Greg Grossman Heads New Restaurant Beautique at Capri

New York City lounge and restaurant Beautique heads to the Hamptons this summer, as an outpost will open at the Capri Hotel in Southampton. Heading up the kitchen will be local wunderkind Greg Grossman, who will soon turn 20 years old. Here, Grossman discusses Beautique’s cuisine, participating in Taste of Two Forks and what it means to eat local.

What are you most looking forward to about being part of Dan’s Taste of Summer this year?
Always love being a part of the TOS, it’s a great event and a rare opportunity for all the chefs in the Hamptons to get out of the kitchen and see each other, when you normally don’t get a chance to breathe from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

One food everyone should try at least once in life:
[I’m a] huge oyster fan. I grew up not liking them at all, but in the recent years have become very involved in the community as an oyster lover. Some great varieties [are] coming out of the Hamptons now, and we will be featuring several on our menu.

If you were to eat at your restaurant as a guest, what would you order?
Hard to narrow it down! The fried oysters are fantastic, cornmeal-crusted and crispy, topped with a whipped potato chip mousse, black truffle marmalade, lemon, topped with paddlefish caviar.

What drew you to work on the East End?
I grew up out here for several years before my parents came out of retirement. I love it out here and wouldn’t miss the opportunity to come out and do a restaurant project for the summer. Very excited to work with our amazing team, and thankful to Jon Bakhshi for bringing me on.

Food that defines summer on the East End:
Lobster, corn, oysters, watermelon, scallops, too many other things to list. The simple shrimp sandwich at Breadzilla in Wainscott is definitely one of my favorites from over the years.

If you had two forks in your hands right now, what would you like to stick them in?
Definitely our lobster cooked “En Papillote” in glass paper with yuzu-truffle fondue, caramelized fennel, cippolini onions, Swiss chard and shrimp oil. It’s a really beautiful dish that we are excited to serve. Also our fluke ceviche…[I] love the local fluke and Gosman’s has been bringing us some amazing product this year.

Favorite East End-inspired meal?
At some point during the summer, we are going to be doing an amazing clambake at Beautique, very exciting and will be really delicious. I always think of them as the quintessential Hamptons meal.

What is your favorite local ingredient?
The local corn was amazing last summer, it appears several times on our menu.

What is your favorite aspect of being part of the culinary culture on the East End?
Being able to have easy access to such a bounty of wonderful vegetable product, amazing seafood, craft dairy products and more. It’s a tightly knit community of chefs out here and it’s great to be a part of it.

How does going to the Ross School and growing up on the East End inspire your cooking?
The Ross School was a big part of my upbringing. They were very serious about seasonality and sustainability, and did a good amount of gardening and farming. I have great memories of being at EECO Farm in East Hampton with their head chef, Liz Dobbs, and picking herbs in the garden.

How do you feel about being the youngest chef at Taste of Two Forks?
I think we fared well last year, it’s fantastic to be included, and we are excited for a great event.

A great meal begins with…
Great company!

Dan’s Taste of Summer kicks off with Dan’s GrillHampton on Friday, July 17, and continues on Saturday, July 18, with Dan’s Taste of Two Forks presented by Farrell Building Company, both at Sayre Park, 156 Snake Hollow Road, Bridgehampton. Dan’s Harvest East End, the can’t-miss food and wine classic, rounds out the trio of events on August 22 in Cutchogue. For more information on all three events, including tickets and VIP packages, visit DansTaste.com.

Beautique is at 281 County Road 39A, Southampton. 631-504-6575, caprisouthampton.com