas Feuillatte Rosé, which is fresh and balanced with luscious-strawberry notes. I ricocheted around the tent taste testing as many small plates as I could. Fortunately, it seemed that the chefs were thinking light and were offering lots of ceviche, seafood of all kinds, especially shrimp. It was the year of shrimp. (Last year was the year of lamb ribs and pork bellies.) I’ll admit I went back for seconds of the overstuffed succulent lobster rolls from chef Luke Holden of Luke’s Lobster. It went so well with the Palmes d’Or and later with the Nicolas Feuillatte Rosé.
A lovely part of the event is socializing with the wonderful crowd who supports the charity and bids on auction lots. I ran into one of my favorite winemakers, Roman Roth of Wölffer Estate (where this event is held annually). Roman was excited about a spectacular Petrus tasting he had been at earlier in the summer. A select group of wine aficionados (many of whom paid $17,500 for this once in a lifetime experience) got to taste 57 vintages of Petrus! And the most remarkable aspect of the tasting was experiencing vintages from legendary 40s vintages: 1945, 1947 and 1949. The tasting was a kick off eye-opener event given by the Société du Vin, a new members-only wine facility in Bridgehampton.
I also was pleased to meet up with Randall Lane, Editor-in-Chief of Forbes, one of the sponsors of the C&C. Randall was my editor in the mid-nineties when I had a five-year stint as a sex columnist for his then magazine POV (Point of View). I was the “she said” of the He Said/ She Said team advising young guys on how to please women, or at least how to deal with them.
The after-party went on till around 11 p.m. I must admit that I over-did the Champagne. It was one of those morning-afters where a little damage control might have been advisable, but then again everyone probably had as much bubbly as me and didn’t notice my extra ebullience, as I floated along on a cloud of Champagne. Blame the Palmes d’Or.
It had been a long day of Hamptons’ festivities. Before Chefs & Champagne, my afternoon began at Bridgehampton Polo at 3:30 p.m. for the red carpet arrivals at Two Tree Farms on Hayground Road. Christie Brinkley was to be the star attraction, but had to cancel due to a family emergency. This year’s crowd seemed much prettier and well turned out and the event itself felt more exclusive. I heard Italian, French and Spanish spoken all around me and women actually donned wide-brimmed hats for the occasion. Men wore the traditional pastel shirts and crisp white or light-colored pants. People sipped Bertaud Belieu Rosé, refreshing luminous pink wine from Chateau Gassin in St. Tropez.
Bartenders from a newly opened Lower East Side bar, the Experimental Cocktail Club (which started in Paris and has a branch in London), were mixing up drinks with Fair Vodka and also offering tiny spoon tastes of Pointy Snout Caviar, which they’ll carry at their club.
As always a number of new spirits brands were present at polo. Fair Vodka, a quinoa vodka distilled in Cognac, France, is the world’s first Fair Trade Certified Spirit. The quinoa is cultivated in the Bolivian Andes at 16,000 feet. Fair also puts out a Himalayan Goji berry liqueur again sourced from a cooperative of monks in Tibet. Established brands like Grey Goose showcased their new vodka flavors. This year Grey Goose Cherry Noir and Le Citron were ingredients in Hamptons Punch and Boston Tea Punch. (Last year, the de rigueur drink was Mint Ponies.)
Peter Brant, co-founder of the Bridgehampton Polo Club, made drastic changes to the polo protocol last year, trying to limit the crowd to those who were truly involved in the game. And it seems that his agenda succeeded. People lined the front of the tent to watch the polo match. In past years the polo match had become merely a lively sound track and visual backdrop to a ragging party under the tent. Though I might note that women generally gave the polo a few long glances to watch heartthrob Nacho Figueras in action on his polo ponies.
The new set up has a number of banquets with umbrellas lining the polo field in an uber-VIP section. There’s another grouping of large lounges inside the tent, which are also purchasable. However, the full crowd who is admitted to tent can circulate and stand within the VIP sections along the field. (Last year the banqueted area represented a roped-off VIP section.) People mingled in the tent while trays of hors d’oeuvres from Tutto II Giorno in Sag Harbor were presented. Girls with old-fashioned carrying boxes held from a strap around their neck offered complimentary Davidoff Cigars. And men could ogle the new Ferrari FF, the first four-seater, four-wheel drive V12 sports car. I ogled Nacho.
