Dan’s Taste of Summer is back — and it’s got the Hamptons food festival to itself for the first time in 29 years.
The glam gourmet food celebration, which started eight years ago as a one-night event, has set its program only a few weeks after the James Beard Foundation shut down its annual Chefs & Champagne event.
“While Chefs & Champagne was originally focused on bringing Manhattan chefs to the Hamptons, we focused on local restaurants and chefs from the North and South Fork. Some people said it wouldn’t work,” said Don Evans, the “chef whisperer” who helps organize and produce the events.
It’s also a big year for Dan’s Papers, which is celebrating its 60th summer in the Hamptons — and the 80th birthday of its founder, Dan Rattiner.
More than 125 restaurants and dozens of Long Island wineries will be participating.
In past years, the events served as debut events for restaurants new to the Hamptons dining scene.
The events begin with Dan’s Rosé Soirée on May 26, featuring 30 rosé wines, including those from South and North Fork wineries, and tastings from East End and New York City eateries, including Kingfish Oyster Bar, Jing Fong, Rahi, Calissa and Union Cantina.
This year will also boast two new events: Dan’s Chefs of the Hamptons, which will bring together top South Fork chefs for a June 29 dinner supporting Guild Hall of East Hampton.
The event, at Jean-Georges at Topping Rose House, will feature chefs Drew Hiatt and Jean-Georges Vongerichten; Joe Realmuto of Nick & Toni’s; Eric Miller of Bay Kitchen Bar; Sam McCleland of The Beacon; Jeremy Blutstein of Gurney’s Montauk Resort; Courtney Sypher of Sen; Carissa Waechter of Carissa’s The Bakery; and Jason Weiner of L&W Market.
Another new event will be Dan’s 60 Summers Gala, which will be held at Gurney’s Star Island Resort & Marina on Aug. 2. The event will feature food from Scarpetta Beach; Gurney’s Star Island Showfish, which opens soon; Gosman’s; and Duryea’s. It will also celebrate the release of a book on summers on the East End.
Dan’s Chefs of the North Fork will be held on July 13 at The Halyard at Sound View in Greenport. Chefs will include The Halyard’s Stephan Bogardus, Matty Boudreau of Preston House & Hotel, Noah Schwartz of Noah’s, and Brian Wilson of North Fork Table & Inn.
Next up is Dan’s GrillHampton on July 19, which pits eight East End chefs — including Boudreau, the defending champion — against eight Gotham chefs, including Justin Bazdarich of Speedy Romeo and Mark Rosati of Shake Shack.
And, on July 20, the event that started it all, Dan’s Taste of Two Forks, featuring top chefs from 40 restaurants, including the Frisky Oyster, North Fork Doughnut Company, Noah’s, The Maidstone, Claudio’s, and winemakers from more than 15 vineyards, with music from DJ Phresh. Both events will be held at the Fairview Farm in Bridgehampton.
Finally, the food festival closes with the third-annual Dan’s Corona MonTaco event on Aug. 3.
New York’s growing micro-sushi empire, Sushi By Bae, a partnership between Michael Sinensky and Erika London’s Simple Venue, is launching a new 300-square-foot eatery on May 1 at 118 E. 15th St. The menu at the six-seat counter includes a 15-course, 90 minute Edomae-style omakase menu from chef Oona Tempest, one of the few female sushi chefs in New York.
