Designer Harvests

This is the time when home chefs gather the last of their summer efforts. Gardens are picked through. Zucchini and squash are turned into healthy sides while tomatoes are cooked into sauces. Imagine, not having to do all the picking and clearing out. It's a reality in the every trendy Hamptons.

Hiring a gardening landscaper was all the rage in the eastern part of Long Island this summer. Stacey Stowe wrote about it in today's New York Times Food section.It used to be that farmers used the fertile sandy fields here to just pant potatoes. Now the trendsetters not only hire a landscaper to design the beds and designate what veggies go where, there are also a crew to plant the beds as well as a chef (seriously??!!.) to figure out how to cook the harvest as well as what recipes pare nicely with the fruits of their labors.It's an expensive hobby, with fees reaching as high as $100,000. It is bespoke  with "gardeners" telling their crews what they want growing along with it being always organic. The idea is not a new one. Long Island estates have always had a kitchen garden since the 1800's when cooks used estate grown produce and herbs to cook elaborate meals. Today's personal chefs , do much the same as their 19th Century counterparts, pick the freshest and ripest and turn them into tasty dishes.Unlike the estates, there are elaborate sheds that have fancy soapstone sinks, complete with Moroccan tiles. Some gardens even have raw concrete dining tables to eat at and to put the produce after picking.

This is a boon for personnel chefs who basically have their own farmer's markets to play with , thanks to generous bosses. One,Kevin Penner, who was a professional chef at East Hampton's 1770  House and Cittanuova, has the run of thirty-six (!) bed raised gardens on a three house compound at Meadowlark Lane in Bridgehampton. He can experiment, using exotic herbs  and heirloom La Ratte potatoes in creating lush but healthy dishes.Many residents, such as newswomen ,Katie Couric, keep it simple. Yes, she does have help however she only grows tomatoes, eggplants,zucchini, lettuces and herbs. She either uses these to cook for her daughters or gives them away to friends. Her garden is only ten by twenty feet and unlike her neighbors, she handles most of the garden work herself. Many rely on Paul Hamilton who is a gardening guru for these wealthy green thumbs. He plants and maintains them along with asking clients if he can donate the overage to East Hampton Senior Center. Donating veggies to City Harvest is common.Some  gardeners do feel they're blessed and send parcels of fresh veggies  via the Hampton Jitney to feed New York's homeless.

Even if they're designer and lush, gardens are still gardens. They provide fresh veggies and herbs, creating tasty dishes that are rich in nutrition. In the end, it's not the cost but the effect that matters.