Guests enjoyed dinner under the tents at Wolffer Estate Vineyard.
Photograph by Christopher London
Let’s wind back to June’s end and the season’s first big charity event, Group for the East End (i.e. environmental advocacy and conservation), brought out the really bold faces: Alec Baldwin, Billy Joel, Nicole Miller and others.
(L ro R) Alexis Roderick, Billy Joel, Group for the East End President Bob DeLuca, Hilaria Baldwin, Alec Baldwin, Ireland Baldwin
Photograph by Christopher London
There were so many photographers lined up when Baldwin and Joel entered and took their place at the photo backdrop that the publicists arranged the camera men in a semi circle. She directed the stars to follow her outstretched arm as she traversed the circle, directing their eyes slowly to look in the direction of her hand—i.e. everyone got a shot with the stars looking towards them.
(L ro R) Nicole Miller, Palmer Taipale, Kim Taipale, Erin Nida, Billy Joel, John NIda
Photograph by Christopher London
The event was held under a big tent at Wölffer Estate (the site of Chefs & Champagne) and so the thing to drink was the always delightful Wölffer Rosé, this year’s vintage an orange color and dry and refreshing. It signals summer holding a glass of beautiful pink in hand. For the early comers, Noblesse Oblige, Wölffer’s methode Champenoise sparkling wine was still in the ice bucket.
photograph by: Owen Hoffmann/ Patrick McMullan Company
Love Heals (The Alison Gertz Foundation for AIDS Education), always held under a huge white tent at Luna Farm, was at capacity crowd this year. You know it is going to be a spirited party when they have a Patron Mojito bar and people are sucking on Tequila Popsicles.
photographs by: Owen Hoffmann/ Patrick McMullan Company
After fueling up on Southern fried chicken and BBQ ribs—washed down with Patron tequila cocktails with clever names like Healing Touch and Luna Farm Refresher—the crowd took to the dance floor. A sudden rainstorm had struck and forced everyone off their cozy outside banquets and back inside the tent.
photographs by: Owen Hoffmann/ Patrick McMullan Company
Between spirited dancing, I did some socializing. My name-drop at this event is the handsome David Zincenko, the editor of Men’s Health and often seen on morning shows promoting his book series Eat This, Not That! I wrote several feature articles for Men’s Health in the day—one on “being Mrs. Robinson” giving advice to young men how to please women-of-a-certain-age (it was once my specialty). Well, David was so friendly at this event that I decided I must write more stories for his publication. Maybe his great mood was elevated by the Patron cocktails or maybe because a gorgeous woman, Melissa Milne, was on his arm. Anyway, on this 20th anniversary of Love Heals, with 650 people in attendance, the charity raised $300,000. I guess we were dancing up a storm for a very good cause.
Another great foodie event of the Hamptons is Taste of Two Forks at Sayre Park in Bridgehampton. In its second year, Taste showcases of the best of the chefs from the North and South Fork as well as a dozen of the Long Island wineries.
The Champagne of the night was Paul Goerg in Blanc and Rosé. I started the night with the Rosé in hand while savoring bites from all my favorites: Nick & Toni’s, Beacon, North Fork Table & Inn, Osteria Salina, and Beaumarchais. Of course I got carried away and sampled more and more from Fresno, Navy Beach and Nobu at Capri.
When the Champagne ran out after the VIP hour, I focused on the Long Island wines—among them Bedell, Channing Daughters, Castello di Borghese and Palmer Vineyards. I was able to discover some new wines from One Woman Winery and Comtesse Therese.
It’s a pity the event at the Parrish Museum was beaconing and I had to be off to the next party. I finished the evening under another large impressive tent with a huge dance floor in a benefit for the new Parrish Museum (which will open in Water Mill in November). The “After-ten” benefit follows the big Parrish Museum fundraising gala dinner. Once the dinner folk head home, the “junior” crowd takes to the dance floor. In my new coral flamenco dress, I—along with a half dozen friends—danced till the wee end of the party. I even took home an orchard centerpiece. Indeed, it was another memorable night under the white tents.
