Summer in The Hamptons

Ok it's really summer in the Hamptons. Place is brimming............. no it's positevly overflowing with people everywhere. Not a parking spot to be found. Friday afternooon and every Hamptons village is bulging at the seams........ the markets, restaurants and pubs are filled to capacity. By private jet and helicopter they come. Trains and buses and stretch limos and luxury cars line Rt. 27 in a parade of bumper to bumper traffic. From hedge fund managers to rock stars to big biz moguls they are all here for one reason. They come from the cities to decompress from a week of stress. They want a swim, a walk on the beach or to sail the waters of Gardiners and Peconic Bays. With the weekend comes the flurry of entertaining....... be it thousand dollar a plate benefits to attend or charity balls or dinner party invitations. There is shopping on the Main Streets of the villages in the designer stores after a leisurely breakfast in a cafe, maybe a stroll on the beach or a swim in the pool and then the whirlwind of evening entertaining begins. Only the finest of foods and wines..........fresh fish from Montauk, caught in the cold waters of the North Atlantic, local farm fresh veggies on all the roadside stands, wines from the local vineyards....... and for those of us who provide the food for the fun, we spend our afternoons dashing between the markets, gardens and wineries before we head into the kitchen. I like to create a simple yet elegant menu to ensure success for any gathering. Fresh fish from the boats is always my first choice for the grill. My herb pots are handy next to the cooking area, add some fresh veggies and salad greens and a fresh fruit dessert to finish. After all is said and done and I return home maybe all I want to do on a clear summer night is sit outside and gaze up into the night sky, breathing in the heavy smell of salt that's all around me like the sea.

Some of my experiences as a Private Billionaire Chef

As a private chef I have had some exciting experiences. On a given day I could be swimming in the blue blue waters of the Carribbean Sea at 9am in the morning; grilling mahi mahi with pineapple/pepper salsa for lunch on an open patio overlooking the ocean and then flying on a Gulfstream enroute from the French West Indies to New York. Next, shopping on Madison Avenue by 6pm for a cozy fireside dinner served by 9pm. All in a day's work for the private chef. I learned to go through the steps of my work in my mind ahead of time not only in making a menu, but also including a detailed list of all the ingredients needed to prepare the meal. There's no time to run out at last minute for a forgotten spice or herb. For dinner to be an hour behind schedule just won't do. Cooking on a yacht requires a huge block of time for laying in the stores and if I forget a critical item, you can bet I'll be changing the menu. I see myself preparing each dish as I'm walking through the open air markets choosing the vegetables that are available for that location-if they have been flown in from Europe or USA that day. If not I might have to grill mangos instead. I've lingered at the checkout area and bent my ear to the local womens conversations about what and how they were cooking that day. I might have to barter with a fisherman directly from his boat in a language I don't understand or shop with currency that I did not convert into dollars in my mind quickly enough. No doubt that is how I have gotten some incredibly great deals. By the time I actually get to the kitchen and fire up the grill it's like I've already cooked and mentally tasted the meal ahead of time so I can relax and enjoy the view, the guests, the night. Like I said, it's all in a day.........................