Hamptons elite restaurant hires 19-year-old chef
Greg Grossman is the new chef at Georgica restaurant in Wainscott, in June 2014. Credit: Greg Grossman
Youth is served at Georgica in Wainscott.
New in the pondside restaurant's sixth season is executive chef Greg Grossman, age 19.
"It's been fantastic," said Grossman, who describes his cooking in the Hamptons as "eclectic American." The chef, who was spurred to his profession via a cookbook by revered Spanish chef Ferran Adria, also sufficiently "bothered" Chicago superchef Grant Achatz to let him into the kitchen at Alinea. He described the experience as an "eye opener."
Grossman is a student at New York University, with an individual major combining business management, food studies and nutrition. He had attended the Ross School in East Hampton.
Grossman is joined at Georgica by head chef Matthew Fisher Reddington, with whom he developed the menu; and sushi chef Kazuo Yoshida.
The restaurant, at the site once occupied by Sapore di Mare and Charlotte's Hidden Pond, is a DJ-driven lounge after dinner.
Georgica's cuisine takes in small plates such as crunchy fish steamed buns, peekytoe crab fritters, asparagus-and-mushroom risotto, and fried local oysters with black truffle marmalade.
The larger plates include scallop ravioli, grilled lobster with lemongrass sauce, and roasted chicken with parsnip puree, black kale, chile sauce and, of course, young ginger.
Georgica also offers a raw bar, ceviche, and sushi rolls. Desserts range from coconut panna cotta and chocolate pot de creme to a rhubarb-and-berry crumble and ice creams and sorbets.
Georgica Restaurant and Lounge, Montauk Highway at Wainscott Stone Road, Wainscott; 631-537-6255.
